A few things I’m loving, hating, and thinking about…

I know I said 2 weeks ago that I’d be posting but then I misplaced my memory card for my camera , we all got sick, Nate’s 96 year old Aunt fell, and family came into town. So once things calm down, I find my memory card or charge the batteries for my other camera, I promise I will post pictures. In the meantime, here are a few things I’m….

Loving…

• Listening to Tayv talk to his baby brother.
• When Tayv tells me all the things he’s going to teach his brother
• That Tayv made his bed twice today by himself for the first time. (And then didn’t want to get in it for his nap or bedtime because he had already made it! I have no idea where he gets that from by the way.)
• My new fridge that gives me crushed ice at my beckon call.
• Watermelon
• The fact that I will have a nursery this time around!
• Our new ward
• That if everything continues as it is I won't get anywhere near the weight I was when I was pregnant with Tayvin.
• My new washer & dryer that I still intend to post pictures of… someday…
• Air conditioning
• That I have a reason to eat every 2-3 hours.
• All the tiny baby socks (and clothes) that I’ve been washing!

Hating….

• That I have to pee almost as often as I blink.
• That I HAVE to eat every 2-3 hours.
• Waking up in our new, quiet house with no weird curry, Mexican, or other smells to make me sick for the rest of the day.
• How long & hard Nate is having to work until they hire another person.
• Most of my maternity clothes.
• That even though we have our very own yard, it’s still not big enough to get Tayvin the playground set he’s been drooling over at Costco for as long as he could talk.
• That we can’t afford to all go to Alaska for a visit during the summer but Nate refuses to go without us.
• That in a few weeks Nate is going to Florida and I just can’t justify going with him.
• Iron pills, heartburn, and down comforters

Thinking about…

• How it’s so not fair that when Nate was sick he just took some Nyquil to knock him out but even though I can never sleep anymore I just have to live with it. Oh well, good practice I guess!
• Trying to figure out why nobody laughed or even commented on my "Got Pickles?" shirt the other day. I mean, come on people, this is Utah county-this is what you do-make babies!
• The birthday invitations and 50ish baby announcements that I haven’t made or designed yet. (I’m thinking Costco again….)
• How I'm SO not ready for the exhaustion that comes with a new baby but can't wait to hold him...
• That I'm still not completely convinced that we're having another boy even though that's what we saw-just seems off.
• That I'm still stretch-mark free but probably jinxing myself by watching so closely.
• Peanut butter Cyclops cookies, Texas sheet cake, homemade caramels, marshmallow popcorn, ok, what sweets am I not thinking of?

Got your hopes up didn't I?

I promise an update and pictures soon! Nate says no pictures of the house until it looks like a house not a UPS store but I'm going to cheat and show you a very exciting picture of my 2 new best friends-my washer and dryer! They're so beautiful AND the dryer dries the clothes in ONE CYCLE! Anyway...it'll be coming this week sometime so don't give up on me!

LOVING THIS!

Just found this tonight-I could listen to it over and over! (It's even fast enough to go on my running playlist.)

http://

The BEST dads in the world!

Nate and I often talk about how blessed we are to have the families we do. We both recognize that our parents have faults but that they are absolutely the BEST parents in the world-for us. So just a little shout-out to the BEST dads in the world....(especially the hot one I'm married to.)

I know, you can't see my Dad's face in this very well but I think that's why he's always wearing hats...This one is from Nate's graduation day last year but it's one of my favorites of Dave & Tayv...

Happy Father's Day to our Dads, Grandpas, & Uncles- we love you all and are so grateful for all you do for us!

Love,

Nate, Stac, & T-Mac

Lately...

Wow! We have been so busy! Just in the last few weeks we've had weddings, scout trips, a trip to Arizona, 2 camping trips coming up, family in town, a trip to the zoo, drs appointments, etc etc. Oh yah, and we put in an offer on a house yesterday! More details and pictures to come but here are a few of the pictures that everyone's been requesting of Tayvin...

The one and only picture I got of him in this pose-he has his daddy's flexibility (or rather lack thereof)...Since he looks like a monkey when he says cheese, he got to choose a new word to say that would make him laugh-he chose "farfanoodle." And being that I would ask him what that word was over and over, we got plenty of shots with this exact look!And my absolute favorite one-he calls this his "superman thing."

And with that, I'll leave you with what he said to Nate and Jeanne the other night when Nate put a movie on for him...

"Yah, that's the one. I've always been a big time fan!"

Mother's Day

I hope everyone had an incredible Mother's Day-I certainly did! I started a new tradition that I wanted to do last year but forgot so this year I remembered! I want to take a picture on Mother's Day of me and my kids to celebrate the privilege of being their mommy! None of them are fantastic and I didn't spend time cropping or editing but here's what we got...

Also, as requested, some belly pics... The pictures make me look bigger than I feel- I'm definitely a lot smaller this time around but I think it's just because I'm eating a lot better and running. The baby is a little small for his due date but still very healthy!

At 19 weeks, I think... (Sorry about the whole slanted thing-Nate likes to mess around and I can't get him to just take a straight-on picture!)

At 22 weeks and 2 days...

I'm still looking through the new pics of Tayv but should be posting some in the next couple days!

A HAPPY Mothers Day to me and you!

I've been thinking a lot lately about expectations. I tend to have high expectations for everything in my life. And being the control-freak that I am, those expectations tend to make things more miserable for me and those around me when things don't turn out exactly as I have planned. So I've been contemplating how much easier I could make life if I were to give up some of those expectations and just accept things as they come. And since we all tend to have certain expectations of Mother's Day, I thought that would be a great place for me to start. (Well, technically I started it a few days ago, and let me tell you how much easier it's been. But Mother's Day is a big one!)
In our house, growing up, we always made my mom breakfast in bed for Mother's Day. So naturally, I expected that Nate did too and he would do that for me. Not so. It has since been discussed in detail and he understands that it's important to me along with all those other Mother's Day things like making dinner, getting up with Tayv, letting me sit down and read, etc, etc. But every year I have found myself making dinner for his mom because he and his brothers didn't and even more so, I have found myself disappointed for some reason or another. This year, I decided no expectations! I love being a mom, every day I try to be better, and knowing this is going to be enough for me this year. So instead of expecting anything, I went out and bought Nate and Tayvin gifts for Mother's day to thank them for letting me be a mom. I talked to Tayvin about how we need to think about all the moms in our lives that help us out and thank them. I've tried my hardest to put the focus on others instead of what I want my Mother's day to be like. I think that in doing so, it will be a much greater day than any one before. So here's to a Happy Mother's Day for all the mothers in our life that help make us who we are, especially my Mom and Jeanne. Thanks for all you do and I wish everyone a very Happy Mother's Day!


P.S. When I came home from a bachelorette party tonight, Tayv & Nate had written me a cute little book about all the reasons they love me. That definitely wasn't expected but I couldn't have asked for a better gift! So to heck with expectations!

Pictures from the last... oh I don't know... 6 months or so

I received a rather humorous email a few minutes ago... "Stacia, Put some current pictures on your blog of Tayvin could ya?" I laughed because all I could think was "Sure, if I had some." I do have a few but they're just not very good. (And let's face it, no picture does my cute kid justice! :) Nate thinks it's ridiculous to pay somebody to take pictures of Tayvin when I used to be a photographer but seriously, I can't get a real smile out of the kid when there's a camera anywhere within reach. Nevertheless, I have a photo shoot planned for this week.

So Britt, here are some somewhat current random pictures and maybe if I get even a single smile, I'll post some more later this week or next...

Is the day over yet?

Every morning Tayvin wakes up yelling either, "Can I come out yet?" or "Did Daddy go to work yet?" But this morning it was "Is the day over yet?" I was still asleep when he woke up this morning so it took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about. Let me explain. My cute sister-in-law made me some days of the week towels for Christmas. They have these cute girls on them doing different things like laundry, making cookies, picking apples, etc. Tayvin knows all of them by name as if they were some of his best friends. A few weeks ago when my dad stopped by, he and Tayvin were talking about when we would be going up for the weekend to visit. My dad told him that it was Wednesday and we wouldn't be going until Friday. So Tayvin makes a mad dash to my towels, takes Wednesday down, shoves her back in the drawer and is searching excitedly for Friday. Now this week, he gets to go have a sleepover at Grandma & Grandpa's house on Friday. So yesterday, all he wanted to do was change the towel so that Tuesday would be over and Friday would come.
Now I'm sitting here at 1:30 in the morning wasting time on the computer because when I go to bed, that means the day is over and I have to start all over again tomorrow. In all honesty, I was ready to go back to bed by about 3:45 this afternoon and give up on the day. But since that's not really an option for most of us, I dealt and now I'm dreading tomorrow. But then I ran across this quote tonight by N. Eldon Tanner,
"A mother has far greater influence on her children than anyone else, and she must realize that every word she speaks, every act, every response, her attitude, even her appearance and manner of dress affect the lives of her children and the whole family. It is while the child is in the home that he gains from his mother the contribution he will make to society."
So I think I'll go change my towel to Thursday, count the day as over, and look forward to tomorrow. Because I have so much opportunity to change the world through my one little angel who sees tomorrow as we all should, something to look forward to. Perhaps I can learn from his outlook on cookies too. "You can never have too many."

Hmmm.

As if you couldn't already tell, Tayvin is going to have a Baby Brother! And now that's he's over not getting a baby sister, he really is pretty excited. I did have to convince him though that it would be more fun to play sports and dig in the dirt with a brother than a sister. Nate was a little dissapointed because he wants a girl but we're both glad that Tayvin will have a brother fairly close to his age. Not to mention the huge relief that we don't have to figure out where the money would come from for me to shop for a girl! So now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with so many boys around... I HATE cleaning the bathroom!

Welcome back, Friend!

Oh how I missed my old friend-spring. I absolutely love summer and all the things that come with it- BBQs, rodeos, fresh cut grass, peas in the pod, fruit and fruit dip, capris, sandals, birds, green, the 4th of July, camp fires, sunglasses, I could go on forever, but spring welcomes you to summer so I'm always happiest to see spring! I was lucky enough not to be in Alaska this last winter but even here in Utah, spring couldn't decide if it was here or not. We had a week of 70 then snow storms. Buds on trees, then snowflakes. I tell you, this desert weather is a bit crazy. But now spring is here, my white legs are in capris, and we have so much going on!

-Tomorrow we find out if we are having a boy or girl! Nate and Tayvin have insisted the entire time that it is a girl and I keep having to remind them that it still may be a boy. Although, now, because of the way the baby moves, I'm kinda thinking it's a girl too. But whatever it is, I don't really care, I'm just so excited to have it! (Yes, for now, I'm calling my baby an it and there's nothing anybody can do about it.)
-We just got another calling, teaching primary. We now have 3 callings but it's been fun to actually get to work together in them.
-We went on our first hike last weekend with our scouts. Our goal is to do Mt. Olympus by the end of the summer with them so we're working up to it. I was trying to figure out how I was going to hike it at 8 1/2 months pregnant but as it turns out, summer lasts way through September here so I definitely won't be able to hike it 2 weeks after I have the baby. (I'm sure you can tell how brokenhearted I am being that I LOVE hiking so much-ya right.)
-We'll be heading to Arizona for Memorial Day weekend to see Mo & Julia. I'm so excited to go see their place, enjoy some sun, and spend some time with my boys. Not so excited about the swimming suit though since I'm sure Tayvin will HAVE to swim.
-On Friday, I go to the doctor and will officially be half way through my pregnancy. She'll be thrilled I finally gained some weight but I'll be kicking up the running a notch this next month!

That's about it for now but tune in tomorrow to find out what we're having! (Unless you consider it peeking, Autumn & Jess, we just may not tell you! :P )

Big Brother!

We can finally announce it officially….
Tayvin is a Big Brother!
We wanted to wait and tell some people in person when we were up in Alaska so we’ve kinda been keeping it a secret. I’m just over 14 weeks, due Sept 11th, baby’s heartbeat is strong, and we are so excited!

Here’s a cute tidbit about Tayvin…
I was pretty sure I was pregnant for a few days before I told Nate or Tayvin. I had just had so many negative tests that I didn’t want to get anybody’s hopes up and end up letting them down. So once I was sure, I told Tayv during the day while Nate was working. I asked him if he wanted to tell daddy by himself or if he wanted me to make him a new shirt to tell daddy. Of course, he chose the shirt. So that afternoon he helped me make it on the computer then we went to the store and picked up Nate from work. When we got home, Tayvin says (and none of this was coached by his ever-controlling mother,) “Hmmm… I think I’ll take off my coat now.”
And then, “Dad, look at my new shirt!”
Now, on the front of his shirt, it says “Guess What!” Then on the back, of course, “I’m a big brother!” So Nate reads it out loud and Tayvin turns around, looks at him all excited and says, “Hey, me too! I’m a big brother too!” It was seriously too cute for words!
So there’s my update for the next two months (I’m kidding. Hopefully.)

A rather lengthy but not very intelligent update.

It took me until February to change my Christmas background. Rather sad, huh. So you’d think with as busy as I’ve been, I’d have plenty to blog about. But not really. Actually, it’s more that I STILL don’t have internet at our new (if you can still call it that) place so when I do get on the internet I have a million things to do and unfortunately blogging doesn’t get to be at the top of the list. I do still check everyone else’s blogs though-no worries. But being that I LOVE reading others’ updates, I figure it’s only fair if I do some type of an update. Sans pictures though.

-On the 15th I’ll be headed to Alaska for Nate’s brother’s wedding. John & Jess have worked hard to get to this point and we’re so excited to add Jess to the family! I’ll be there for a week and Nate will join us on Thursday. We so miss his family and all the time we used to get to spend with them so we’re really looking forward to this.

-We’ll also get to meet two new babies-hopefully. (Autumn, get on that will ya? :P ) Our good friends Chad & Jenn had their baby girl Xienna in January and hopefully Joe & Autumn will have a baby there before we leave! I’m so excited that I’m in a position to go and help them so hopefully I’ll get a chance.

-When we get back Nate’s family will all be coming down for an open house and hopefully at least one day of skiing. They’re not all staying with us but we’re so excited to have them come down, spend time with us and ski in the GREATEST SNOW ON EARTH. J

-Nate made it through lay-offs at his company and will hopefully be getting a promotion within the next six months so that we can get into a house this fall. We’re still adjusting to living on a budget-I’ve decided it’s just not for us so we need more money. (HaHa, really, does anybody love living on a budget?)

-Tayvin is growing and soaking up all the information he can, as usual. He can sing the 1st verse of “I am a Child of God,” both verses of “I have two little hands,” and knows the 1st and 2nd articles of Faith. Of course, there are plenty of other songs he sings (especially Christmas ones) but those are his newest ones.

-We had our first playgroup last week. It’s just one other little boy for now. It’s not the same as what we had in Alaska but I still really appreciate Michelle and her friendship.

-I’M DONE WITH OUR OFFICE! That really is the most exciting to me! We’re half way through our stay here and I’ve got it done. Now in a few more months, I’ll start packing it up again. (sigh) Oh well, maybe next time we move it will be easier to organize it now that I’ve gone through all the crap-Can’t believe how much I threw away!


Check back at the beginning of March and hopefully we’ll have pictures and more to say.
Until then, I’ll leave you with a few things Tayv has said lately…

-“I think I’ll keep you, Mom”
-“When I go to Levi and Michelle and Eli’s house again, I’ll see the Arizona Caramels.” (That’s where we watched the Super Bowl this year.)
-While helping me make some Tapioca pudding last week, he LET me stir then told me “YOU are doing such a good job mommy.”
-When Nate asked him who let him use the kid scissors, “Um mom. Wait. My MOTHER.”

- “Mom, are you not sad?”
“No.”
“Are you happy?”
“Yah, I’m happy. Are you not sad?”
“ Nope I’m happy.”
“Oh, why are you so happy?”
“Because I’m married to you! I married you.”

My Sweet Big Boy

Well that was kinda scary. I went to write this quick post and several of my keys wouldn't work. (Tayv fell on my computer this morning.) But I restarted and all is well. So on to the post...

I haven't written much about Tayv in quite awhile because frankly, he's the cutest kid in the world and I don't want to make everyone else feel bad. Just kidding. Really, it's just so hard to describe the cuteness of some of the things he does or says. Nate doesn't even get it half the time. But he has said several things lately that might be cute even without seeing or hearing it.

-Last night, after dinner at Formosa while I was putting him in his car seat. He reaches out, pulls me in for this big hug and says very giddily (is that a word?): "I'm so so happy!"

-This morning I asked him if he was having a good morning so far. When he said he was I asked what was making his morning so good. He thought for a second then said "Um, my mommy." I don't think I did anything special, just got blessed with a seriously sweet boy.

I've been thinking a lot lately about so many parents who have children die, get kidnapped, get diagnosed with cancer, etc and even more so, about how much I love being a mom and how blessed I have been to not have to deal with losing a child. I hope to always be able to keep that in the for-front of my mind and live for it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to clean off my desk so I can get some Christmas cards out to y'all and have a place to put my computer so as to avoid any more scares.

A quick, non-creative update (I am supposed to be working after all!)

I feel like I fell off the face of the earth! Really, though, we're alive and pretty busy! We haven't hooked up our Internet yet so I go to the clubhouse to get my work done online but that's pretty much it for net time! We mostly have our boxes unpacked-I'm just working on the office still. And I haven't done much for decorating yet because, well, let's just say my tastes can be expensive! Nate is loving his job and is learning a ton. Tayvin did not want to be potty-trained this morning so we'll try again next week. And I am just trying to keep everything running here while doing Mary Kay a little on the side.
We went to Alaska for my birthday and got to see so many people that we miss so much! Then Nate's brother came up from Arizona for a few days. I put him to work hanging pictures. (He didn't get as frustrated as Nate when I changed my mind, plus he didn't have opinions that I didn't like.) So thanks for the help Mo, and thanks for coming up-it was good to see you! It's starting to get cold here but we can still go outside with just jackets and I love it! No baby on the way yet, but keep watching-one day....
Gotta Run! We love and miss everyone and hope you are all doing great!