Bikes, Bellies and The Claw

Nothing too overly exciting going on around here. Here's some pics to keep the fam happy. And I can't believe I suckered into posting my ugly self and belly, but there you go! You crazy people! Hallie LOVES to be outside and push her bike around and blow bubbles. Everyday the first words out of her mouth are, "bike, bubbles, dada". She cries every time we come inside and anytime we go down our stairs to get in the car, she makes sure to tell the bubbles and the bike, "bye-bye". As soon as Aaron gets home she gets her shoes on and heads to the door with him. Lucky Hallie that her dad is so nice to take her everyday.

23 weeks. (can you tell by my fake smile how thrilled I am to take a pic of my body? Please pardon the roots, I finally got them done after this.)
Who doesn't love pudding?
Notice anything a little odd?
how about now?

So, if you can't tell by the pictures Aaron had a little injury. He thought it'd be fun to fracture his finger in five different spots. Poor guy. He was trying to catch his gym bag off a balcony and his finger got stuck in the strap on the way down. Ouch! I have to giggle at his brace. Just call him the claw!

Happy Easter

I for sure have inherited my dad's trait of taking LOTS of pictures. I used to get so mad when I was little, but now I know just how he feels. I just want to capture every minute of Hallie's experiences! I'm a dork. So yes, there's lots of pictures, but we had such a fun Easter I couldn't resist. It's so fun to celebrate holidays with Hallie now that she is a little older and can enjoy them a little more. I just love it. What a great weekend we had as a family. Easter was a great day. Started off with the traditional bunny bread for breakfast (a little deformed this year. But hey! We leave to church at 8:30!), went to church, took a nap, had dinner with a friend, and watched Hallie dance and goof with Aaron. What a great day! Hope you all had a good Easter too.

Egg Decorating

We had our first family egg dying party. Hallie thought it was pretty fun. She loved coloring on them, dipping them in the dye and putting stickers on them. She was her daddy's little buddy and wanted to do everything he was doing. We had lots of fun. She thought it was so fun to have an egg hunt around our house with them, but didn't want to pick them up unless they had candy in them. The only downer to this easter egg thing is that now when I ask if she wants eggs for breakfast in the morning (which she LOVES) she thinks I'm meaning her candy eggs!

Ward Easter Party

Our church had an easter party and Hallie had a blast. She was so excited to go and take her little duck basket (thanks Aunt Dicksy) and wear her ears. She enjoyed playing with her friends, going on an egg hunt, making a craft with her dad and watching Aaron participate in the egg eating contest (gross!).

IT'S A...

GIRL !!!

We are SOOO very excited to be having another GIRL! We had our ultrasound on Monday and it was so neat. I just loved being able to see this sweet little baby inside me. How amazing it is and lucky I am. She was being so cute. She was just chilling down in my pelvis sucking her thumb, playing with her little toes and hangin out. I can't wait to see the little cutie.

20 Months

I can't believe Hallie is 20 months old. Seriously, time just flies. She is our cute little bug and we just love her to pieces. Here's a few things she's up to:

1. She is super independant these days. Wants to get dressed by herself, put her shoes on by herself, coat, walk (unless she sees her shadow :)). This would all be great if she could actually do this in a decent time!

Our little alien gets ready to go ALL by herself!

2. Still has an obsession with Elmo. Although it has expanded a little to "Sesame Street" now. She loves these characters as well. Our day isn't complete without us hearing about "Grover, Big Bird, Bert, Zoe, Ernie, Snuffy, Cookie Monster and Oscar."

3. She is very shy. It takes her a LONG time to warm up to people in a group. She'd rather just sit on the sidelines and observe everything going on.

4. She LOVES to pretend. At such an early age, she's been into playing house, babies, doctor, kitchen, makeup (sorry Aaron), dress-ups, etc. It is so fun to watch her.

5. She loves to read books and sing songs with her Daddy. E-I-E-I-O is a nightly request.

6. Loves to say the word "Boo!" when she wants your attention. We hear this one quite a bit too.

7. Ever heard of someone being afraid of their own shadow? Well, Hallie sure is! She just noticed it last week and if she's walking and spots it, she freaks out and just stands there and cries until I pick her up. It is actually pretty funny. This is going to be a long summer if we don't get over this little fear! ha ha.

8. She loves babies!!! Real ones, pretend one, the one in my tummy...Everyday she is constantly coming up to me with kissy lips, saying "baby" and wants to kiss my stomach. Whenever we go to the children's museum that's all she wants to play with as well. And has to take her pretend baby with her everywhere. Let's hope this love for babies stays around after I've had mine :)

We just love our little Hallie. She is so fun, so adorable and I feel like the luckiest person alive to be able to have her. She really is my little buddy.

My New Shades

Hallie is quite the character sometimes. This last weekend, Aaron and Hallie accompanied me to the grand ol' Hobby Lobby (for those of you not in Iowa, you are SO missing out! ha ha.). Well, they went their separate way from me and awhile after shopping, I could hear Hallie laughing and yelling, "ma ma, ma ma!" Next, I see her strutting her stuff down the aisles with these hot shades and a cup (one Dora, one Elmo) in each hand. She was on cloud nine just having a blast with Daddy and suckering him in to lots of fun gadgets. Well, it's time to check out and I tell Hallie she needs to take her sunglasses off so we can pay for them. Holy Cow! Seriously, you would have thought that I told her Elmo had died or something. Tears just start streaming down her face in seconds and she was bawling! Aaron and I just looked at each other like, "who is this girl?" We had never seen her so devastated. It was pretty comical. Needless to say, we quickly paid for them, put them back on and she still wants to wear them everywhere! And she always informs me that "daddy" got them for her along with her 2 new cups that she has to use every morning. What a fun dad!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDSEY PACK! Lindsey is one of my bestest friends in the whole world. We've been friends since the 7th grade and I have SO many wonderful memories with her. She's been there through thick and thin and I love her stinkin guts (I even stole that saying from her :)) I love that even though we live far away now, whenever we see each other or talk we just pick up right where we left off. She's the best! I'm the worst friend ever and haven't even sent a card! (sorry Linds). Happy B-day!

I'm way sad, cause I wanted to find a pic from back in the day, but there all shoved in a box under my bed. Maybe one of these days, I'll look!

BFF

Okay, I'm sorry, but seriously! What man at age 28 wears a Best Friend Necklace?? And on National TV? No wonder he got voted off. Ewww. I couldn't help but cringe the whole time he was singing. I kept telling Aaron, "Ew, there is just something about him that grosses me out." And then I saw a close up of his BFF necklace, and that explained it all! ha ha. The best part is that he was wearing it again tonight! Let's just say that I'm glad BFF boy is gone. I'm such a brat. Lovin Idol!

ABC Tagged

Nothing too exciting going on here, so I thought I'd do this tag that my friend Whitney tagged me on.

ABC Tag
A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Aaron of course, mom and sisters
C- Cake or Pie: Cake
D- Day of Choice: Whatever day Aaron gets off.
E- Essential Item: Diet Dr. Pepper, mascara
F- Favorite Color: periwinkle
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: both. I love any candy!
H- Hometown: Orem, Utah, currently Iowa
I- Indulgence(s): shopping, chocolate covered strawberries
K- Kids: 1 and 1 more on the way!
L- Life is incomplete without: a nice fountain drink, family and friends
M- Marriage Date: June 12, 2003
N- Number of Siblings: 2 brothers, 2 sisters, and 1 brother in law
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples
P- Phobias or Fears: Being trapped in an elevator or somewhere small. I'm claustrophobic.
Q- Quote(s): "Let no one come into your life without leaving better and happier", "Live today as if it were your last."
R- Restaurant: The Olive Garden, Cafe Rio
S- Season: Spring and Summer. NOT winter!
T- Tag Six: Anybody!
U- Unknown Fact About Me: umm...Although, I'm an elementary teacher, I get super nervous to speak in public (to adults).
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Vegetarian
W- Worst Habit: Apologizing obsessively
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds (we find out in a week and 1/2!)
Y- Your Favorite Food: Shells N' Cheddar, French fries. (healthy huh? Can you tell I'm prego??)
Z: Zodiac: Taurus

Mother of the Year/Valentine's Day

Does my child look neglected? We have both been quite sick these last few days and poor Hallie has had to suffer since I feel like two bricks are smashing my head together. Today has been lots better, but poor Hallie has a temp of 103. This is where I found her today. Guess she thought it'd be easier to get her toys if she just crawled on in. And do you love how she got herself something to eat? Please disregard the fact that it was the middle of the afternoon and she's still in her Pj's with snot running down her face, hair not combed! So needless to say, I do not win the mother of the year award! My sweet husband has been so wonderful! Cleaning house, taking Hallie all weekend, going out in butt cold weather to get me my craving!!! He's the best!

Also had to show how cold it is here. This frost and ice is on the INSIDE of our windows! These pictures don't even do it justice. And yes, we turn our heat up high, it just can't keep it warm enough. It has been so awful here. We had another huge ice/snow storm and everything has been cancelled (church, school). Oh, we LOVE this winter (hope you sense the sarcasm)!

We were able to have a great Valentines. Aaron and I were able to go out to my favorite restraurant The Olive Garden. It was SO great. We couldn't even remember the last time we'd been out on a date. It was so great to be able to spend time with my hubby. Hallie enjoyed getting lots of Valentines from family and friends. I'll have to say that "Bampa" is her favorite these days because he sent her the new Elmo movie. We love you all and hope you know how much we appreciate all you do for us! Happy Love Day!

And I couldn't resist putting this adorable picture of Rocco on here (my friend Sarah's baby). He is SO cute. I got to watch him last week and it was so fun. He never stopped smiling. Thanks Sarah and JD for letting me play with him!

Hallie's Buddy

These pictures just make me laugh. Hallie is so funny whenver she plays with her friend Tommy. I don't know why but they seem to have this little love connection going on. We watched Tommy the other night and it seemed to be that playing led to kissing, and kissing led to cuddling. They were hillarious!They would giggle together and then run to each other hug and kiss! Then they had to watch their Elmo movie together with their matching Elmo slippers. I see Tommy look at Hallie, Hallie smiles, and then Tommy decides to get comfy and lay on Hallie. It was too cute! I had to throw this other pic in from the summer to show that this is not anything new! Look at Tommy's face! It's so cute.Mmmmm!!!! Looks like Hallie's ready to be a big girl! She found some tampons and when I caught her, she was saying, "mmmm! Please, Please!" I think she thought it was candy!
We have been getting SOOO much snow! We had a huge snow storm last week . Everything was closed/cancelled. Even the mall! When I called Aaron at the hospital to see if he got to come home since the mall was closed too, he said, "Wow! If the mall's closed then you think they'd send all the patients home and let us leave too!" The sad part is it actually took me a minute to realize he was kidding! We can't wait for warmer weather. Yesterday was -2 when we drove home from church! So fun!
The snow and FREEZING weather is still going strong!

What a Great Day!!

What a great day!!! Is anyone as excited as I am for the new Jack Johnson CD to come out today??? I've been counting down the days! Hooray! Can't wait to go get it. Plus, Idol is on too! My two favorite things! I think my dream job would have to be the person that gives out the golden tickets to Hollywood at the auditions! Seriously! You would get to watch the whole entire audition and watch Randy, Paula and Simon's reactions. I don't think I'd be able to keep a straight face though :)

Bun in the Oven

Yes, I'm PREGNANT!!! I couldn't resist putting these ridiculous pictures on (click to enlarge)! Oh my gosh!! Seriously, who would buy those? ha ha ha!!! Sorry, I had to share my laughter! Anyways, we are SO excited to be expecting another baby and couldn't be happier or feel more blessed! I'm about 14 1/2 weeks and am due July 31! We can't wait!

Missing my Grandma on her 90th Birthday

Today is my sweet Grandma's 90th birthday. It's hard to not have her here anymore to celebrate! So glad she's in a better place, but still miss her like crazy everyday! She would always get so excited for her birthdays and we would always throw such fun parties! I miss her cute smile and the way she would say, "how's my sweet little angel?" She just had a way of making you feel like the most special person alive and could always make me forget about everything and remember to just enjoy the simple things in life.

Could my Grandpa be any cuter? I just love him. I stole this picture off my sister's blog (thanks Nat). The whole fam went and put balloons on my Grandma's grave today and had a "birthday lunch". Wish I could've been there. I love my family. My Grandpa is adorable. When I talked to him tonight he said how he wakes up everynight and wishes she was there. But he's always so positive. He said, "it's been a hard day, but at least she's in a resting place where she's happy and probably in a better climate than what we have too!" (with his cute little laugh). It meant so much to him that the family still celebrated her birthday. What a cutie!

Is Winter Over Yet?

We are SOOOO ready for the Iowa WINTER to be OVER!!! -20 weather is really not that fun. Needless to say, we've been hibernating in our house lately. But not without some excitement. In just a week in a half, Hallie managed to make it to the doctor 3 times. Another ear infection, followed by hives from her antiobiotics, and an 18 month check up with the fun shots!!! We're glad it's all over. These pictures basically sum up what our lives are like lately. With Hallie sick and our freezing cold weather, we've had alot of stay home days. Hallie is obsessed with wearing hats, trying on 50 pairs of shoes a day, and trying on all her clothes that have zippers. She is such a girl! Seriously, everytime I looked at her, she has a different hat on and is holding a pile of shoes she wants me to put on her. When I went to take some pictures of her, she insisted that I take pictures of the following: Melmo, Baba (yes Natalie, that is my Kewpie doll), and her books. This is basically what she likes to play with all day (and sleep with). What an exciting few weeks! Aren't you so jelous? We are thankful that we have such a cute little girl and that she is healthy and well!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUDREY!

Happy Birthday to my cute sister in law Audrey! Hope you have the best birthday ever. I am so not with it and haven't even sent off a card, so I figured this would do for the day. I love your guts. Audrey is such an amazing person. She is a great mother to 3 beautiful kids,a wonderful sister, wife and friend, a wonderful hairdresser, and is SOOO talented with flowers. (check out her business.www.studiostems.com). She is always so kind to everyone she is around and can always make you laugh. She thinks she is the best Boggle player, and since it's her birthday I'll let her think it, but we all know who dominates (no, it's not you Nate!). Audrey, I'm so glad I have you as a sister. I love all our long talks on MSN and how you always just let me vent. I miss being away from you guys. Know that we all love you and think of you often! We hope you have a wonderful birhtday!

Des Moines Trip

My friend Jen and I went to Des Moines to visit our friend Carly last week. It was SO much fun and so great to see her. I miss her lots but am glad she didn't move too far that I can't go see her. We went and saw her cute house, went shopping and ate at the Cheesecake Factory. Our waitress probably wanted to kill us. We didn't know our 3 kids could make such a mess! Can't wait to see Carly again! P.S. Jen, I still owe you a car freshener! ha ha.

Carly, Jen and me
Hallie (sticking her tongue out cause I took her binky), Laney and Nate
This is right before Hallie decided to take her lid off and pour water everywhere!
Cute little Laney. Looking so sweet and innocent

Christmas Overload

Here's a MAJOR overload of pictures from our Utah Christmas Trip. We had lots of fun and it was so great to see family and friends. It was SO wonderful that Aaron had such a long break to spend with us too. We loved it. Hallie and I are missing that time now that he is on his surgery rotation, not to mention with the car everyday!!!

Pics of some things we did:

LAS VEGAS BOWL

Aaron and I went down to Vegas with his brothers Nate, wife Audrey, and Cody. It was lots of fun and so good to spend time with them. I will say that this will be the only time you will ever see me wearing BYU attire though. I'm not a huge BYU football fan (Audrey, don't tell Nate), but I tried my best to understand the game and I think it actually worked. It was butt cold, but we had so much fun. Aaron absolutely loved it. He informed me that I liked the boringest part of the game (half time and time outs). It was lots of fun. Big thanks to my mom for watching Hallie while we left!

FAMILY PARTIES

Parties, parties and more parties. We had some fun times. These pics are of Aaron's family party. We had lots of fun of ugly sweaters, white elephants, and lots more fun. The best was our skits. This year, we had to top our Neil Diamond lip sync, so we decided to conquer the Napolean Dynamite Dance! Let's just say, Aaron has some sweet moves you've never seen before. He was Napolean and I was Deb. We memorized the whole dance and performed it at his party and my family party. If only I knew how to put video on here! We also had a special visitor SANTA! Hallie did NOT like him at all. She freaked out. He asked for a five and she jumped out of my arms and ran to Daddy. She did like that he gave her a present though. Maybe next year.

We always have a HUGE extended family Christmas Eve Party on my side of the fam. It was lots of fun, but I didn't get many pics. It was a little different this year, since this was the first year without my Grandma. It was sad with some tears, but we did all have a great time! It was so great to have our cousin Nathan there this year who just returned home from Iraq!
We had another party on my dad's side and it was great to see them all. I'll have to admit, my favorite part was that my Aunt Kristy made my favorite homemade eclairs! They are to die for! I'm quite the sucker for them and she knows it!

VISITING FAMILY

Oh, how we love our family! It was so great to see them all and spend time with them. I didn't get pictures of nearly everyone, but here's some of who I got.
(From top left to right: My cute bro Jordan, niece Macy, Hallie and Grandma Robin at the airport (she was quite excited about the Elmo Grandma brought and now has to sleep with it EVERY night), my sweet Grandpa Dick (we loved hangin with him everyday and watching all the Jazz games with him.), Hallie and cousin Avery (p.s. Hallie cries everytime I take her Princess pj's off mom! And she wants to wear them everyday), Grandma Gayla (Aaron's mom), Grandpa Bill, my Grandma Janice, sisters Natalie, Chelsey and mom (who are bums and never let me take pics of them), Aaron's brother Nate and Fam (Nate, Audrey, Storie, Stockton and Saylor) (p.s. Audrey, I finally got a picture of you!!!), Carston, Avery and Hallie reading stories with Grandma.)

VISITING FRIENDS

It was fun to see lots of my friends. Stephanie had a Christmas Party at her GoRgEoUs house and it was lots of fun! I'm glad I got to go this year. We missed Sarah, Linds and Michelle there. We got together again at Brick Oven and it was so great to see everyone and remember all our good high school cheer days! Wow, we were quite funny :) It was great to see you all and see how freakin big and adorable your kids are. So cute! Sarah, I'm still sad I didn't get to see your boys! Sorry about Sunday. Hallie and I both got the flu. Next time for sure though.
We also saw some of Aaron's friends, but of course didn't take any pics. We got to see the Todd and Heather Fitch Fam (which was first on his list) and some other fun friends.

CHRISTMAS DAY

I don't really have any pics from Christmas. Hallie was sick and thanks to our great neighbor Dr. Yeates, he saw her on Christmas Eve and gave her some medicine. Her ears were way retracted and just had a really nasty cold. Needless to say, she wasn't too into the opening of presents or smiling for the camera. The picture of her on the couch about sums it up. She found some goldfish is her stocking and that was all she wanted. She just sprawled out on the couch and ate all her goldfish. Didn't want to open any presents. Poor thing. We did have a great Christmas though with way too many gifts. Too bad I didn't know beforehand that Hallie would be content with just goldfish for Christmas! She did enjoy opening this bike she got from Grandma and Grandpa Eakins. And I'm really hoping this Elmo phase will wear off soon. I guess my contributing of buying stuff doesn't help :)

So there you have it! There's our Christmas! We did so much! Aaron went boarding a few times with his brother and sis-in-law, I did some GREAT shopping, we caught up on our 24 episodes, had lots of Cafe Rio, Magelby's Fresh, and so much fun hanging out with our wonderful family and friends. Can't wait to see you all again.

I WISH YOU ENOUGH

I know I STILL need to post pics, but I just had to post this story my mom sent me. Guess it's one of those days (or weeks) but I couldn't help but cry when I read this and relate it to a few things in my own life. I love you mom! You're the best. Even far away, you're always here for me. Thanks for everything. Maybe this story will help someone else too! And I promise...pictures are coming :)


Recently I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.
Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, 'I love you and I wish you enough'.
The daughter replied, 'Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom'.
They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'.
Yes, I have,' I replied.
'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'.
'I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' she said.
'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?'.
She began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone'. She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more. 'When we said , ' I wish you enough', we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them'. Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
She then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them but then an entire life to forget them.
TAKE TIME TO LIVE..... To all my friends and loved ones, I WISH YOU ENOUGH

I'm the worst blogger

I have become the worst blogger ever. Well, besides my sister Natalie. We are still alive and just got back from our super long trip to Utah. Stay tuned and I will hopefully get some pictures of all our fun. We have WAY too many pictures!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA JANICE

Today is my Grandma Janice's 75th birthday. She is such an AMAZING person. I hope to be all that she is when I am her age. She is always so kind, thoughtful and sweet to everyone she meets. Not to mention the most in shape grandma EVER! She goes walking every morning, takes Yoga classes and is always so active. Only about 3 years ago she hiked the whole Havasupai with us and camped for a few nights. She was the one pushing us all along. We love you Grandma! Thanks for all you do for us. Hope you have a great birthday!

(We got to go visit with her today for a bit. The picture is with my sis Natalie and her kids Carston and Avery, and Macy)

My Cute Friend Carly

So I've been pretty lame at blogging lately. I guess maybe one reason is because I knew I would have to post about one of my bestest friends leaving me and I have been in denial!! Carly has decided to leave me in "The Hamptons" and move onto bigger better things in Des Moines. I am so excited for her that she gets to be by family and stuff, but so so sad that she's leaving. She is SO AWESOME! Carly was the first friend I met here in Iowa and we knew we'd be friends forever. We soon realized that we had LOTS in common (picky eaters, our love addictions for Diet Dr. Pepper, shopping addiction, red hair,) and not to mention everyone thinks we're sisters. I remember everywhere we go people would ask if we were twins, sisters, cousins and then be shocked that we weren't even related. Carly, I have so many fun memories with you! I know we'll still have many more to come because we'll be visiting frequently, but I'll miss you tons. Guess the day had to come where we couldn't live like we were still in high school and play everyday. My drink runs will not be the same without you. And Hallie will miss her sweet friend Laney too. (she just saw the picture of them matching and said "maymee" and started waving.)

p.s. Sorry these pictures are kinda lame. Most are on my other computer. The two group ones are at our fondue/card night (Carly, Jen, Candice, me, Amie, Sarah) and Carly's birthday dinner at HuHot (remember that was the night of the tornado??) Thanks Jen and Sarah for the pics.

And you have to check out Carly's awesome business! Sweet Sugar Baby. It's so cute! I love it. Her and her mom have worked so hard and have had such a great success! Check it out! http://www.sweetsugarbaby.net/