I'VE BEEN BITTEN . . .

AND I LIKE IT!!!

So, I know I am totally lame and TOTALLY BEHIND in this, but oh well. Over Christmas break, I started reading Twilight. I have had the book for over a year now, just lying by my bed, so one night last week, I picked it up. I could not put the dang thing down. I was reading all the time, even in the car. : ) After finishing the first book, I just had to go and rent the movie. I made Ben watch it with me. Lucky him. Now, I am into New Moon, and it is just as addicting. It's not like I have other things to do; I mean, packing, cleaning, MOVING, taking care of a child, but reading this really should be the top of my priority list - right?!

Christmas 2009 . . .

Yep, I am finally back!!! I can't believe it is 2010! Crazy. Anyway, we had a nice break from reality for awhile.

First up, my birthday on December 21. I turned the big 2-8, seriously, how can I be this old? We celebrated with dinner at Texas Roadhouse on the Saturday before where Miss B and I enjoyed unlimited Shirley Temple's. : ) Then, we had dinner at Chili's with my family on my actual birthday followed by yummy chocolate cake and ice cream. I was spoiled with gift cards to The Gap, The Buckle, cash, movies, lotion/body wash from Victoria Secret, and a new COACH wallet. So wonderful.

Then we prepared for the big day. Brooklyn was super excited about Santa coming, and kept reminding us that we all had to be asleep, although SHE was the problem. : ) On Christmas Eve after Ben got off of work, yep he had to work all day, we went over to my parents for a yummy dinner of prime rib, twice baked potatoes, and key lime pie. We visited and watched "Joy To The World" about the birth of Christ. We let Brooklyn open her new princess pajamas to wear that night. We got back home around 10, checked online where Santa was currently, and read some Christmas stories. B finally crashed around 12:30. And, then the fun began. Santa brought Brooklyn a kitchen, and so we stayed up until 2:00 to help him out.

I couldn't sleep that night, blame it on the excitement AND pregnancy, but I was up at 7, ready to go. Too bad Ben and Brooklyn were out until 9:30. This Christmas was so fun though because Brooklyn understood what was going on, and was SO excited. Ben was able to video her seeing what Santa had brought her. She loved it! *It's a little long, but the first part is the best.*

We were so spoiled with presents this year, even though Ben and I didn't get each other anything because we are getting a house. : ) We got gift cards, money, movie tickets, pots and pans, etc. for the house. Ben got a navigation for the car and I got a new COACH purse to match my wallet - love it!!! The little Miss loaded up with more princess paraphernalia than you can imagine, and enough food for her kitchen to feed anyone. : ) She also got some new games, a new baby, pajamas, a towel, DVD's, and books. We spent Christmas Day opening gifts here, and then we headed over to my parents for more gifts and food. My aunt and uncle came in later that day, and we had a relaxing day just visiting.

This past week I have kept busy cleaning, going through all of our stuff, and reading Twilight - yes, I am that behind, and I just had to go rent it the other night to watch - that is for another post though. : ) Ben has spent countless hours over at the new house snowblowing, cleaning, putting up our mailbox, putting in light bulbs, etc. We are so close, and we think that this next Saturday will be the big day. We have A LOT to do . . . packing, cleaning, moving. Fun stuff. It will all be worth it to live here:

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you all a Happy 2010!!!

Christmas card pictures . . .

I always want that perfect picture to send out with our Christmas card. So, this last Saturday was the day to try. We decided it would be fun to have one taken with our new house in the background:

Take One - as you can see, Ben was a little late running into the picture because he forgot to take off his coat. We all have to be matching you know!

Take Two - we are in Idaho, and the wind decided to kick up. Add that to the freezing cold, and you have a very unhappy Brooklyn.

Take Three - now, a very unhappy Brooklyn with both of us trying to hold her still. So, a no go on this setting.

Take Four - Brooklyn picking her nose - lovely . . .

Take Five - finally!!! And, you can barely tell I am holding down both of Brooklyn's hands. : )

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Thanksgiving 2009 . . .

We had quite the celebration this year! My grandparents came over from Garden Valley to spend Turkey Day with the family, minus Brett and Erica and Andy. Brooklyn loved playing with them, having new dancing partners, and playing hide and seek with them : ) We spent a lot of time eating, visiting, shopping, playing games, etc. We also went to see The Blind Side on Friday, which was awesome. Loved it! I love this time of year, with all of the yummy food and time with family, not necessarily in that order though. : ) Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! Can you believe it's December?

And for your viewing pleasure . . . one morning as we were on our way over to my parents', the song "Down, Down, Down" came on. She just started singing and dancing along, it was so funny. I was way surprised because the only time we listen to that station is when Ben is with us. When it's just me, it's country or nothing. : ) I guess she is liking her daddy's music as well.

Not your typical Sunday. . .

Our little family with Elder Nelson.

This past Sunday, November 22, was a very cool day. My dad is the stake president of one of the stakes here in Idaho Falls, and found out a couple of months ago, that Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), would be coming for stake conference. And so, the preparations began. My parents found out that he had requested to have lunch after the conference at their house with any immediate family in the area. My mom worried about this lunch for months, hoping it would go perfect, as it's not every day you have someone like this in your home, and it did go perfectly.


Ben, Brooklyn, and I were able to go to the conference Sunday morning and listen to him speak. As well as listen to Elder Walker of the Seventy, and also my dad. When my dad started conducting the meeting, Brooklyn said, "Hey, I hear Grandpa Jake. Where is he?" She was excited to see him on the T.V. : ) It was a great meeting.


Afterwards, we had lunch with Elder Nelson, Elder Walker, my parents, Zane, and Elder Walker's grandson. It was so neat to shake hands with an apostle, and have a conversation with him. He has a piercing gaze and he keeps eye contact for a long time. He was looking me in the eyes for awhile and then kept glancing down at my stomach. : ) I told him I was due in February, and he said "That's wonderful." He was a sweet man and we are so lucky we were able to meet and spend time with him, something we will never forget.

Random thoughts . . .

So, there are three things that I wanted Brooklyn to do before the baby came:

1. Get rid of the binky. CHECK!!! It happened in August, and it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - it just threw her sleeping habits off for awhile.

2. Get her to go to sleep on her own. Meaning, she goes in her room (at a decent hour) lays down and goes to sleep by herself. Without me holding her hand, without us laying by her, etc. We are working on this one. And, hopefully, with the help of the Super Nanny's sleep separation technique, we should have this accomplished too.

3. Have her potty trained, so I don't have to worry about changing two kids' diapers. : ) I decided to bite the bullet and give this a shot too.

Well, this is going to question my sanity. It is so frustrating to give the whole speech about being a big girl, wearing big girl underwear, explaining the chart and rewards, etc. just to have three accidents in an hour, twice. Yesterday and today. Yep, I took her potty every half hour to 40 minutes, NOTHING. Then about five minutes later, she says "Oh no, Mommy!" Dun, dun, dun. Two times it happened right after I had taken her off the toilet and pulled up her underwear. We were still standing in the bathroom for crying out loud. : ) So, is it just me or is she really not ready? I was hoping to train her here in our apartment, rather than in our new house, with new floors. : ) And, I don't know if I can even deal with number 2 accidents. I found this little quiz off of the Mayo Clinic to see if your child is ready for potty training. Let's see here:

Is your child ready? Ask yourself these questions:

■Does your child seem interested in the potty chair or toilet, or in wearing underwear? Sometimes . . .

■Can your child understand and follow basic directions? Yes.

■Can your child ask simple questions? Yes.

■Does your child stay dry for periods of two hours or longer during the day? Does he or she wake from naps dry? NO!!!

■Does your child have fairly predictable bowel movements? No.

■Does your child tell you through words, facial expressions or posture when he or she needs to go? No.

■Is your child uncomfortable in wet or dirty diapers? No.

■Can your child pull down his or her pants and pull them up again? I'm sure she could if I put her in sweats. : )

If you answered mostly yes, your child may be ready for potty training. If you answered mostly no, you may want to wait awhile — especially if your child has recently or is about to face a major change, such as a move or the arrival of a new sibling. A toddler who opposes potty training today may be open to the idea in a few months.

I was reading another quiz and it asked, "Can your child sit still and focus on one thing for longer than a couple of minutes?" My answer, "I WISH!!!"

So, do I keep trying even though it is not clicking, and she obviously isn't ready? Or, do I wait until everything else calms down in our lives? Like once we get settled in our new house, once the baby comes, I could go on and on. All of you moms out there who have been through this, I would love your advice. For now, hope that I don't go crazy. : )

Halloween 2009 . . .

Brooklyn was supposed to be a cow for Halloween (courtesy of G & G Watts - thank you again) but leading up to the big day, she refused to have anything to do with the cow costume. Sad, huh? So, as we were shopping in Target, I asked her if she wanted to be Snow White, Minnie Mouse, etc. Her reply, "No, thanks Mom. I wear the cow tomorrow." So, when Halloween rolled around, I asked her if she was ready to put on her cow costume to go trick-or-treating. "Nope, tomorrow."

We headed over to my parents' with the costume in tow, as well as her new Minnie ears as back up. Then she said she didn't want to go trick-or-treating at all. And, then she threw a little stink. Fine, she doesn't have to go. But sad. Well, Daddy worked his magic and convinced her to go trick-or-treating with him and Grandpa Jake. She did two streets of houses, and after every one, would say, "just one more house." She ended up enjoying it, and LOVED handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters who came to the door. I can always hope things go better next year right?! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

We had a fun time hanging out with my parents and Zane. We ordered Chinese food, had apple cider and donuts, and visited. What a fun holiday! Now bring on Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Ben and Little Miss Minnie Mouse. Too bad I forgot her Elmo treat pail, way to go me.