Happy Holidays Peeps!

My new years resolution is to preserve my little girls memories of her first year. So this is our babies first Christmas. And even though she will be only a little over a month old and will not have any memories of this Christmas I could not resist spoiling her. Its too hard to resist baby stuff anyways. I will preserve the memories in a scrapbook and with our camcorder so one day she can look back and see what her first Christmas was like, if she wants to that is. I was looking out my window last night and noticed that only two people on our entire street strung up Christmas lights. I thought that was a little odd, even though I myself fall into that group that has no Christmas lights up this year. I was wondering where had everyones Christmas spirit gone. Then I thought about how busy we have been and how we have probably only plugged in the lights on our Christmas trees three or four times so far this year and it's the week of Christmas. Not only are we busy, but we simply could not even afford to put up lights outside our home this year. My hope is that even though to the outside passerby driving down our street that wonders where the lights are, I hope that inside our homes we each are seeing the light and remembering why we celebrate Christmas. It may sound cheesy, but I hope that we all can remember our Savior and the love that he has for each and everyone of us. And lets try to be a little more like Him this holiday season.

Seasons greetings from all of us to you!

My Little Rebel Pound Cake

Can you tell what makes my Pound Cake a rebel in this picture?

My Little Pound Cake

I am sooo in love with the new addition to our family. I could not be more happy to not get any sleep, not wash my hair for days on end and do double the amount of laundry I previously was doing. It is all worth it for my little pound cake. She really is such a good baby and we are so blessed to have her. Its amazing how instant and how much your love is for your child. I could not be more grateful or happier. I know I already said it but we are so blessed. I love you my pound cake.

Fire alarms and 40 Plus weeks Preggo

So I was taking a shower yesterday. And I was really enjoying the hot water on my cold skin. I love hot showers when your cold! They are a favorite for me. So in the middle of my shower the fire alarm goes off. Now Bryan was at work and I didn't know what to do. Jasper came running into the bathroom crying and i turned off the water and jumped out stark naked and started running around the house like a chicken with its head chopped off. I couldn't reach any of the fire alarms upstairs and so I ran downstairs with my big pregnant belly abounding and grabbed a chair and was able to reach the fire alarm in the living room. My panicked mind flashed to an episode of FRIENDS when Pheobe's fire alarm went off and a fire fighter told her to press the reset button in order to make the noise stop. Well people I could not find the reset button. It was so frustrating! All the while Jasper is by me crying begging me to make it stop, Izzy is just sitting on the couch observing all this like we are crazy and I'm naked and hoping none of my neighbors hear the fire alarms and come to see if we are ok. So I broke down and called Bryan at work. Although he had no idea what was going on because it was too loud in the house for him to hear me. Finally after what seemed like forever they stopped. Now why did they go off you might ask; because of the steam from my hot shower. I had no idea that could happen and felt rather foolish later. Good shower gone bad baby!

So I included this picture because I feel as though my brother Tyler really captured something when he wanted to take a picture of me at nine months. He took it just last week and we both just started laughing when we saw it. No need for him to take anymore pictures. He captured me in my ninth month of glory. Thanks Ty!

A Little Blue For You

I am just a little down. I know that to be a true statement as every time I try to get up and do anything I succeed for about an hour or so and then make my way back to the comfort of my bed. To lie there and what? Sleep, day dream, pray. I am so done with being pregnant. I have never been so uncomfortable and I just want to hold my baby girl in my arms. I am past due. And do to certain things within my body it looks like I will not be meeting her for about another week. Which I know is not that far away, but to me it seems forever and a day away. I was complaining to a family member about this. How I'm uncomfortable and want to have her. Instead of words of comfort I get this, "Now you be careful Katie. You don't want that baby coming out thinking that you don't love her." The audacity! I could not believe that someone would say this. And it wasn't a man either who has never experienced childbirth. It was a woman who has children of her own. Talk about shock, anger and hurt feelings. Remember on Bambi when I believe it was Thumper said, "My mother told me if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Anywho, I can't wait to hold my girl and start experiencing this new wonderful creature with Bryan, Izzy and Jasper. I thought that I might actually have her yesterday because my contractions were seven minutes apart, but the hospital wouldn't admit me until they are two minutes apart. So off I went back home. Which is probably best to suffer the contractions at home instead of in a hospital bed. But I am ready! Mark my words I am ready. Hope to see you soon baby girl!

Thanksgiving Deserves a Pumpkin

So now that Halloween has come and gone and still no baby to eww and aww over, I decided to take down my Halloween decorations and put up my Thanksgiving decorations. There's just one problem, I don't really have any Thanksgiving decorations. Well except for a really cute wooden turkey decoration I bought on sale last year at Pier One after the holiday had ended. So I kept out all of my pumpkins, because they are Fall decor, not just Halloween decor I so realized. Well trying to stay busy and not bore myself to death waiting on a little girl, I decided to make a pumpkin out of two sided scrap booking paper after seeing a demonstration on Good Things Utah. And yes during the commercial breaks on Rachael Ray, which I now have time to watch and no longer record, I turn over to Good Things Utah. I admit it! You may now make fun! Well here is how it turned out:

Baby Girl Nursery Part Duex

So this is our decorated nursery! This is the babies crib with a more retro print for the bedding and curtains. And the cute "Princess" banner above was made by my Aunt Sue for a baby shower and I had to have it for her nursery.

Comfy chair for rocking and I love the curtains!

So the flower and ladybug above the beautiful changing table my dad made, our the cutest lights from Ikea. They were super affordable and they have a huge selection of lighting for kids bedrooms. Seriously check it out if you get a chance for fun creative lighting.

I love the closet doors that Bryan did such a good job painting. The pictures above the closet door I made for the baby girl along with the Grace letters. I enjoyed making a few items for our little one on the way. Now all I need is her to make her debut! And I am getting impatient, so if you would be so kind I would love to see you by the end of next week little one.

Can't Take My Eyes Off Of YOU

Gardner's Village October 22, 2010. Our five year anniversary.

You + Me.

You are very scared of these guys. Yes, they can be quite mean Honey.

Cutest Hubby in the whole wide world who is married to the luckiest girl.

The Rebel

So above is my unique little girl Izzy when she was a growing puppy. This has always been one of my favorite pictures of her. Even then you can see the spunk in her eyes as she gives an indifferent stare at the camera. Last week at work Bryan was helping a customer who trains dogs to help people with different disabilities. He asked Bryan what kind of dogs he had. When Bryan told him, he said that Border Collies (that is Jasper our other dog not pictured) make good dogs to help with people who have seizures because they can sense them coming on. Then when commenting on Izzy's breed, Australian Shepherd, he said that they are too smart and stubborn to be trained to be a special needs dog. That they have the attitude that they know better then you and will not heel to you. Well this could not describe Izzy better as of late. Just yesterday I watched her walk over to the kitchen table and pull off a bag of peanut butter m&ms that she no doubt was planning on having all to herself. All the while she watched me as she did this. I have a theory that she is jealous of our unborn baby. The bigger my belly gets, the more rebellious she becomes. And she refuses to go in the babies room if Bry and I are in there. She waits until we are gone and then goes and snoops around. I cannot tell you all the food items she has ate in the last month, most while we are in the house preoccupied with other things. Now you probably think that I'm leaving a bag of bread where she could get to it or something of that nature, but oh no. She even knocked a closed butter dish off the counter and ate what was inside. She gnawed on a mason jar lid until she got it open and devoured the granola on my couch. What a turd of a woman! Oh Izzy, Izzy, Izzy...

Baby Girl Nursery Part One

So this is what the room looked like before Bryan painted it. Hot pink and chocolate brown vertical stripes on one wall while the rest were left white. Now even though this was too bright of a pink for me, many people that saw the room liked it and thought we'd leave it this color since we are having a girl.

Now it took Bry six coats of primer to get rid of those bold stripes and I already was liking the bedroom better with just the white on the wall. But then he added our colors.

So here is the new room. I love the yellow and limeade trim!

Bryan even went to work on the closet doors and her bedroom door. He did an amazing job and was so into painting his little girls bedroom!

I'll be putting more pictures up of her room all decorated. I love her room! It's my new favorite room in the house.

Late... I know

So sorry to Kathy especially for the late 8 month photo update. These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago, but I just now have found the time to put them up. I tried to get around to it over the weekend, but it was full of work, conference, a baby shower and a baptism that we were glad to be a part of. We took these pictures up at Sundance and enjoyed a ride on the ski lift. It always feels so good in the mountain air, especially when its starting to feel like Fall. Afterwards we enjoyed being "leafers." Although I would love to go up again now, because I heard that the leaves have changed more and that its beautiful. I am getting very anxious for my little one to arrive and cannot wait! I am so anxious that I sometimes I drive myself crazy. Anywho more pregee pics for you to see. And I'm almost to my last month, yeah!

Oh look! A pretty leaf!

Bryan is obsessed with taking these "look at the pea in the pod" pictures, and he decided this one was his favorite. Your welcome for not subjecting you to all the other ones just like this.

Happy to be a Momma!

I LOVE Trees

I have always had this love of trees. In my Heaven I will be in a grove of trees and Fall will last much longer than it does here. Oh Fall. My favorite season. What's better than the crispness in the air, the smell of pumpkins and carmel apples, the leaves changing into the most brilliant of colors, football, the clothes, Halloween closely followed by Thanksgiving, corn mazes, and so on and so forth. The picture above was taken when Bryan and I were engaged on the weekend of October Conference. We drove up the canyon while listening to conference with his brother Mike and his wife Darsi and enjoyed the beauty that Fall had brought to us.

This picture was taken when Lindsey came to visit me in Bend and we had gone up to Mt. Bachelor and stopped at one of the many lakes along the way, although now it eludes me where we are exactly. Which drives me crazy, but I'm pregnant and have a hard time remembering a lot of things these days. Just ask the Hubby. My camera is in hand because I was snapping away pictures of all the trees and the witch lichen that is on so many of them. I put up this picture to show how thick the trees are in the area that I was living. I miss it sooo much! How pretty are all those tall tall trees!

This beauty is in Arches National Park as you may have guessed from the red rock in the background. I love the twists in the bark and how unique and different it is. I actually enjoy the desert and find it very beautiful. But living somewhere that is that hot would do me in.

While driving in Portland, Oregon on my first visit there I had to take this picture because I was thinking this is how all city streets in America should look--- lined with trees.

Bryan and I got married under this tree in my backyard. It was the most beautiful Fall day in late October. What a special day. I love my Hubby and I loved our wedding day. It brings back so many wonderful memories of finally feeling home. And this is the most special tree to me.

On my mind...do you mind?

So our internet has been down for a couple of weeks and we finally went with a new provider, so yeah I can blog again! You have been warned that this is my rambling post. So Labor Day weekend was very fun for Bryan and I. We got to spend it together! No work! Saturday we went up to Swiss Days and I got three loaves of the most delicious bread that the Relief Society makes. Seriously it's to die for. And of course I got myself some yummy Midway jam to go with that bread. (I am a huge jam fanatic for any of you who do not know.) I also got the cutest bib for our baby girl. Jasper is such a good fly killer. My old dog Sugar was too. It's so funny cause he'll be sitting there staring off into space while an annoying fly keeps buzzing around his fluffy little head and then BAM! He snatches it and kills it! Whats even funnier is that we give Jasper a treat when he does it and tell him how amazing he is, (seriously think about it, one less fly in the house. Score!) and Izzy got jealous so now she tries to kill the flies too. But Izzy can't. Try as she may she hasn't killed one yet. You got to love her for trying though. Pregnancy is getting more uncomfortable, but I can't wait for my prize. I am greatly anticipating her arrival and praying for cooler weather, at least in the 70's. It's officially Fall as of tomorrow and the forecast calls for the 80's. You've got to be kidding me. The cooler weather would really help out this pregnant woman. I'm just saying. It's funny that I live by my friends again, but rarely see many of them. Whats up with that. Life is too busy I suppose. Bryan is getting ready to go back to school in January and is so excited which makes me happy to see him so happy. It will be so good for him. I miss the trees, weather, smell and my friends in Bend. Bend. What a lovely little city you are. With hardly any traffic. Isn't it funny how places have a feel to them. A walk in the park with my hubby and my puppies under the big trees sounds so nice tonight. Instead I'm here rambling while my hubby's at work. I love him so. Anywho, bye now.

Seventh Month Itch

So here is my seventh month update. My baby bump is growing. My little girl is an active little meatloaf just like her daddy. My tummy is a little itchy, but no stretch marks yet. Yeah! Oh the heat is killing me. The Summer sun is too hot! No longer can I sleep through the night. Five hour nights are a personal best for me lately. I can't wait to sleep on my back again.

I hope everyone especially enjoys this last picture; because I was enjoying my first banana split! Yummy yummy for my tummy. This was a very fun day. Bryan and I went to Thanksgiving point and walked around the gardens walst snapping some pregnancy shots for your viewing pleasure. Afterward we cooled off with a shared banana split. Then we headed over to Cabellas. We enjoyed looking at the fish and all the dead stuffed animals (badgers have the longest nails/claws!) and guns. Then we vowed to take our little girl on many future camping expeditions. What a fun way to spend a Friday.

Sedated Thunderstorm Days

Jasper having a panic attack.
Jasper sedated.

We have had quite a few thunderstorms in my neck of the woods this Summer. Poor little Jasper cannot handle thunderstorms. He never has been able to handle thunderstorms ever since we adopted him into our little family. He paces, whines, breathes so hard and fast i swear it will give him a heart attack. On top of that he shakes uncontrolably. It is so sad to watch and if a thunderstorm occurs while Bryan and I are both gone we know we are going to be replacing our blinds. After three days of up all nights with Jasper, I think he is preparing me for the baby, I really needed some sleep. Sleep is hard to get nowadays anyways with a big belly in the way. Side note: I hate sleeping on my side. Anywho, luckily my Grandma Snell and Aunt Sue gave us some pills they got from the vet that relax dogs when they have panic attacks. Thanks you. Thank you. Its so nice to have a calm dog instead of one I'm afraid will have a heart attack during a thunderstorm.

Summer Vacation Blues

Everytime I turn on our computer I see this picture that Bryan recently set as our desktop background. I love this picture and it brings back so many memories of vacationing in Lincoln City. Where we will one day hopefully retire. At the same time it makes me really wish we could go on a vacation this Summer. But it is just a wish. But if my wish was granted we would be playing on the beach with Jasper and Izzy, eating the best salt water taffy, enjoying the cool 65 degree weather compared to the ugly 100 degree weather we have been experiencing here and eating dinner at Moe's. We'd stay at a hotel along the coast and in the morning head over to the Christmas Shop that is open year round and pick up Jasper an ornament to match Izzy's. The smell of sea and evergreens in the air. Oh what a wonderful aroma. It's all tied up in a wish.

Tuesday Morning

Tuesday morning was breakfast at Chicks in Heber. Yummy! Sundance for preggy pics and a ride on the lift. Beautiful, peaceful, good smells and lots of fun. Finally being out of the house and spending a morning pretending I'm not on bedrest... Priceless!!!

Baby on Board...

...And that baby on board is a GIRL!!! We are very excited and can't wait for her arrival. We found out over a month ago and I'm just now getting around to posting the news. With all the cute things they have for little girls Bryan should probably lock me up for the next couple of months so I don't go to shop happy. Plus here is a pregnant shot for those of you who have asked.

Support the Troops

I received this in an email and wanted to pass it along. It's actually from a "Maxine" cartoon. If anyone else is familiar with what that is.

Minorities

We need to show more sympathy for these people.
* They travel miles in the heat.
* They risk their lives crossing a border.
* They don't get paid enough wages.
* They do jobs that others won't do or are afraid to do.
* They live in crowded conditions among a people who speak
a different language.
* They rarely see their families, and they face adversity all day ~
every day.
I'm not talking about illegal Mexicans. I'm talking about our military troops!
Doesn't it seem strange that many Democrats and Republicans are willing to lavish all kinds of social benefits on illegals, but don't support our troops, and are even threatening to defund them?

I Miss Dawn!!!

So Dawn if you read this I really miss you! I do! I do! Everyday I think to myself, "What is Dawn up to?" "How was Dawn and John's wedding?" "How is Murphey Brown?" And of course I wish I could come over tonight and feed your goats. So in short I need to get up there and visit you as soon as I can. You are such a dear friend and I miss all of long talks and good laughs. You always can make me chuckle girl! I love you and miss you so. Oh Dawn.

A Note on Leg Cramps

As you may have read in my previous post, I get leg cramps fairly often. Well know that I'm pregnant I get them all the time. But never fear I'm here to give tips on avoiding them or making them stop once they have started. The first thing I read is to avoid pointing your toes. This is the position that causes your calf muscle to cramp much easier. My next tip and this is the one you want to hear people! If you do get a cramp or charlie horse flex your toes toward your head and almost instantly it will loosen up and stop. Had to pass this on incase any of you suffer too.

FYI

FYI--I made it to Utah. It has been quite awhile since I've actually had the time to update my blog. But I'm here, there are no piers, so get used to it people!!! Also Not that anyone is concerned about this, but I'm in the mood to ramble. I had an ever so painful leg cramp last night in my left calf. Oh is that painful. It's to the point that I fear getting them. I started getting them last Summer when I was dehydrated and once I got that under control I haven't had as much of a problem. I was reading in my pregnancy book that leg cramps can become common walst pregnant so I immediately started dreading the dreaded leg cramp. Last night was my first one in quite a while and I can tell you I did not love it. On another note Bry and I bought a home for us and our cute puppies of love! Yeah! We close the first week of June. That's all for now peeps!

Planting Lilacs

Ok this is my song of the moment! I love it! I can't help but sing and dance around to this wonderful little ditty of a song. I relate. Give it a listen peeps!

Yes I Love Alice

I loved dipping in to Tim Burtons mind and seeing his take on one of my favorite childhood Disney movies and childhood book. It was so fun and full of whismy, it was exactly what I needed to distract myself from the stressfullness of preparing for a large move. We saw it in 3D which I recommend. Loved the story, the costumes, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts stole the show. Oh Alice did find her muchness and I fell in love with the way they tied the ties around all the mens necks. Can I make my own tie using my paisley scarf? Well I am going to try. Off subject, sorry... maybe you should go see the movie.

The winds are blowing that a way...

This is my announcement to all those who may read my blog from time to time that Bryan, Izzy, Jasper and I are moving back to Utah. After two very quick years in the beautiful high desert it looks like we will be making our way back to Utah after all. We are excited and we are sad. But we are looking forward to this adventure. We should be back sometime in April. Hold on to your hats!