The Famulaks

Trudging Along...

2012-02-01T08:00:00.005-07:00

I honestly have no idea how this month flew by. It seemed to draaaag on, yet it's already over and I barely remember it! I've been sick the past couple of weeks. Nothing serious, just a simple cold. Something that should have gone away in a few days, but since both of the kids were teething then both caught croup I haven't had much time to rest and recuperate. Or sleep. Hence why my cold trudges along... They on the other hand seem to be more resilient and recovered nicely with steam showers and humidifiers. Through the days of 'supervising' my children while laying on the couch I managed to provide for their basic needs and keep Nixon from burning down the house. I consider that a successful use of my time. I also managed to take a few pictures of my kids so for those of you who were wondering what they look like, here you go!

Grandma Teressa and Nixon
Lately Nixon has been really into mimicking. It's pretty funny
for him to come up beside you and try to stand or sit exactly the same way.

Emmy's first tastes of rice cereal. Not impressed.

Cut to 2 weeks later and she eats like a champ!

Nixon loves story time with anyone, but most especially his Daddy

I LOVE Emmy's rolls. She reminds me
of a little Michelin man. haha!

Just enjoying some banana chocolate chip muffins for breakfast!

Successful transition into the crib and successfully
wiggled out of the fort knox swaddle.

Emerson with her future boyfriend, Dexter

E is quite the little roller. I freaked out the other day when I left
the room for 2 seconds and she was gone when I came back.
I found her under the coffee table so proud of herself!
She has also started rocking on all fours and I'm
sure she'll be crawling soon. Oh boy...

Next up: Nixon's new room & birthday celebrations!

Christmas Highlights

2012-01-31T23:00:00.008-07:00

I know it's the END of January but since I'm borderline OCD I can't move on to a current update without acknowledging that the holidays happened. Our highlights were: Nick having a full week off of work to spend with me & the kids. Christmas Eve with the Famulaks and our first go at a White Elephant exchange. Cute new pjs. A (terrible) sleepover at Nick's parents house because the kids barely slept (so maybe that wasn't a highlight...) Nixon actually getting into the present opening and being excited over opening his stuffed frog, Toy Story chair, and WAY TOO MANY other presents. Me getting an iPhone. Surprising Nick with a snow blower. Alysha's fox hat. Christmas Day dinner with the Gagnons. And of course LOTS of delicious food.

Now here's the visual proof:

Christmas Eve

Opening gifts at Grandma Mena's

Auntie Alysha, Grandpa Neil & Nixon

A lit-up Christmas tree makes a cold winter night
so magical. It was the one thing that really got me
feeling like it was actually Christmas Eve!

Christmas morning 2011

Uncle Bryan & Emmy

Fox hat

Snow blower

Grandma Teressa, Emmy & Kyla

Family pic with the kids' new Christmas outfits!

Merry (Belated) Christmas!!!

Fall Fifteen

2011-12-22T08:00:00.005-07:00

A candid morning shot. This is pretty much a regular sight.

Well, here I am playing catch up again ;) But kudos to me for getting it done before Christmas! The easiest way to do this is to just recap the best moments & milestones of the fall (minus our trip to Phoenix because that needed a post all on it's own. (see below)). Enjoy!

#1. Birthday pedicure for Christa (Sept)

Erin, Christa, Julie & Carrie

glitter toes :)

#2. Hanging out with the old Strathcona crew (Sept)

Gunnar & Kyle, Nixon & Nick & Emmy, Quinn & Tyler

#3. Nixon gets into LOTS of mischief (Ongoing...)

taking off his own diaper...

climbing into cupboards...

#4. Emerson mastered sitting up in the Bumbo (Sept)

#5. Girl's Getaway Weekend to Montana! (Sept)

Blakely & Julie, Paige & Andie, Kay, Carrie, Sis.Bishop, Nikki, Christa, Carrie & Emmy

We enjoyed a beautiful indian summer day at the lake and the babies were
so good to nap together. l-r: Andie, Blakely and Emerson

And of course we shopped 'till we dropped!

#6. Halloween (Oct)

skeleton pjs passed down from Nixon :)

Great Grandma Mena loved our little strawberry & dragon

Nixon & Bennett were twins by mistake and SO cute together!

#7. Emmy loves making weird faces (Ongoing...)

Nick calls this 'the ugly face'. I think it's funny

This is her bug-eyed 'caught red-handed' look.

#8. Free Oilers Tickets!!! (Oct)

7 rows from the ice :)

#9. Cute candid shots. Cute kids (Sept-Nov)

#10. Family Date Night (Oct)

#11. Playdate to Telus World Science Center (Nov)

Nixon loved sliding down this giant tongue.

Andie & Emerson

#12. Trip to Cardston (Nov)

Max & Nixon were so cute sitting on this Ledge together

Visiting Great Grandma Betty

#13. Learning to share (Nov)

I have mixed emotions for the excersaucer
Pro: It allows Emmy to seem biggerand Nixon loves to 'play' with her.
Con: It makes Emmy a 'sitting duck' for a certain boy
who's going through a biting phase :(

#14. Emerson has outgrown her cradle (Nov)

Next up: A big boy bed for Nixon and a proper crib for Emmy

#15. A fabulous work Christmas party (Dec)

Where we were all given an iPad!!!!!

Cue family bonding. See how happy Nixon is? ;)

Phoenix 2011

2011-12-16T12:17:00.008-07:00

Well, had you given up on me yet? At long last, here is a new update! I obviously have to do a bit of backtracking here, so I am going to post about our fabulous post-summer vacation to Phoenix. In October my parents weren't able to go down to their vacation home, so they kindly offered for Nick & I to go and bring his family along :) We left Thanksgiving day and were able to stay for a full ten days. There was BEAUTIFUL weather every single day (around 90-100F) and we had so much fun! When we got there we checked the weather and decided that we better go to the zoo asap since it was just going to get hotter and hotter. Other than that we did a bunch of shopping, the girls got mani-pedis, the boys went fishing, Nick & I went on a date night with Cam & Sheri, but mostly we just relaxed by the pool. It. was. perfect.

Nixon behaved quite well on the plane but just wanted to climb everywhere!

Emerson pretty much slept the whole time. Good thing she has a fabulous
Grandma to cuddle her the whole way. Thanks Teressa!

At the World Wildlife Zoo

Nick feeding the stingrays

throwing food to the fish

Teressa, Nixon, Neil, Nick & Alysha checking out the kangaroos

After a day long hunt, we finally found the White Tiger (Alysha's favorite)

No biggie. Just feeding a giraffe :)

A little tired, and a lot hot after a long day of walking around

Nixon decided the water just looked too refreshing
and jumped right in with his clothes on!

Boys will be boys... Nick & Cam just HAD to test out
some tubes on the waterslide.

Emmy what's so funny? Could it be...

Yep. Nixon is a streaker!

Neil & Nick teaching Nixon to splash

There's something I just love about this picture. Maybe it's how cute Emmy
is in a hat? Maybe it's how Nixon is cheesing away but it's too bright
out to look at the camera. I think I love it because it's just real.

Emmy loved being in the front carrier while we shopped.

Quite possible it was a little too late when we took these pictures with
Cam & Sheri.... It was our last night there and since we'd been too
busy having fun we didn't take any other pictures with them!

We love you guys. Come visit soon!

Thanks for the awesome vacation, Phoenix! We can't wait to go back!

Emerson's Blessing

2011-09-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

The little lady of the day

Sunday, September 4th was really special for us, as it was the day we blessed Emerson. Nick gave a beautiful blessing and it was wonderful to have so many people there who love and support us. I always get a little teary-eyed with that kind of stuff, but it was even more magnified because that day I was also released from my calling as Laurel Advisor. I have loved serving in the Young Womens program and will miss the girls and the other leaders so much! After church we invited all of our family and friends over for lunch in our backyard. We lucked out with perfect weather and had a fabulous day!

I love this new picture of our little family of four :)

The wonderful men who were part of Emmy's blessing circle L-R: Ben C, Grandpa Ron,
Uncle Ryan, Nick, Albert V, Jeremy T and Melvin E. Thanks for your support

My Mom made this little sweater for my brother when he was a baby so I thought
it was a wonderful way to honor my mom by having Emmy wear it.

Of course we made our token chicken salad croissants!

Thanks for coming everyone!

Grandma Teressa, Nick, Emmy & Grandpa Neil

Grandma Jeannie, Grandpa Ron, Aunt Jill & Max

Summer Top Ten

2011-09-21T08:00:00.005-06:00

Since so much has happened this summer and I am so ridiculously behind on blogging, I am going to do a quick, all inclusive summer recap. In no particular order of our enjoyment, here are the top ten events of our summer. Okay so there are thirteen ;)

#1 Getting a new, updated photo of my family :)
(Thanks to Ashley Bennett Photography)

L-R back: Max & Jill, Levi & Ryan, Carrie & Nixon, Nick, Landon & Shane and Jennica.

L-R front: Dani, Kelsey, Emerson & Grandma Jeannie,
Grandpa Ron & Savannah, Ian and Kaden

#2 Seeing Emerson meet all of the new little babies
that were born in the same week as her.

Emerson & her cousins Blake (Luke & Kara's) and Savannah (Shane & Jennica's)
I tried so hard but could not get it rotated right side up :(

(Kay & Melvin's little girl) Andie & Emerson

#3 Going to Fort Edmonton Park with Nick's family

#4 Schow Family Reunion at Flathead Lake

I am so proud of how great our "Club Betty" reunion T-shirts turned out!

Nick & Kenny double wakeboarding

#5 Seeing my baby girl learn how to smile :)

#6 Swimming at the Ledge

(or more like just chasing after Nixon...)

L-R: Hadley & Leah, Julie & Blakely, Carrie & Nixon, Emmy, Quinn & Erin

L-R: Charlotte, Megan & Bennett, Tylee, Andie & Kay

#7 Spending time at Mama & Papa Hall's farm
(Linds, I still need that picture of us... Imagine it inserted here)

Nick, Nathan and Ben

Wil, Mama Hall & Nixon and Beckett

#8 Going to Waterton Lakes National Park

Dani, Nixon and Levi

#9 Fraser/Famulak family reunion

L-R: Neil, Teressa, Nick & Nixon, Alysha, Carrie & Emerson, Grandpa Ed,
Grandma Mena, Evan, Uncle Bill, Aunty Janet, Robin and Leanne

#10 Having my family come to our house & spend time with us

Max, Grandpa Ron and Nixon

Max, Nixon, Dani and Levi

4 Generation picture: Grandma Jeannie (My Mom), Carrie
and Great Grandma Hull holding Emerson

#11 Enjoying the beautiful weather with good friends at
various splash parks

Blakely and Emerson

(Bennett & Nixon just couldn't resist lovin on their sisters... haha!)

#12 Seeing how much my kids really do look alike!
(if Emmy's chin was tipped a little more towards her chest, you'd see it even more!)

# 13 Camping with the Famulaks at South Buck Lake

So long sweet summer! ' Till next year...

Irrational

2011-09-15T18:35:00.003-06:00

I have NEVER had a hard time falling asleep at night, but the past few days I have become somewhat of an insomniac. To the point that I'm getting out of bed to get something done quick that I'd been worrying about, or write myself a note so I won't forget to do something.

Monday I ran a bunch of errands and felt like I had a pretty productive day. Tuesday I woke up with a list of a few things to do, and only half accomplished ONE of them. It turned into a terribly stressful day for me, and the frustrating thing is that I know it was totally irrational. I am going to be going back to work part-time starting in October. It took about four hours to figure out what I need to do to recertify myself, and start looking into courses and information about the continuing education I need to accomplish. You'd think I would have been happy that I finally got that figured out, but by then I was starting to stress about everything I didn't get done and the fact that I wanted to shower but can't leave my kids unsupervised. I was stressing about all the things I had wanted to accomplish that would now have to be done on Wednesday.

By 3pm on Tuesday I was feeling so anxious that I thought I might have a nervous breakdown. I called Nick on his break and vented to him. He sent his brother over to take Nixon off my hands so I could have some time to shower. I gave up on the idea of cooking dinner and ordered pizza. The day was looking up until I attempted to do one of those continuing education courses and had a ton of problems trying to upload things and had to send a million emails back and forth with the dental company. It still isn't figured out. I went to bed feeling annoyed about my day and all the things I had to get done the next day. Things like cleaning my house and putting away laundry. Easy things. I laid in bed worrying about cleaning. About cleaning for goodness sake!

On Wednesday Nixon slept in a little, so I got up and got most of my cleaning done before a few friends came over to visit. I had a wonderful afternoon hanging out with friends. Wednesday night I finished vacuuming and mopping the floors (which had not been cleaned in FOREVER). I sat down to watch Survivor only to discover that the 3 shows I had PVR'd didn't work for some reason. I practically had a melt down and yelled at Nick (like it was his fault...). I started recording Survivor at a later time that night and did the dishes. When the night was over I looked around at my clean smelling house and was so happy that what I'd been worrying about was done. Pure relief. Why was I even worrying in the first place???

Today I started looking into the course Nick is going to apply for and realized that he is going to have to do some upgrading first, and we missed the fall cutoff. Stress began creeping back into my head... Then while Nixon was napping I read a friend's blog where she talked about all a life changing tragedy and all of the things she is grateful for. It started to put things into perspective for me. Why was I stressing about things that DO NOT matter? Then while I was preparing dinner Nick called to tell me he had to work late and wouldn't be home in time for dinner, or for me to go get a massage that I had booked. The annoyance came back....

WHY ARE MY EMOTIONS ALL OVER THE PLACE??? I feel like a crazy person and I know that I am being irrational. Is this all seriously stemming from having a baby? That was practically 3 months ago. All I want to do is feel normal and happy. Anybody have words of advice?

Little love

2011-08-29T15:00:00.002-06:00

Can we all agree that the above picture is one of the cutest you've ever seen? Nick was holding Nixon reading him a book and since Nixon was sitting so quietly, I thought I'd see what he'd do if I put Emmy on his lap. To say he loved it would be a major understatement! He was so soft and tender holding her, and couldn't stop smiling. He sure loves his little sister! He has definitely taken more of an interest in Emmy lately and it's nice that he is starting to understand how to be gentle. He is always coming up to whoever is holding her and leaning in to kiss her. Then when we ask for a kiss of our own, he just leans over and kisses her again. It's pretty cute. The funny thing is that his "kiss" is open mouthed and he only touches you with his bottom lip (and usually a bit of drool too). haha

kissing her arm ;)

clapping because I praised him for being gentle

she even looks cool while she sleeps

Back at it

2011-08-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

{Happy Canada Day!} Love the reality of this photo: Emmy's fallen headband,
and Nixon looking away - at a dog or something... haha!

Okay, okay! Since it took me over a month and a half to start posting again, I'm trying to be on the ball and catch up a bit. But to be fair - summertime is always a bit crazy and to add a newborn to that aswell you must understand that life has been INSANE! We tend to stick close to home because I have barely enough energy to get through the day, let alone drag two kids anywhere by myself very often!

This kid loves to climb. I guess toys are more fun when you are sitting on them???

Nixon had managed to get into the bathroom unsupervised, so when I found
him completely soaked in toilet water I had to laugh at the plethora of
things floating in the toilet. As I snapped the picture I caught him
in action of putting in just one more item... our toothpaste!

My sweet baby girl does this pretty much all day long.

I was a little bit of a homebody for the first week or so after I got home from the hospital, but then the weather started to get really nice out and I was feeling bad that I wasn't outside enjoying it (or getting a bit of color on my pasty body!). Nick's Mom, Teressa, had a day off so she came over to help out with the kids. It was nice to be able to have some time to actually get myself ready for the day and not feel like such a slob. We decided to pick up some lunch and go to the park to eat it and I think Nixon thoroughly enjoyed his first Happy Meal. Teressa was so great to take Nixon on the playground equiptment and help him climb up things and go down the slide. He didn't really know what to think of it at first, but then he started to giggle and had lots of fun playing after that.

He is getting so tall I can barely stand it!

Playing peek a boo with Mommy & the camera

Nixon's first experience at a splash park was PRICELESS! You'd think that a 13 month old would be timid in the spraying water and around a ton of bigger kids, but oh no... he was the complete opposite! He ran full steam ahead into cold streams of water, into huge puddles and around and inbetweeen everywhere else. Even though he was shivering by the end, he had a blast and I can't wait to take him again.

Can you see the excitement on his face?

When some of Nick's extended family was in town, we decided to do some sightseeing and hit up Fort Edmonton. It's basically a huge piece of land in the river valley where city streets have been re-created to show what businesses & homes were like in Edmonton in the 1800's and early 1900's. There must be a hundred buildings, tons of people who work there and are dressed for that era, horse drawn carriages, a street car, and a train that goes from one end to the other. We walked throughout the streets for 3+ hours, just checking everything out (and eating along the way) and ending up at the actual Fort. We took a few more pictures, then rode the train back. Nixon did so great and didn't even cry once, which is amazing considering he missed his whole nap. Emerson rode along in my new baby carrier (which kind of looks like a purse) and was happy the whole day too.

City street & carriage

One of the restored street cars.

Nick & I (with Emmy hiding away...)

I thought this was a barn or something, till Nick scoped it out and told
me it was really cool jail that I needed to see for myself.

Can you imagine crossing the plains with a wagon like this?

Susan, Teressa, Aunty Donna & Nixon infront of an old school house.

Our ride home. A welcome relief after walking all afternoon!

I love having a newborn

2011-08-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

I love having a newborn in the house again. Love having someone who lets you cuddle them as much as you want, sleeps on your chest, doesn't whine, and smiles in their sleep. We have been really lucky with our kids (knock on wood...) and the fact they they are both pretty even tempered (so far anyways). Emerson has been such a good baby, and we are so happy to have her in our family. For the most part I'd say that Nixon is pretty oblivious to his baby sister and still thinks he 'rules the roost'. Though more often than not, no matter who is holding Emmy ends up with Nixon clamoring to sit on their lap as well. It's pretty funny and makes me feel loved when I have two kids on my lap. Until I begin to feel smothered and then it starts to become a bit annoying. Nixon was a spitter-upper so I never really realized how GOOD a newborn smells. This time around, smelling my baby is like an addiction! Seriously I can't even explain how delicious of a smell it is - all I know is that between smelling & kissing her, I can't stop! She is just so perfect! Mmmmm... On that note, I'm going to leave the stories for later and share a few (or a ton!) of amazing photos that Ashley took for us. I love them. Enjoy!

love these lips.

don't little yawns just melt your heart???

this is the quilt I made for her crib!

She was THIS awake 95% of her 3 different photo shoots.
I'm surprised we got any sleeping pictures at all!

We sure love our baby girl

can't leave Nixon out in the cold...

the adorable toesies of my big baby & my little baby

and a little red ruffle butt to close the show!

And then there were FOUR!

2011-06-26T09:00:00.003-06:00

(Don't mind me...just a little swollen from being on an IV all day!)

I can't believe it, but I am now a mother of two and in a family of FOUR! My C-section was scheduled for Wednesday at 12:30pm, but after a few bumps in the schedule we got taken up to the O.R. around 2:30pm and things got underway around 3:15pm. The anesthesiologist was really cool and talked to Nick & I a lot throughout the surgery. Due to that, or the fact that we had the barrier a LOT higher, Nick wasn't able to see any of the surgery and was able to keep a clear head. No passing out this time around... The whole surgery went very quickly, and our daughter, Emerson Carol Famulak, made her arrival at 3:31pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. and measured 20 inches in length. We named her Emerson because I love that name (and I only recently discovered it a couple months ago) and I think Emmy or Em as nicknames are ADORABLE! Carol comes from Nick's maternal grandma who passed away a few years ago.

It was pretty interesting for me to compare this birth with Nixon's and how a lot of it was very similar. The spinal freezing happened very quickly again, so they countered it with some blood pressure medicine that made my head throb and made me feel like I was going to pass out. It was such a terrible feeling and I felt so wierd. I was glad that the fluctuations from the medicine happened fairly quickly and for most of the surgery I felt good, just numb. The main difference this time around was that when they were delivering Emerson, I did feel a lot of pressure as they pushed on my stomach and pulled her out. Even though we knew she was going to be a girl from the ultrasound, when they confirmed that she was in fact a girl I got a little emotional just thinking about how excited I was to meet her and have her join our family. I couldn't help but to shed a few tears. Nick watched as they cleaned her up a little, and the anesthesiologist wiped away my tears ;) so sweet. Nick brought her over to meet me and we were able to just sit and visit and look at her for a few minutes. Then Nick went with her to get examined and I got to spend some time in recovery.

Since the delivery was so late in the day, we had a pretty low key evening and just Nick's immediate family and Nixon came to visit us. Nixon was pretty curious as to who this wiggly little person was and tried to poke her head and feel her hair. But after that he was pretty oblivious to Emerson and just wanted me to hold him or to explore the room. I can't believe how HUGE Nixon seems now! He is definitely a little boy and no longer my baby that's for sure! Our first night in the hospital was pretty tiring since I was in a semi-private room and my roommates were so LOUD and I'll just say...interesting. On Thursday we had quite a few visitors and were also upgraded to a private room. YAY! It was so much nicer to have our own space, and for Nick to be able to stay the night with me and Emerson. (Nixon stayed with Nick's parents). We were discharged from the hospital just before noon on Friday, and have just been enjoying our time at home.

First family photo of Emerson

I'm not sure why these pictures ended up sideways and upside down...

She's already mastered the perfect pouty lip!

A proud mama with her baby girl!

Emerson with Grandpa Neil & Grandma Teressa

Just enjoying some cuddles with Daddy :)

Gotta love the purple bow!

Going home (SO teeny in her car seat!)

From this or the hospital pictures you might think Emerson is a little chubby, but in fact she is quite scrawny. Here are a few pictures to prove it:

check out that looong foot with looong toes

love her bony little arms with long piano fingers!

a picture with her eyes open... (sorry it's blurry)

Me & my kiddos. Doesn't Nixon look so grown up!?!

Nixon's new fashion wear.... my nursing cover.... haha!

This has been SUCH an exciting week of babies for us. My cousin Kara had her little boy on Monday, we had Emerson on Wednesday, my sister in law Jennica had her daughter on Friday and my friend Kay had her little girl on Saturday. So congratulations everyone - I am SO excited to meet all the babies :)

Spring Baby!

2011-05-30T14:15:00.001-06:00

The baby is almost here, and so is spring FINALLY! I can't believe how long winter stuck around this year, I was going crazy! Then it was dreary and rainy for what seemed like months..... Finally now that it is May, we have been having some nice sunny days and I took the opportunity to plant a few little flowers in the dirt/weed patch in front of our house. If I would have realized how long the initial weeding was going to take before I bought my flowers, I probably would have canned the whole idea! But gladly I didn't, and I am really happy with the results now that it is done. You should have seen me though - a nice round 7 1/2 months pregnant lady hunched over weeding and planting and sweating like a pig. Sooo hot (me. not the weather. obviously). I planted the flowers the day before I left for a week long visit to Cardston, and I was SO excited that by the time I got home they were already flowering. Yay! I also hung a few baskets by our front entrance and I love the color that they bring in contrast to our dreary/dirty cream colored house. (We are hoping to paint it in the near future....)

I love petunias! (the little white petals
had blown in from the flowering trees nearby)

Don't mind the bare spot without flowers... I had just turned the baskets around
so that this side could get more sun and bloom as fully as the other side.

A close up of one of the back sides so you can see how full
and round the hanging baskets are getting :)

The crab apple tree in our backyard is the bane of my existence 90% of the year,
but for a few weeks in the spring I love how beautiful it looks when
it's flowers are in full bloom and there are no apples in sight.

Like I said, my other spring news is that our baby girl is ALMOST here! For the most part I like to say that I feel pretty good, but I think I'm actually just lying to myself in order to make it through each day. When did I turn into such a wimp? Here's the truth: My acid reflux/heartburn is WAY worse this time around so anytime I bend over to pick something up I feel like I'm going to barf. And if you saw the kinds of messes Nixon makes everyday with his toys you would understand how often in a day I feel that way. I can't seem to get a decent night's sleep. Ever. I wake up to pee once or twice and then multiple more times just to move around and try to find a comfortable position. So needless to say I am always tired/borderline exhausted. I also wake up often with killer leg cramps that make me feel like I'm going to die. It's so frustrating! My ankles are constantly swollen now and I hate feeling like I have sausage feet. Luckily for me I am getting a delightful pedicure this week - and I can't wait to have my feet rubbed :) Nixon is making things a little easier on me though since he is finally settling into a new routine that includes sleeping well at night and taking one good 2-3 hour nap each afternoon. I love him. He is also learning to walk!(pictures in the near future hopefully...) And Nick (who HATES to do any kind of back/foot massaging) has been kind enough to rub my sore muscles and swollen feet quite often lately. In fact he currently owes me a previously promised foot & back massage. I think I just might have to cash in on that promise tonight! Anyways, back to the pregnancy. I can't believe how much more this baby moves around! I love the constant assurance that she is there and everything is okay, but sometimes I feel like my stomach is going to explode! My Doctor booked my C-section for June 22nd so as of today I am almost 35 weeks along and only have 23 days left! I have a list a mile long of things I want to get done before then, so wish me luck.

I haven't been one for taking very many prego pictures this time around (#1-the novelty has worn off, #2-I am unfortunately much bigger this time around, #3-I hate having to nag Nick to take a picture that ultimately ends up looking really bad anyways). But I figured I would regret not having any, so when I was down in Cardston visiting my family, I had my cousin Ashley quickly snap a few in her basement studio. Considering they were taken at about 9:30pm after a very long and tiring day, I am quite pleased with how they turned out. Thanks again, Ash! Here is one more picture (at 33 weeks) for your viewing pleasure:

Look who's ONE!

2011-05-18T07:30:00.001-06:00

I wasn't planning on doing anything too big or extravagant for Nixon's 1st birthday, but somehow we ended up having two parties (with another to come in Cardston) with about 30 guests between the two shindigs! May 11th was his actual birthday so we decided to celebrate all day long. Grandma Teressa came over to play with Nixon in the morning and help me get the last few things ready for the day. A few of my girlfriends came over with their kids for a lunchtime party and we had lots of fun just chatting and watching the kids play. Nixon had his first skor cake and dug right into it. After the first taste he didn't seem too interested (maybe he's like Nick and doesn't like chocolate???) but he still loved making a mess of it and smearing it all over the tray and himself.

Party guests: L-R: Bennett, Megan, Kay, Erin D., Nixon & I, Parley, Christa, Erin C. and Zach.

Quinn was sleeping during the group photo so I had to get an

individual one before she left. What a sweetheart!

Olivia & Cairo also came over to party and we LOVED seeing them again!

Playing with the boys and the new balls from Megan :)

Showing off his crawling skills - what a big boy!

With a couple hours of break in between parties, we were able to clean up, finish the 2nd cake and relax a bit (Nixon even crashed and had a good 2 hour nap) before our next slew of guests arrived. (Thanks again to Erin & Ben C. who helped majorly with the cleaning - it honestly made my day. I truly appreciate you.) We had a dinner with all of Nick's family that lives close by and Nixon was again showered with love, presents, cake and fun. Thanks everyone for coming out and making it such a fabulous day!

Nick & Nixon with all his presents :)

Nixon loved playing with all of his new toys.

Seriously though - can't you tell? He is grinning so big!

Round 2 of birthday cake: for the family party we had a bit of a farm animal

theme going on, and I had so much fun making a creative cake.

As you can tell from these cupcake pictures,

Nixon apparently loves Cherry Chip cake the best!

With hands full of cake and icing, I guess he felt it was necessary

to just go right ahead and eat off the tray with just his mouth! ha ha

After a much needed bath, a sugar high and jumping on the bed with Jaylin,

Nixon soon crashed and went to bed without a peep. It was a fun but busy day

for this little boy and we were more than happy to have NO plans the next day.

Hello again!

2011-05-10T09:25:00.004-06:00

I have really turned into quite the lacklustre blogger lately only averaging one post per month for the last 2 or 3 months. Oops. The next couple weeks are jam packed with fun stuff to keep me busy, so I figured I better play catch up and update you on the goings on of our life lately. At the end of January I decided I needed to beautify myself. Since I feel like I am in a never ending pregnancy and my body is going by the wayside I wanted to change what I could. So, I started lightening up my hair and getting my nails done! Yay :) It really does make such a big difference in how I feel each day. You will see my hair get lighter and lighter throughout the span of these pictures, and the ones to come. I figure what better time than summer to go back to being BLONDE! I may even decide to bite the bullet and chop it off again after a couple years of growing it out. We shall see...

We went down to Cardston at the start of February for a visit, and to spend my birthday with the fam. I hadn't been down there on my actual birthday in 7 years! Pretty crazy, huh. It was so nice to just relax and spend quality time with all the Schows.

Happy 27th Birthday to me.

Poor Nixon chose that weekend to get a double ear & chest infection and
had his first two teeth break through the gums. He was miserable :(

My parents came up to our house during the Family Day break and we loved having them around. It was fun to celebrate my Mom's birthday with her, and get to just hang out and go shopping. Dad & Nick kept very busy as they framed and insulated all the exterior walls in our basement. We are excited to be making some progress down there and hope to have another usable living room in the near future :) (Sorry no pics of that).

Nicholas turned 29 this year and we had lots of fun celebrating his birthday over the span of 4 or 5 days. We had an extended family dinner, a friends party, ate out with his immediate family, and on his actual birthday Nick got to go to an Oilers hockey game with his friend Mike. As I mentioned in my last post, I decided to attempt some sewing skills and make Nick a quilt for his birthday gift. I think it turned out really good, and boy was he ever surprised! The only problem now, is that he thinks I am a master seamstress and can sew anything. I think not!

In case you failed to notice, Nixon also got his top two front teeth in
and puts them to good use with some ridiculously cheesy grins!

Nick and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on April 7th. Grandma Teressa was kind enough to babysit for us (as she does WAY too often :) ) and Nick and I had a great day and evening. We did some shopping at South Common, ate an early dinner at my favorite restaurant, Joeys, and went to a movie. A perfect date in my eyes.

27 weeks pregnant

Our little man has been growing and changing so fast I can hardly believe it! On April 1st he decided that he'd had enough of dragging himself around army crawl/mer-man style and taught himself how to crawl properly. He LOVES getting into anything and everything and making all sorts of messes. He prefers to chew paper and plastic bags, so we have to watch him like a hawk! Now that he has 5 teeth he has turned into quite the biter, and he bites HARD. Toes and knees are his favorite targets, though once he did come up behind me when I was sitting on a stool and bit my butt! Seriously it hurt so bad! We haven't cut Nixon's hair in a few months and so we discovered that he has some seriously cute little blonde curls. Fresh out of the bath is the best and we love it. Nixon also decided that he is SOOO over taking two naps a day, and we are currently trying to figure out a new schedule for him. At 11 months, he continues to sleep great at night (zonking out at around 7:30pm) but on average he likes to wake up around 6:30 or 7am and then only take one 1 1/2 hour nap throughout the whole day! Boy do I miss his 2 hour naps twice daily.....

Sometimes when crawling he'd just stop and take a break to lay there
and smile at us. What a poser! ha ha

I never thought I'd see him fall asleep in the highchair but I guess
all it took was a reduction in length and frequency of naps...

Who needs toys when you can swim through a pile of dvds???

Just getting around... (zoom in to fully appreciate the bedhead)

For Easter, we didn't want to do too much or buy Nixon a bunch of treats since he can't really eat most of them (or shouldn't...) but I still wanted to get him something he could be excited about. So we let him pose with his basket (full of treats that Nick & I ate - ha ha) and we bought him this awesome brown bunny that sings and dances. To say that he LOVES it would be an understatement. I have never seen him get so excited over a toy, and whenever we turn it on he smiles so big and waves his arms around. So cute.

Happy Easter Nixon, we love you!

Don't mind my pastiness..

Just tasting the chocolate bunny that Great Auntie Elaine gave him.
I guess he likes it?

And last but certainly not least, I had a FABULOUS Mother's Day. Nick got up with Nixon when he woke up at 6:30am, then later he surprised me with breakfast in bed. We had a relaxing morning and then after church Nick took Nixon to visit his parents so I could have a nap. We went back over there for dinner, where Nick and his Dad barbequed dinner and even cleaned up. Nick's Mom gave me a beautiful bouquet of tulips (my favorite!) and Nick even changed every single poopy diaper. Thanks hun, for making it the best day ever! I love you.

The mothers on mother's day:
Grandma Mena, me and Nick's mom, Teressa

My two favorite boys ~ I love you.

Getting crafty

2011-04-07T07:00:00.002-06:00

Well, here are a few of my random projects of being crafty and creative! Over a year ago I posted a picture of our unfinished fireplace. Though it was finished a long time ago, I haven't ever put up a picture of the finished product after Nick painted it and we added a mantle. So here you go :)

before & after (though the picture sitting on the mantle still needs to be hung...)

For our Relief Society activity in November we made these cute yarn wreaths with felt flowers. I was going to do mine in Christmas colors, but then a friend suggested doing it in colors that would match my house and then I could leave it up year round. It was a perfect idea since we'd just gotten family pictures wearing royal blue and my whole living room is decorated in light teal & brown and I wanted something to tie the two together. Enter teal & royal blue wreath. I love how it turned out and it now happily hangs on my wall.

The flower was fun to make petal by petal, but
it took HOURS to wrap the yarn around the wreath. ugh.

It was Nick's birthday last week and I was having such a hard time trying to figure out what to do or buy him to make it a special day. Since I got a new sewing machine for Christmas and had yet to bust it out of the box, I suddenly thought it would be a great idea to make Nick a birthday quilt. Quite the project for someone who hasn't sewn since Jr.High and had no idea what she was doing.... And did I mention that I decided all of this about a week and a half before Nick's actual birthday??? Nothing like a deadline to force you to figure out what to do and get it done! After many, many phone calls to my Mom and a few little mishaps along the way, the quilt turned out quite successfully. Now that it is finished, I am quite proud of my handiwork - though I am glad to now not have huge chunks of time each day devoted to sewing!

The finished product

And last but not least... When I had a few friends over to help me tie Nick's quilt, we decided to also try our hand at crafting some flowers for baby headbands. Though I can't take credit for all of the designs below, I do know how to make them. I did make the white flower and actually had quite a bit of fun cutting, fraying, burning and gluing the pieces together. I love how frilly and dainty looking it turned out. Should be perfect on a white headband for my baby's blessing day.

Close up of my flower

Day nine: A place you've travelled to

2011-03-23T23:15:00.001-06:00

So I started the 15 day challenge last month and only got half way through it. Instead of doing the remaining posts "just to finish" I decided I will just do a couple of the ones I really wanted to do anyways. I've decided to broaden my "place I've travelled" to include all the places I served in while on my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I've been wanting to post about it for awhile now anyways and I figure, what better time to post than today. 6 years ago to the day, I entered the MTC in Provo, Utah and started my journey to the other side of the world! I had quite the adventure travelling to the furthest mission away from church headquarters: Antananarivo, Madagascar and had some of the most memorable experiences of my life while I was there and then in the Johannesburg South Africa Mission. Since this is a VERY long post (with LOTS of pictures) I am going to break it down into categories. You better hunker down with some popcorn to get through this!

#1 The Missionary Training Center (MTC)
Provo, Utah USA: March-May 2005

Being called to a foreign speaking mission (language: Malagasy) I had the pleasure of being in the MTC for 2 months. It honestly was a pleasure. Though I was excited to leave when it came time. The MTC is definitely an inspired place with a very special spirit. My testimony grew so much while I was there and I realized how important it is to live righteously and try to serve God with a humble heart. My experience taught me how little I actually knew, and how much I was going to have to rely on the Lord's help. Especially with learning a ridiculously different language with it's own sounds, sentence structuring and about everything in between. Being there for such a long time I was able to make some amazing friends and am so grateful for their influence and support. My companion was Sister Ison, though it mostly felt like I was in a foursome as we spent 24 hours a day with Sister Hazlett & Sister Ririe who were also going to "Mada". I still keep in touch with all of them - a mission really has a way of binding you to people in a way you could never expect. They know exactly what you are going through in a way that you can't explain or relate to with family and friends back home.

Just working on my Matrix moves

Our Madagascar district at the MTC

#2 Antananarivo, Madagascar: May 2005 - February 2006

Honestly, I don't know what to say to give justice to this beautiful part of the world. Saying it was a bit of culture shock would be a gross understatement. Most parts of my mission were considered "3rd world" and had so much poverty. The people were so loving, open, humble and friendly. So curious about us "vazahas" (white people) and so interested to hear what we had to say. I had a great trainer, Sister Winter, and awesome companions following her. Sister Zeller, Sister Hazlett, Sister Jorgensen (who I trained) and Sister Kunz. We tracted, taught English class, learned and taught how to cook, and most importantly taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. Somewhere between companion two and three I learned how to speak the language. I love the beauty of Madagascar. The Southern Hemisphere with it's beautifully different stars, the AMAZING flowers everywhere, and the wonderful people. I have a special place in my heart for the dirty little kids who would follow us everywhere, and would be happy to rummage through our garbage for "treasures". I love the valiant members of the wards I served in, and the investigators who took the time to listen and gain a testimony of their own. Sometimes I wish that that part of the world wasn't so far from mine, that I could write and it would make it to their remote home, or call and actually get ahold of people. But I guess our reunion in the next life will be that much sweeter. I honestly consider myself a changed person because of my mission and for the things I learned, the people I came to love and the fact that the gospel became a part of my life and not just something I did every Sunday. I will be forever thankful to my immature, naive, 20 year old self for making the decision I did to leave for 18 months and serve a mission.

My first day in Madagascar

Me and Sister Winter on a pday visit to a small rural village

A little local transportation

Me and Sister Zeller with our first 2 baptisms, Vivian & Nandroasana

Beautiful sunsets were a regular thing in Mada

As were delicious fresh fruit!

For those of you who know me well, know that I am seriously Arachnophobic.
I HATE spiders. This picture does not do this web justice. You can't really tell,
but there must have been a hundred spiders on this particular web.
We'd see webs and spiders like this on a regular basis. Ugh!

A little spider size comparison: basically the equivalent of
the length of the mechanical pencil in my notebook.

A lemur!

This member family was my absolute favorite (they had over 10 kids)
Rosalee (6) is in the blue and always brought a smile to my face with her crazy antics

This is the biggest a taxi ever was, and the drivers were known to coast on fumes,
syphon gas, and have missing floor boards. Suuuper safe.....

Sister Hazlett & I with our convert, Landre, and his aunt Honoriette and uncle Lala.
I guess I can kind of see why everyone asked Hazlett & I if we were twins....

All of the Sisters in the mission (or "Soeurs" as it read on our tags)

Sister Jorgensen & I at one of our few DELICIOUS dinner appts.
Lets be honest here: People were poor, so we didn't get fed a lot, and if we did
you never knew what you'd be getting and lets just say more than once I ate fish bones...

Sister Kunz, Hazlett, Jorgensen & I with some members at a baptism

Rain gear was a must in a place that flash flooded up past your knees on main roads.

#3 Johannesburg, South Africa: February - March 2006

About a year into my mission, there were increasing risks of safety for the sister missionaries in the Madagascar mission so we had a meeting with our mission President to decide what to do. Long story short, we were split up. Some were close to the end of their missions and went home, most of us received new mission calls from the General Authority over the Area, and two sisters chose to stay. I was the only one called to the Johannesburg Mission. It was scary and exciting to be going to a new mission all alone, and to learn to teach the gospel in English. You'd think it would have been easy, but it's like a switch had been turned off in my head. More than once I found myself apologizing while teaching a lesson, because I had reverted back to saying something in Malagasy. It was so weird to be teaching in one of the richest, white areas - being back in a "1st world" country in general was definitely different, but I was SO excited to eat some North American food again! I was in Joburg for just a half a transfer with Sister Thurman and Sister Hardin before being transferred to one of the most coveted zones in the mission, Botswana.

My new mission President and his wife, the Bowdens.

One of the things I was most excited about going to "mainland Africa" for
was to see the abundance of wild life. I was not disappointed in the least.

Knocking on a pretty cool door.

Sister Hardin, me & Sister Thurman on the Johannesburg Temple grounds.
It was so wonderful to be able to do a temple session there after having not been
the whole time I was in Madagascar (this is the closest temple, and is an ocean away)

#4 Gaborone, Botswana: March - August 2006

Bots was a perfect mix of Madagascar and Johannesburg for me. Still in a developed country, with minimal poverty (atleast in the city where I served), access to regular tasting food, an area with a CAR! (though we did get mugged while walking before we got said car). And being able to still serve among the locals who were African, and were humble and willing to accept the gospel. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I was meant to be in that country, at that time. I met some wonderful people, and saw them accept the gospel into their lives. My most favorite convert of all, Mariam, was there and I am so glad I was able to be a part of her life. She changed mine for the better. I met even more amazing missionaries and made SO MANY fabulous friends. I served with my only two non-American companions, Sister Durand & Sister Rasoanaivo (who ironically is from Madagascar) in the last 6 months of my mission. My days were the fullest in this small area in Bots, and I loved being there. Just like Mada and Joburg, it was HOT and humid. I loved the ward I served in, the many meals the members fed us and loved the beautiful African scenery.

Welcome to the real Africa

I ate this "delicacy". A mopani worm. Mmmm crunchy. (bleh!)

At Mariam's baptism. There were at least 8 others baptized that day.

Checking out the making of cowhide drums.

No biggie. It's not like I'm petting an untrained cheetah or anything...

Getting up close and personal with Dumbo.
Did I mention I had just RIDDEN on his back!!??!!

PDay game of soccer with the zone.

After hiking to the top of Kgale hill.

Sister Rasoanaivo & I with a member, Chedza. Modelling our locally made skirts

I was lucky to be in missions that did not require sisters to wear nylons with shoes.
Because of the sun, dirt roads, and walking everywhere, my feet often looked like this:

With Mariam and her son, Kevin.

After putting on a musical fireside with the Zone

One last visit to the Johannesburg temple before flying home.

Saying goodbye to some of my best buddies, Elder Nielsen & Elder Nettleship

#5 Home to Cardston, Alberta Canada: September 2006

Oh baby!

2011-03-08T08:00:00.001-07:00

I've been wanting to do an update on this pregnancy for a couple of weeks now, but I've just been waiting for this baby to cooperate and let us know what he/she is! I had my first ultrasound on February 22nd and was SO excited to find out the sex of the baby. I even had a celebratory lunch planned afterwards and everything. Unfortunately the tech was unable to get a "determining view" and left us feeling a little deflated... Cue ultrasound #2. This past Saturday, the 5th, we paid for another ultrasound to be done - this time in 3-D. We figured that if we had to pay for the 2nd time around, we might as well have a different experience. It was so fun to watch the baby move, and see just how active a teeny tiny baby can be while I am feeling mere flutterings inside my belly. Seriously, the baby was all over the place doing flips, rolling around, doing total 360s in a matter of minutes. Pretty funny. The big news of the day was that we did in fact receive a conclusive answer to the sex of the baby...so without further ado... I'm here to let you know that my suspicions were confirmed, that I'm getting my wish, and we are having a GIRL! My head is swimming with visions of headbands and flowers, ruffles and bows... I even bought a cute little purple dress today! She better be a natural 'girly girl' or she's in for a rude awakening ;) ha ha

It's a little fuzzy, but I loved this sweet little picture of my baby girl's face.
I think she's going to be beautiful.

22 weeks

My due date has been moved up to July 5th, and my C-section will be booked around the end of June. This pregnancy has actually started to really fly by for me and I can't believe that I'm 23 weeks. I figured it was time for a belly shot (considering I look 7 months pregnant already!) though I've come to remember how much Nick and I hate them. I hate feeling like I look like a blimp with 3 chins, and Nick HATES retaking my picture a bazillion times in order to get one I will keep. Needless to say, I will probably only be taking one or two more in the remainder of my pregnancy, and I am A-Okay with that. I think we are going to have a much harder time finding a name for this little girl considering we do not have any sort of a front runner like we did with the name, Nixon. Hmmmm any suggestions?

22 weeks

Nixon

2011-03-05T16:00:00.003-07:00

There haven't been a whole lot of exciting things going on around here and I guess that's why I haven't done a regular update in awhile. As I was going through my camera and uploading pictures I realized that I did in fact have quite a few things to say about one handsome little guy in particular. Nixon will be 10 months old next week, and I can't believe how fast time is flying by. He is growing and changing every single day - and I thought I better record some of my thoughts before I forget them. I wrote them as a letter to Nixon and plan on including it in his book.

(Just 'bustin a move' on Brielle - she doesn't look too impressed...)

Nixon,
I just wanted to share with you a few of the things I've noticed as you grow and develop and become less of a baby, and more of a little boy. You are quite the character and we love having you around and watching you discover the world around you.

I was worried that since our house only has laminate flooring, it would be too slippery and you would have a hard time learning to crawl. Not the case. At around 7 months old you started to do a little scooch and drag. You lay on your stomach and using just your forearms you drag yourself around. Sometimes you kick your legs excitedly and look like you are swimming, and other times your legs just look like dead weight. Who knows... maybe you'll learn to get your knees up under you and crawl 'properly', or maybe you'll just go straight to walking.

You love to scratch your little fingers/nails against any surface very lightly, just to hear the sound it makes. Every time I pick you up, you scratch my shoulder and to me it feels like a little sign of affection - like you are patting my back or something. I LOVE it.

Because you were so tall, and weighed enough we were able to switch your car seat to front facing at only 8 months. I love being able to turn around and see your smiling face and your little legs happily kicking as they hang over your new, bigger car seat.

At 9 months you got really sick for the first time. It started with a fever and teething, and ended up with you having a double ear infection and a chest infection. For a few days you were so sad and cuddly, and only wanted to be held. Even though we loved having you sleeping in our arms again, we were so glad when the antibiotics kicked in and you were back to your happy, busy, mischievous self again.

When Grandma Jeannie & Grandpa Ron were here visiting, you taught yourself how to pull yourself to standing for the first time, so we were very surprised when we went in to get you from a nap and you were practically hanging over the edge of your crib! Time to move the mattress down...

You get in to everything. Now that you can pull yourself up, you love to pull anything and everything onto the floor. The DVD shelves are your favorite and at least twice a day I am picking them up and putting them away so I can walk from our kitchen to the living room without stepping all over them. You can also reach the bottom two shelves of the bookshelf and have learned to pull quickly - to cause as much mess as you can before we notice and pull you away.

When we catch you getting in to something we tell you to stop and you turn your head towards us, smile and laugh, and then go back to what you were doing. Little stinker!

You have definitely discovered how to use your voice and love to just laugh, yell, grunt and make all sorts of noises. It's funny to look over at you and see your face, with your nose all scrunched up, your mouth wide open, and your two little bottom front teeth poking out.

(This picture of Bennett makes me laugh so hard, because
it's SUCH a facial expression Kay would do! haha)

You love being the center of attention, and have started to resent the fact that you are on the floor when us grownups are walking around, or sitting way up at the table. You are now constantly 'under foot' when I'm in the kitchen, literally pulling on my pant legs and climbing all over my feet. You love to sit at the table with us and grab at whatever we're doing, or mooch food from us.

You are adorable, and we love you so much. Everyone is always telling us how handsome you are - that they love your beautiful blue eyes, your shiny blonde hair and your rosy red cheeks. We are so grateful to have you in our lives and love the happy spirit that you bring into our home.

We love you, love Mama & Daddy

Day eight: My favorite tv shows

2011-02-22T22:00:00.002-07:00

Who of you love these shows?

1. Grey's Anatomy (all time favorite)

2. Modern Family (SOO funny)

3. America's Next Top Model (love all the cool photoshoots)

4. The Amazing Race (I so wish I could be on this show. so much ADVENTURE!)

5. The Bachelor (classic reality tv. what more can I say?)

6. Say Yes to the Dress (I just love all things weddings)

7. Raising Hope (best new comedy ever. seriously, check.it.out)

8. CSI / Law and Order SVU (love me some mystery tv)

9. Desperate Housewives (recently discoved this one and watched all 5 seasons on dvd. love it)

10. Private Practice (more love for the dr. drama)

Day seven: Pictures of things that make me happy

2011-02-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

These pictures are pretty random, since I just went through my computer and picked out pictures that made me smile. Clearly I love my husband and all things regarding summer. There were so many other pictures I could have picked, and so many more things/people that I love, but I didn't want this to be even longer than it already was. So here are a few of the things that make me happy:

Knowing that I am married to this handsome man FOR-EVER

Being married to my best friend

Having a husband who is such a goof.

The beach: and a husband who wears women's rash guards (mine)

Fresh flowers. Tulips and gerber daisies are my favorite.

Sunburns ~ because it means the sun is out and summer is here!

Spending time at the lake

Seeing this little stick and knowing that the wait was finally over.

Having such a cool kid (with wicked cute pjs)

Going to the movies and getting popcorn & a coke

My family

Nick's family

Flower beds that flourish!

Life long friends

Cute baby shoes!

This bouyant wet suit. HIL-AR-IOUS!

Day six: A song that makes me cry

2011-02-14T07:00:00.004-07:00

There are so many songs (or commercials... or tv shows... or movies...) that make me tear up, ESPECIALLY while I'm pregnant, so I will just stick to these two sentimental country songs. I figure that since today is Valentine's Day and these songs make me think about the love of my husband, and the love of a parent, it would be a perfect post. I put these as the first two songs on my playlist, so make sure to listen to the lyrics. Enjoy!

All American Girl by Carrie Underwood

When I was pregnant for the first time, Nick and I were listening to this song and I got all choked up thinking about how much it fit with our life. About how much the song seemed to be describing my husband, and the way I hoped he'd feel about our children. About the expectations we had for our little family, and the hopes and dreams of what our children would be like. Though Nick did get his wish and we had a boy first, I know that when we do have a girl, she will be very special in her Daddy's eyes and will have him wrapped around her finger in no time.

I Loved Her First by Heartland

When Nick and I first got engaged, I was talking to my Dad on the phone and he said that he'd heard a song on the radio that had made him think of me. This was the song. I cried the first time I listened to it (and probably most of the times following) because it so perfectly fit. I think I'm just starting to understand the kind of love that a parent has for their child and how no matter how much they grow and change, they will always hold a special place in your heart, as one of your babies.

Day five: My favorite eats

2011-02-12T22:00:00.003-07:00

So as I was going through some of the topics for my 15 day blogging challenge, I was getting a little uninspired. I decided to scrap a few of them and come up with my own. To a pregnant woman, what could be most inspiring? Food, of course! Here are a few of my favs so you can drool along with me.

YUM!

~Joey Tomatoes chicken lettuce wraps with extra peanuts. A Raspberry burst to drink

~Sprite slurpees
~REAL Popcorn. Movie Theatre popcorn is equally amazing. Microwave popcorn is for the lazy. And though I am often lazy, I can always muster the energy to make real popcorn. It's just SO much better! Mmmm...must go to a movie asap!
~Cafe Rio pulled pork salad. Too bad we don't have any in Canada :(
~Sweet Potato fries. It's all about the mayo dips.
~Salads with lots of veggies and avocado. Mama Hall is great at these!
~Waffles with whipped cream and strawberries
~Super cold ICE water.
~Olive Garden breadsticks and House Salad with jalapenos...mmmm... It is infact served unlimited EVERYDAY for lunch ;)

And now that it's 10pm on a Saturday night, and I am hungry for ALL of these things, cursing the fact that tomorrow is Sunday ~ I am going to stop. Maybe I can get Nick to take me somewhere on Monday for Valentine's Day so that I can taste at least one of these delicious items! Here's hoping...

Day four: Something I'm looking forward to

2011-02-10T07:00:00.004-07:00

One thing that I am really looking forward to is another one of our Schow Family Reunions this summer. I love going to the lake but even more than that, I LOVE spending time with all of my cousins. Crafting, playing cards, eating tons of good food, playing at the lake and staying up late talking. It is going to be such a blast and I CAN'T WAIT!!! Besides - by then, it will be sunny and WARM :)

Haha Steve looks so creepy. He does have a swimsuit on, he was just trying to be funny!

I am also definitely looking forward to the arrival of our next baby at the end of June. I am excited for the new challenges and change he/she will bring into our family. But... by the end of this pregnancy, I will have been pregnant for 18 out of the last 23 months so I am VERY MUCH looking forward to NOT being pregnant. It will be nice to spend a little time on me (when I can find the time...) and trying to get my body back. Not just to look better and lose the baby weight, but to be fit and strong. To feel healthy and have more energy.

Here's a little reminder of what I used to look like: this was from the morning I got married!

Hmmm... I think I'm going to have my work cut out for me!

Day three: My siblings & parents

2011-02-08T13:17:00.002-07:00

I am lucky to be a part of such a great family. I'm not a very clever or eloquent writer, but I am going to try and give you a bit of insight into the lives of the amazing people I love most.

Warning: this post is LONG

My Dad: Ron, Ronald, Ronnie, Papa Bear, Ron Schow Electric, I call him pretty much whatever I'm feeling at the moment and he never blinks an eye. Though 'Daaaaaad' used in a whiny voice is probably what I used the most ;) (to get what I wanted when I was younger). My dad is such a great example of sacrifice, dedication and HARD WORK. I don't think I've ever met someone with a greater work ethic and desire to provide for his family. He sets the bar high. He has the greatest sense of humor, and a big, boisterous, obnoxious laugh that I love. He is THE biggest tease and is always giving someone a hard time about something. He has always treated me like a little princess, and called me 'Baby cakes' (I get a little jealous if he tries to use that name on any of the grand kids). I know that he has a special place in his heart for me 'cause I'm the youngest, the baby of the family, and I am grateful to have such a good relationship with him. When I was in high school and he became the Bishop of our ward I began to see him in a new light. He was no longer just the rough and tough electrician with the raggedy edges, but a knowledgeable, smart man. He is a spiritual giant in my eyes and I am so thankful for his example, his love and just for him being him.

My mom: Jeannie, Jean, Jean Marie, but mostly just Mom. She is one of the nicest, most genuine and loving people I know. I don't think she could ever hurt a fly (though she can give a pretty good 'stink eye' when Ron gets out of line - ;). She analyzes over everything, worries and stresses more than she needs to, but I know she always has everyone's best interest at heart. She is the epitome of what a mother should be. I love that she really cares about what my opinion is and always takes me seriously. I have felt for a long time now, that we are more like really great friends, not just mother & child, and I love that. We probably talk on the phone 5 times a week. She is generous and charitable and always willing to give of her time to help us out. Whether it be working, baking, cooking, cleaning or vacationing she never does anything half way, it's just not in her to give less than 100%. She is a beautiful singer and I wish I could play the piano like she does! She has a quiet confidence that I love and I respect her so much. I hope that I can be even half of the parent that she is.

My older brother: Shane I didn't have very many nicknames for since I was just his kid sister, 6 years younger, and most of my memories involve him playing tricks on us. Shane always has something up his sleeve; a plan to jump out and scare someone, a stunt to perform or a joke to play. He is hilariously creative and SO funny. He is adventurous (he's been skydiving!), mischievous, and just plain old fun! As I've gotten older I've gotten to know him more as a person, and not just as an older brother and I love being around him. I know I'll always have a good time, and he just has a way to make you laugh and feel comfortable in your own skin. He is driven and a great provider for his own family of 6 (almost 7). Shane married Jennica 11 years ago, and I am so glad. Right from the start I felt like she fit into our family and she reminds me a lot of my Mom. She is so sweet, nice and just a fun person to be around. She's got to be the most patient person ever 'cause she's raising 4 energetic but amazingly well behaved kids and I've NEVER seen her get mad! Best 'super-mom' I've ever met.

My older sister: Jill, Jilly bean, Jilly poo or my all-time favorite, Trunchbull! Bahaha!!! Growing up Jill and I would fight hard and love hard. Never anything in between. Being 4 years apart we were never really in the same life stages together so we sometimes (........) had a hard time getting along. It didn't help that we are both pretty stubborn and I liked to always get my way. She calls it spoiled, I call it smart. Ha ha! However we still had a LOT of fun memories growing up together. We played all sorts of make-believe games, made home videos (Shane too), did dance, gymnastics and loved our summers at the lake. Now that we are FINALLY in the same stage of being married with kids, our relationship has gotten even closer. We can relate to the things each other are going through, and I love talking to her on the phone and doing fun things together. Maybe it's the Schow genes in us all, but Jill is also SO adventurous and fun. She is a talented photographer and a great mom. She has that kind of natural beauty that makes others green with envy. She is such a great example to me and I wish I had half of her dedication to be fit and healthy. We are hoping to run some sort of marathon together next summer. Jill married Ryan (or Ry-guy) 7 years ago and he is such a great brother in law. When I first met him I realized that he is hilarious, and I love when he just lets loose and shows us all his goofy side (see pic below). He is a Mr. adventure man too and loves to hike. He is so fun to be around, and I think that him and Nick are kindred spirits in the fact that NO BODY could have a love for nachos like they do!

I love you guys!

Day two: Things that I stress about

2011-02-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Nick getting a new job and staying out of debt. Why does money have to be such a headache? I feel like sometimes we are just getting by, and other times we are doing awesome. I think it will be really nice to just be an established, successful family say 10 years down the road. Atleast that's what I'm hoping happens.

Keeping the house clean. You'd think that with one little 8 month old it couldn't get very dirty, but it does! I feel like I'm already running in circles picking up things all day long. And that's not even beginning to think about dinner... How am I ever going to have a few kids? Find joy in the journey. How to I make myself simply follow that?

Having a healthy baby.

That I will never lose the baby weight. I seriously wish I could be one of those people who looked amazing one month after having had a baby. Unfortunately I know it'll be more like 6-12 months of agonizing diet and exercise for me. blah

Finishing home improvement projects. I seriously hate having a massive to-do list of things that take forever and cost a lot of money. Putting in some carpet, finishing the basement, re-doing the yard, etc. I can't wait to just have it all done!

Raising children who are strong in the gospel and WANT to serve missions and get married in the temple. This one is obviously the one that is most important to me, and the one that I feel the most incapable of controlling. I guess I just need to take comfort in the words of our church leaders when they say things like, "Do the small things each and every day. Stay close to the Savior, and be a good example to your children." I'm sure my parents worried just as much about these things as I do, but they had to let me figure it out on my own. I just hope I can be as good of a parent as they were/are.

Day one: Self portrait and 15 facts about me

2011-01-31T07:00:00.003-07:00

1. I'm growing my hair out right now. After a year and a half, I'm not sure if I like the idea as much as I thought I would. I actually really like it about chin length, but because I committed to the idea I am going to be stubborn and continue to grow it. We'll see how long that lasts...

2. I don't care that it's the heart of winter right now - I crave Sprite slurpees every.single.day. Nick won't always cooperate, but I'd say we get them 2-4 times a week. yum

3. I wish that I could accomplish my travelling bucket list right away. Australia, Italy/Rome/Greece/Paris, Hawaii and anywhere else tropical.

4. I've become quite fascinated with any sort of Cake making tv show. Their talents are AMAZING, and I am going to try to develop my own with my new supplies.

5. I am a social butterfly and always have been. I am lucky to have SO many amazing friends (near and far) who are always there for me.

6. I think I will die if I can't find out what the sex of our next baby is. I'm already getting impatient to get the ball rolling...

7. I have become the classic mom who takes a million pictures of her kid and keeps 90% of them.

8. I feel like this list is boring. This is way harder than I thought it would be.

9. I LOVE snowboarding and just being out in the fresh mountain air. I have not been snowboarding in 6 years.

10. I have one kid and I own a minivan. (My teenage self just rolled her eyes in disgust)

11. I want to start taking piano lessons again and get GOOD. Mom, why did you let me quit!?

12. I watch too much tv

13. I love working with the Laurels (16-18yr.old girls) at church. Some of them have become great friends of mine, and I am going to be sad when they graduate and move away.

14. My favorite color is still purple. Though my Grandma Betty would be happy to know that red is a very close 2nd.

15. For the last 2 years I've been keeping my hair close to it's natural color of dark brown. Cost effective, and very low maintenance. Because of the afformentioned hair growing decision I have realized that I'm in a 'hair rut' and needed a change. So I decided to give my teenage years a shout out and put some blonde back in. It might not sound like a big deal to some of you, but I feel GREAT about the change and can't wait to make it even lighter for the summer. Whoo hoo.

ps. if anybody around here needs a cut/color for $60 I know a fabulous hairdresser!

I'm back

2011-01-29T21:37:00.005-07:00

I've been starting to feel a bit stagnant in my blogging creativity lately - maybe it's the fact that it's January and it keeps snowing... and snowing... and snowing... and I wish I was on a beach somewhere instead. To cheer myself up I brightened up the blog and decided to do something fun and interesting. Enter the 15 day challenge (which may take longer than 15 days if I get a little lazy every now and then. We'll see how it plays out). I know you've all seen it before, but it's my turn now :) so you better enjoy it and comment often! I will be starting Monday. For now, I'll leave you with a few pics of my little man.

getting into some mischief... mmm paper.... it's my favorite snack!

Nixon was wanting to grab the camera and got quite upset when I kept backing away from him .
ha ha... sucker... you don't always get what you want! ;)

don't worry though, I get plenty of happy baby shots too!
I'm not totally heartless.

And last but CERTAINLY not least... here's proof that
Nixon has developed an adorable cheesy grin.
love it

Ultimate Cake-Off

2011-01-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year! I guess I better get back into the swing of things like every other blogger I know.... Instead of playing catchup and posting a billion Christmas pictures, I'm going to forego that thought and just start fresh with some of our January happenings. Though I am including one picture of our adorable little man, Nixon, the rest of this post is dedicated to one night specifically. The Ultimate Cake Off.

Kyle & Robin and Tyler & Erin braved the PILES of snow and frigid weather to come over so we could celebrate Robin and Erin's birthdays. I've always wanted to hone my baking skills and learn how to bake and decorate cakes using all the professional tools like icing bags/tips, fondant, flowers etc. After seeing my friend, Beth's, cake blog I got inspired to learn for myself. So for Christmas I asked for (and received) a SWEET cake decorating kit and we busted it open with our friends on Friday for a good old fashioned "Cake-Off". Because this was a boys vs. girls competition, and the fact that we are all beginner decorators, don't critique to harshly... We didn't make icing with the proper decorating consistency or stack and shape the cakes at all. We also cheated a bit and got design tips for our flowers, vines and edging techniques from pictures that came with the kit. All in all it was just a fun, creative activity that we all got into and LOVED. I can't wait to do it again!

The supplies

Men hard at work... (they totally got WAY more into it than us)

Us girls' simple flowery approach

The boys' more DETAILED approach (they just kept adding...
...and adding....and adding more icing!)

The comparison shot - whose do you like best?

Side view of the boys' cake to give you an idea of the AMOUNT of icing they used

We all ate WAY to much icing - especially the 3 boys
Seriously, we all felt sooo sick afterwards.
(and ps. does anybody think that Kyle and Nick are a little creepy here?)
I know I do... haha

We have one... so why not TWO?

2010-12-29T10:29:00.002-07:00

Yes folks, that's right... We are expecting baby # 2. We are still a little surprised ourselves, but since I'm 11 weeks along, and (I guess) already starting to show - I thought I'd let the cat out of the bag so people would stop giving me the "is she or isn't she?" looks. Lucky me has been able to hear "I was wondering if you were pregnant - but didn't want to ask" by three men already. Gee thanks, just what I was hoping you'd say! ;)

For those of you that are thinking "They are crazy!" I will remind you that I had some issues getting pregnant last time and by the time everything was figured out and we got pregnant with Nixon, it had been over 2 1/2 years of trying. So needless to say, we didn't know for sure how long it would take us the 2nd time around so we figured we should start trying sooner rather than later just in case. The crazy thing is that we hadn't even really started trying yet. On our first month of not protecting...surprise! Prego!

I am due July 17th but will probably end up delivering via C-section 2-3 weeks early like with Nixon, at the end of June. That'll make my babies about 13 1/2 months apart! Anybody who's been there have words of advice or encouragement? Wish us luck on this next fun adventure!

Love/Hate

2010-12-10T18:14:00.003-07:00

For the last little while I have been having a love/hate relationship with blogs. Mostly mine. I LOVE reading blogs, hearing about my friend's lives and seeing pictures of what everyone is up to. BUT I have been feeling really unmotivated to blog myself. I don't know what it is... I'm just feeling really complacent and uninspired. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the monotony of my days, or the fact that I've been a bit sick, who knows... but i'm going to try to be better. To try to use this blog as an outlet for myself to be creative or funny or just give me a little hobby to do every now and then that doesn't require much effort. I think I might try to do something with a theme to get me back on the band wagon. (Like maybe the 15 day challenge - just not on an everyday basis - maybe with my own twist). Wish me luck. But for today, since I'm in kind of a complaining mood I think I'll leave you with a few tidbits of the love/hate I feel on a regular basis.

Love: afternoon naps while Nixon is sleeping
Hate: if Nixon has two good naps one day, the next day he has two crappy ones. it's a vicious cycle no matter what I try :(

Love: my (I mean Nixon's...) awesome, stylish PegPerego highchair
Hate: that the number of poopy diapers each day has quadrupled since starting "solids"

Love: seeing my cute little boy get excited when I put him in the highchair and watch him gnaw on a cracker
Hate: spending 45+min. to get him to eat any semblance of a meal of baby food

Love: shopping (ever so conservatively) ONLINE
Hate: getting subsequent Visa bills

Love: watching Nixon go to town and jump FOR-EVER in his jolly jumper. HIL-AIR-IOUS!
Hate: now he WILL NOT stand normally - always wants to jump wherever he is.

Love: that I have good friends nearby that I can get together with and do girly things to break up the monotony of the week
Hate: that we have all been homebodies for the past couple weeks and have barely gotten together. I'm getting bored, people.

Love: that Nick is almost done work and we can have time together for the holidays!!!
Hate: in the meantime, he's working a ton and our Christmas lights are not up, and the walk continues to be unshovelled (i know, i know, i could just do it myself - but it's cold out there!)

Love: Christmas
Hate: about Christmas? nothing! especially since I'm all done my shopping, wrapping, AND stocking stuffers :)

There! I did it - I posted on my blog, and didn't even hate it.

Sunny Arizona

2010-11-17T07:00:00.007-07:00

What a WON-DER-FUL vacation! I could honestly leave it at that, but I know you'd rather see some pictures and hear a few of the details...

We flew down Nov. 4th and pretty much had non-stop fun. On the 5th we were able to be there for Cam & Sheri's sealing in the Mesa Temple (separate post to come). The first few days it stayed over +90 F so we loved being able to hangout outside and soak up the SUN. My parent's place has a great backyard with a beautiful pool, and we had a blast enjoying it. You should have seen Nick and Cam - they were like 8 year old boys running around, doing tricks off the slide, and playing all sorts of games in the water. Hilarious.

Nice action shot, huh!

I loved getting Nixon all decked out in his hat,
flip flops and sweet shades. Too cute!

We also decided to give Nix his first taste of rice cereal...

If I had to guess, I'd say he loved it...

ha ha! Yeah right.

My awesome Dad bought us tickets to go see the Phoenix Coyotes play the Pittsburg Penguins and the game was SO much fun! Nick and I were definitely cheering for the Penguins (umm hello... Sidney Crosby???) plus our buddy Melvin (who was also at the game) is best friends with the Penguins new rookie, Mark Letestu, so it was fun watching someone we'd actually met before. And the best part was that the Penguins came from behind to tie the game, go into overtime, and then onto a shoot-out where Mark scored the game-winning goal! We were cheering so loudly that it scared Nixon half to death and he started bawling....oops. After the game, Nick & Melvin got special passes to go down to the team area and visit Mark and see a few other players. Nick LOVED it (to say the least...).

The seats were super steep, but it was a GREAT view!

Nick, Nixon and I - first family NHL game

My parents after the game

Just chillin after the game waiting for Nick.
Nixon was O-U-T

One day we drove out past Apache Junction to see some cactus's (cacti?) and check out a quaint little 'ghost town'. The buildings were so rustic and they had a bunch of great little shops where I bought myself some authentic souveniers.

Nick, Nixon & I
ps. baby carriers are the BOMB.

The last 6 or 7 days of our vacation, the weather cooled down to more average temperatures for this time of the year (+70s) so we just relaxed outside, read, watched movies, did some shopping and ate at a bunch of yummy places.

Our last three nights were spent at Cam & Sheri Watkin's house so we had a blast hanging out with them. It was nice to just hangout with no agenda. Getting to sleep in, eat MORE great food (In N Out, Cafe Rio, Cold Stone, Texas Roadhouse etc....) and just spend quality time together was all a girl could hope for. Oh - and a bit more shopping ;) Thanks for showing us such a good time!

My Mom gave me this outfit, it was one my older brother,
Shane, wore when he was a baby (circa 1978). SO cute!

Nick & Nixon

Nick & Cam enjoying some 'Big Buck Hunter'

While waiting for a table we noticed this sweet picture and
were reminded of our good friends, Tyler and Erin. Ha ha

Cam & Sheri and Nick & I at Texas Roadhouse

Oh and ps... My baby travelled like a dream. He is amazing!

A Few Frustrations

2010-11-02T15:03:00.005-06:00

So the other day I mentioned how sucky our Halloween weekend had started out to be and here's why. (Disclaimer: this is mostly for me to vent a bit....don't judge) Out of the past 21 days, Nick has worked 20 of them. And previously to that he's been working more than normal as well. Now this is not just a cushy 9-5pm job, but he's leaving the house at 5:30am and getting home at 6pm. Because his days are so long he's usually pretty tired when he gets home and doesn't want to do much. He usually ends up falling asleep on the couch by 8pm. I get it, I really do - and I appreciate all his hard work. But for someone who's home all day and just wants to spend quality time with her husband, it's been a hard pill to swallow. It's been tough feeling like I've had to do 99% of everything for Nixon and keep our home running smoothly all alone. I have so much respect for all the single moms out there.

Don't get me wrong - we are glad he's been busy at work and has been able to pick up some overtime. I know this job isn't going to last forever, infact he'll probably be starting somewhere else before the year's done. But.... it just gets a little lonely sometimes. I'm a big fan of holidays, and pictures, and traditions so I was pretty excited to be celebrating Nixon's first Halloween and had a few plans (which I had cleared with Nick). But when he got home from work on Saturday he crashed on the couch and said he had had a particularily tiring day and didn't want to go anywhere. Now a good wife would have probably rubbed his feet or something and said nothing, but I didn't. I'd really been looking forward to going to our ward activity to see all the cute kids in their costumes and to socialize with some of our friends. I wanted to have fun with Nick and get out of the house. I was really disappointed and didn't want to just take no for an answer, so we ended up getting into a huge argument and fighting about it. Needless to say we ended up just staying home and I was mad at him for half the night. Why?

I don't know why I have to be so stubborn sometimes. I hate that I got so bent out of shape and let the issue ruin my night. But I am thankful that I have a tender hearted husband who is a great communicator. I'd say that 9/10 times Nick is always the first one to apologize and be the peacemaker. After we talked later, Nick decided that he wasn't going to go in to work the next day. It was a double time pay day, but he decided that it wasn't worth it. When he doesn't work the weekends, we never fight. We just needed some good old fashioned time together and I'm grateful we had it. It was so nice to just have him around to talk to when he wasn't tired or edgy, and I wasn't worn out. We did infact, have a Happy Halloween.

Here's to learning from our mistakes and moving forward. As well, we are infact going to have a FABULOUS November. We are heading to sunny Arizona for 10 days to spend some time with my parents and visit some of our bestfriends, Cam & Sheri Watkins. It is going to be such a fun trip and I am SO looking forward to days and days of uninteruppted, restful time with my husband and son. Here are a few of the other perks I'll be enjoying:

Mesa Arizona Temple

A Hockey Game!

Phoenix Coyotes vs. Pittsburg Penguins
GO Crosby!

These are just a couple examples of my absolute favorite foods (found only in the glorious USA)

Hockey and Halloween

2010-10-31T23:49:00.005-06:00

I know there are going to be about 50 million blog posts about Halloween in the next 24 hours, but too bad. Here's another one. But at least I'm throwing in a little hockey for good measure...

Nick is back on a Men's League Hockey team this year and couldn't be happier. That boy sure loves himself some hockey! A lot of his games are later in the evening so when Friday's game was at an earlier time, I decided to pack Nixon along so he could watch his Daddy play. It was fun to get him dressed in his new winter coat and his fuzzy mitts, booties and bear toque (I'll have to get a picture of that later...).

Watching Daddy play hockey

Getting a little tired.....

All tuckered out between the 1st & 2nd period - perfect time for a nap.

Nixon & Nick

We love watching Nick do what he loves!

Now on to Halloween. For reasons that shall remain undisclosed at this time, our Halloween weekend started off and continued along pretty sucky. Nick was supposed to work the whole weekend, which is super lame. But he decided to not go in to work today and we were able to salvage a little bit of the holiday spirit. After church we came home and had a relaxing afternoon while Nixon napped. I even had a cat nap myself. I was about to bail on the whole idea of carving pumpkins this year, but since I'd already bought them I figured I should get off my butt and just get carving. Nick was a little skeptical too, but we both ended up having fun.

The Voravongs invited us over for a delicious early dinner and we had a great time stuffing our faces with yummy carrot soup, homemade buns, and lots of other finger food. Thanks Bishop family for letting us crash your par-tay! After that we stopped by Nick's parent's house quickly and came home to hand out candy. Nick's mom stopped by after work to get her Nixon fix - and we loved seeing Nick's little cousins when they came by trick-or-treating. In the end, Nixon's First Halloween turned out pretty great :)

Halloween Family Pic

The fruits of our labors..

The fruits of Nixon's labors landed on Nick's pumpkin.... ha ha

Jaylin, Kyla, Nixon and Uncle Brad

Turkey Time

2010-10-19T22:42:00.002-06:00

For Thanksgiving this year we headed down to Southern Alberta to spend time with my family. We got together with some of the extended family on Friday night to have treats and play games. Lots of fun, hopefully we can do it again next time :) It was SUCH a perfect fall weekend - not actually warm, but not snowy yet like it has been in past years. So we went down to Ryan & Jill's one night and had a big bonfire in their backyard. We enjoyed the crisp air, snuggled under blankets, and roasted s'mores. Yum!

Jill & Max, me & Nixon and Nick

Grandma Hull, Grandma Betty and my Mom

Levi & Dani (clearly enjoying their s'mores...haha)

Mmmm... marshmallows...

Since Ryan & Jill decided to bless their new baby, Max, that weekend as well, we were able to get together with Ryan's family and have one big turkey dinner together. Ryan's parents hosted everyone at their house and the food was delicious.

Nick enjoying his dinner
Nixon doesn't look too impressed with that grown up food...

Yum

Dani and her cousins had a great time (literally)
swinging from the trees and playing in the fall leaves.

Nixon's First Thanksgiving!

Nixon & Levi just enjoying some football

Some of our September

2010-09-30T10:35:00.005-06:00

Yep. Still with the surprised eyes. Always.

I won't lie... I have been feeling pretty lack-lustre towards blogging lately. I've felt like this past month hasn't been overly eventful for us so I haven't been very motivated to blog. But it's the end of the month, and I don't want this to be my first month of not posting since I started this thing....so here I am. I thought that I'd just be posting a few snapshots I've taken of Nixon recently but as I got looking on my computer I realized that I actually had quite a few pictures from September, and even a few from the end of August when I went down to Cardston to see my family and meet my newest nephew. Enjoy!

New cousin Max (5 days old) and Nixon (3.5 months old)

Great Grandma Betty and Nixon

We went up to Waterton for an evening to walk around, take in the beauty,
and eat dinner at Zum's. Oh - and of course we got ice cream at Big Scoop. Yum.

Ryan, Jill (& Max) and Me (with Nixon in his stroller)

We got together with Nick's Mom's side of the family at the start of the month for dinner and to celebrate some family birthdays.

4 Generations of Gagnons: Nick, (Nixon's) Great Grandpa Cyrille, Nixon
and Grandma Teressa. Don't you love his little "tie" - Thanks Linds!

Andrea (11) and Kyla(8)

Olivia and her son Cairo flew out to Alberta to visit for a couple weeks, and I had SO much fun catching up with her, and just having fun hanging out. We looked at pictures and reminisced about the good old YSA days and went shopping with the kids. It's so fun that we are both married now, and have sons less than a year apart. And the good news is, her little family is moving back to Alberta next weekend!

Olivia, Nixon, me & Cairo

Kay and Melvin had a bunch of family and friends over to celebrate Bennett's 1st birthday and we had so much fun visiting with everyone and eating delicious food.

Bennett, Nick & Nixon

Finally a picture of Nixon and I where I'm ready for the day!
(don't mind the burp rag or the typical expression on Nixon's face)

The birthday boy and his plethora of presents!

Isn't this the cutest picture of Bennett & Kay? I love it.
(Kay & Julie did and awesome job on the Alligator cake, huh)

Some might think that at 4 months, Nixon was too young for his first haircut.
I do not.

His newborn hair was so dark and long, but the hair that's growing in now is
a lot more blonde and it looked really funny. So I pulled out the clippers,
and I love how much more even it looks now.

He can stand up in this thing by himself,
just needs a pillow to help with the wobbles.

We often hear slurping noises around our house, and it's because
this little guy is slobbering all over at least one of his fingers
ALL DAY LONG. Maybe he's teething?

Yesterday as I was feeding Nixon he up and grabbed the bottle and held it.
Then he took it out of his mouth and started trying to put it back in.
You better believe I'm going to be working on getting him to master that skill!

Summer Lovin...

2010-08-29T21:06:00.000-06:00

I have a special relationship with reading. There is NOTHING I'd rather do on a hot (or rainy) summer day than curl up with a good book. To lay on the beach, at a lake, in my backyard, or curled up on my couch or in my bed is perfection. Unfortunately life seems to get crazier and busier through the winter months (or maybe I'm just too busy watching my plethora of TV shows...) so I don't end up reading as much as I'd like to. But when the sun finally comes out, the flowers bloom, and with the smell of cut grass in the air, the "stars align" for me to clear my schedule for some good old fashioned reading. Here are a few of the gooders that I've read this summer: (What have you been reading?)

This is an amazing book series, and I can't wait to read the 3rd book.
It JUST came out. I was a little skeptical when I read the cover,
but it was definitely worth the chance. Seriously awesome.
(ps I'm so excited they are going to make it into a movie - due out next year!)

I've been on a bit of a Nicholas Sparks kick this year, so I figured
I better read the actual book to the classic movie that I LOVED.

This is the 'sequel' to the Notebook. I loved it too.

This was a little 'out of the box' for the usual Sophie Kinsella style,
but was still a fun, easy read.

Nick's Mom is really into Nora Roberts, so last year we gave her the
1st book in this series. I ended up borrowing it, and loved it.
Then I totally forgot about it. Until I saw the third book at Costco,
and then I got really excited because then I get to read the 2nd and
3rd books back to back. For a lover of all things wedding..... it's hitting the spot :)

Next on my reading list:

Since I've never read it, I figured I'd better get on with it!
(Besides..... there's a new sequel - who knew?)

P & P sequel, as mentioned above. Should be good...

Love Mitch Albom. Hopefully it's good

And lastly - I want to reread this series. It's 5 thick books, with an
extra shorter book that was written later. I should be busy for awhile....

A little Home Decor...

2010-08-23T21:47:00.002-06:00

After getting our pictures done with Nick's family, I finally filled a couple frames I'd bought and was able to put together the display in my front entry that I've been dreaming about. Whoo Hoo :) I love how it turned out! It was definitely worth the minor fight(s) with Nick as we dropped (and broke) our level, (together) balanced precariously on a ladder to put up the vinyl lettering and leaned dangerously over the banister. No big deal. Like I said........ TOTALLY worth it.

I totally lucked out with a single trip to Michael's, and found the vase, beads,
and flowers that went perfectly with the other colors in my entryway.

I LOVE the frame I bought from Alli, and the Vinyl that
Lindsay gave me for Christmas! Thanks girls :)

Since I've been on a bit of a Home Decor kick, I thought I'd include some random pictures of things I wish I could buy. I'm starting to realize that as much as I love contemporary or classic items, I always seem to gravitate towards vintage/antique items. Hmmmm..... I guess we'll just have to see how it plays out as we develop and decorate our home over the next few years.

I would DIE for this mirror.
(And to have a room with a ceiling high enough to hang it)

I love these antique chests

Love the distressing on this dresser

And last but not least, I would love something similar to this chair,
but as an armchair to go in my future living room. I love black and white.

Look Who's Three Months!

2010-08-20T23:37:00.004-06:00

"Who me????"

I don't have many pictures of the two of us, so I must resort to self-portraits...

I know it's so cliche' to say, but I can't believe how fast time is flying by and how much Nixon is growing! I figured I better do an update for those of you that don't get to see him often enough, and for my own record. Around the 6 week mark he was still having a hard time gaining weight (and keeping it on). We decided to go fully to feeding with formula, and he's been thriving ever since. In the few weeks after that, he basically gained a pound a week and was inching toward the top of the growth charts in height and weight. I went in for his three month checkup today and he is 15 lbs. 13 oz.(95% in weight), 24.5 inches long (75% in height) and 75% in head size. He's out of all his newborn clothes and is into 3-6 month sizes (except all his pants are either too tight on his belly or WAY too long.) Go figure.

I wanted to get a picture of him in all his Oilers paraphenalia, but I think i was a bit too late in getting one where the hat fits. So funny how his head is all
smushed into it....haha

He was much happier once we took the hat off.....

Nixon has been a pretty good sleeper from the beginning so we are VERY lucky! He sleeps well at night, and had started having really good afternoon naps, but his mornings were pretty inconsistent and more like catnaps. So the past few days I've been reading "the Baby Whisperer" and applying some of her techniques and it's DEFINITELY been making a big difference. He usually sleeps about 10 hours at night, with 2 -3 good naps during the day now. Yes, I am bragging. It's pure bliss. Routines are AH-MAY-ZING.

All tuckered our from playing on his mat

Nixon also has an awesome talent; feeding himself. haha jks
(don't judge me....I was still supervising him.)

Nixon is getting stronger and stronger everyday. He does pretty good with tummy time and has been able to hold his head up since birth. Though sometimes he gets tired and then resembles a little bobble head....so cute. He like to be carried facing outward so he can see everything that's going on around him. He loves laying on his little play mat and will stare inquisitively at the stuffed octopus above his head. Othertimes he will stare and just coo and smile at it. It's pretty funny. He loves his baths and would be content to lie in his little tub splashing and squealing for extended periods of time if I'd let him.He also loves to kick his legs and when he's in his crib he somehow manages to scooch from the middle until he's up against the bars (even while he's tightly swaddled!).

Tummy time with Gaffe the Giraffe.

Bath time

He recently discovered his hands, and now loves to slobber all over them. He was a spitter-upper for a little while, but that's now made way for some serious drooling. Who knows, maybe he'll be an early teether. He's also realized he has a voice and has started to coo and babble so sweetly, and then give the odd pterodactyl shriek. Seriously, it's so random and so loud! And last, and certainly the most exciting thing is that he now smiles all the time. He's even giggled a few times - but he still makes us work hard for that.

"Just chowin down...don't mind me..."

The first smile I caught on camera. A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E.
(if I do say so myself.....)

I love his smiles!

We sure love our little boy and are enjoying watching him grow and discover the world around him. What a wonderful blessing he is to us. We couldn't be happier!

Workin the camera...full of giggles and smiles!

Hull Family Reunion.

2010-08-17T11:14:00.006-06:00

My family does regular summer vacations with the Schow side of my family, but not as much with my Mom's family. Why is that? Maybe because everyone is soooo spread out and getting soooo big! Regardless, my Uncle Bob & Aunt Lorraine hosted a reunion at their cabin near Eureka, MT this year and it was SO much fun! I saw cousins I hadn't seen in YEARS, and Nick was able to meet a bunch of people for the first time. He really hit it off with a few of the guys (Dan, Trevor, Jason and Steven) and said he had a great vacation. That makes me happy :) We were lucky to have fabulous weather pretty much the whole time there, and the lake was beautiful. Most of our days were spent at the lake, and in the evenings we'd have a big meal together (there were like 70 people there!). We also had lots of fun just visiting with everyone, playing cards, enjoying a family talent show and camping in the trailer. Nixon did great, and actually started sleeping in 7 hour stretches while we were there, waking up at 5am then going back to sleep after eating. Pure bliss. Enjoy the plethora of pics - I had a lot more good ones, but didn't want to bore you.

The kids had a great time playing with each other in the water all day everyday.
By the way...I'm pretty sure the ration of kids to adults was WAY higher on the kid side!
(ps I love how Kami is captured frozen in running position on the left of the pic. So cute.)

We basically forced my oldest nephew, Ian, to go on this ski/tube thing first
so that the rest of the grandkids would follow his lead. After some jealous competition,
they all ended up deciding that they had to do it just because the others had.
Haha. so typical.

Dani was 2nd to give it a try, and after about 5 minutes she even smiled ;)

My brother, Shane, and his littlest - Landon.

Nick, Dad and I at the lake.
(Dad and I were trying to suck in our bellies and look skinny. haha)

Nick with my cousin Andrea's littlest, Natalie. She had the BEST cheeks and eyelashes!

My beautiful mom, and Grandma Hull (the matriarch of this whole family reunion)

Ryan, Dad and Nick enjoying one of our nightly shampoo sessions
in the chilly (but gorgeous) water.

Everybody enjoying the lake.

My dad's boat was probably running 90% of the time while we were down at the lake.
I don't even want to know how much was spent on gas..... Thanks Dad!

Nick enjoying some wakeboarding.

Family Talent show. Jennica & the kids singing some songs, Dawson & Jackson
"break dancing", Brooklyn and the girls teaching Steven a dance,
and my Mom and her siblings singing a song from their childhood.

My cousin Brad, and Nick escorting Grandma over to the fire pit. So sweet.

(Not sure why this picture is sideways...) Nixon and Kingston (Megan's littlest)
were born just 2 days apart, but Kingston was born early
- hence why Nixon looks like such a fattie.

Trevor and his kids, Brooklyn, Bryson (sp?), Dawson and Madison

My dad took this picture. Way to get everyone to look, Dad........

Echo Twenty Ten

2010-07-31T22:26:00.011-06:00

We are so lucky to have such a fun vacation every year at Echo Lake with my family. It's hard to believe that we've already been going to the same cabin for over 10 years! Time sure flies... And it's sad, because we probably won't be able to go there for much longer as my family is just getting too big, and it's a bit crowded when we're all there together. But as always, we had a great time, fabulous weather (for the most part), ate lots of yummy food and just RELAXED. Thanks Mom and Dad, I love making memories with you!

For Nixon's 1st Canada Day I thought it would be fun to start a tradition of always getting a family picture in our country's colors!

We decided to make a fun Canada Day dessert to celebrate,
even though we were in the USA

It's hard to believe that Gray and Nixon are only 3 months apart!
Before long they won't look any different in size... isn't that crazy?

We had fun visiting the Schow's at Lake Blaine and reminiscing about
the good old days. Our family vacationed there for like 40 years
before we started going to Echo. I miss it.

I love this picture - Levi's face is adorable!

It's a good think Nick went swimming the day we got there,
because it rained for the rest of the 3 days he was there :( sad

Just chillin in the rain

Mom and Grandma after church in Big Fork (aren't they pretty?). Since it was also the July 4th weekend, there was a record 1700 people at church. It was SO packed! Needless to say, we only had sacrament meeting.

Dani and Levi were so cute with Nixon, and loved to be around him.
Dani was an especially great helper with holding him and feeding him his bottle.

I think this picture is so funny because Dad is talking to and tickling Nixon,
but it looks like he's scolding him or something.
Look at Nixon's facial expression - so funny!

My dad is such a stud. He still puts on a good slalom show for us and
he's already 56. Not old at all ;)

Tubing with the kiddos

Me, Jill and Mom enjoying the sun. It was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L for
the whole 2nd half of the week we were there. Finally I could get a tan!

I'm sure I'm going to get a LOT of this expression from Nixon, "Oh come on, Mom. Get the camera out of my face already!"

Ack! How cute are baby flip flops!?!

Nixon's first time in the water
(Yeah I know, it looks like Nixon is loving the sun.)

Even though we had a working shower, Jill thought it would be fun
to "bathe" in the lake. Ha ha good times :)

Visitors and Nixon's Blessing

2010-07-14T07:30:00.002-06:00

At the end of June our friends, Cam & Sheri Watkins, flew up from Arizona to spend the weekend with us and be there for Nixon's blessing. It was so much fun to have them stay at our house - can't believe it's already been 10 months since Nick and I flew to Virginia for their wedding! We had fun shopping, watching movies, playing soccer (Sheri and I were totally hardcore by the way...) and just chatting. Nick and Cam also went "fishing" and to the driving range and Sheri and I got pedicures. So much fun! We are so grateful they made the trip to see us, and we can't wait to hang out again when we go to Phoenix in November. Unfortunately I'm a total lame-o and only got one picture of the four of us.

My parents, and my sister's family also came up for the blessing so we had a pretty full house. Nick and I are really lucky to have most of his family and so many friends that live close by and a lot of them came to church for Nixon's blessing and then over to our house for lunch. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and just have a relaxing afternoon hanging out in our backyard, especially on such a sunny day. So thanks everyone for coming, and for supporting Nixon. We love you!

We took this right before church, and of course Nixon had to barf

all over himself and his white outfit. Typical.

All of the men that were in the circle

L-R: Melvin, Jeremy, Ryan, Nick, my Dad, Cam, Mike, Ben and Albert

Sheri, Cam, Jill & Nixon, Tami, Mike, Kyle and Robin

Sarah, Mitch and Ben

G & G Famulak, Alysha, Bryan, Nick's Dad - Neil, Uncle Jeff and Tyler

Bennett, Kay, Jeremy, Paige & Ty

Auntie Ann & Nixon and my Mom

Uncle Brad & Jaylin, Sharon, Kyla,

Nick's Mom-Teressa & Nixon and Nick's cousin

Cute little Parley is going to be one of Nixon's BFFs

Nixon and Ty (who is one week older)

are going to be best buddies, right Paige?

(I love this picture because Nixon just looks so chill with his collard shirt and his hand looks like it's casually in his pocket.

ha ha.... so funny!)