June Photo A Day

I'm playing this month. Will you play with me? List and details HERE.

PS I know this is not really a blog post, but it's a cute picture of my baby! And doing Photo A Day challenges really are really fun. So... :)

The Sixth Month

Baby girl is growing up so big and strong! I am so proud of her and loving being her mommy. Every day is a joy. Every day (or parts of every day) can be hard, but I wouldn't trade where I am and what I'm doing for anything in the world. I love the way she clasps her hands (evidenced in pictures above & below). I love the way she occasionally falls asleep on a dime while holding her toys. I love the way she loves things that crinkle & crackle and plays with her wipes during diaper changes. I love her smiles and her giggles. I love her chubby cheeks and legs. I love her blue blue eyes and her super-friendly personality. I love that she cuddles with me and recognizes me in a crowd.

This month has been a full one. Full of happiness, laughter, and fun as well as tears, frustration, and exhaustion. Hannalyn has been a real trooper as she has learned to roll all over the place, sits up almost all by herself, and tries to crawl with lots of face-planting and hand-grasping as far as she can reach and kicking her legs. It's hilarious. She is steadily growing and getting bigger and stronger. She loves swinging and "running" (being held while someone else runs) and being in her stroller and carseat. She does not like waiting to eat - when she is ready she is ready. She does not like wind and has mixed feelings about grass. She loves being passed around at play practice which she attends every evening with Daniel & I. She also loves singing. But if it starts getting windy or if I disappear for too long, she lets everybody know that something is wrong.

Hannalyn is the greatest part of our lives. She has blessed and changes our home in more ways than we ever imagined possible. We love her and her spirit so much. She is growing and changing much too fast. Half of me wishes she could stay this way forever, but I know that part of the fun of the last six months has been watching her grow and change. Hannalyn is definitely her own person and I love her the way she is. Thanks for all the prayers and support from friends and family and strangers that have carried us through. We are forever grateful to you.

We love you, sweet baby. Keep growing big and strong.
xoxo forever

pink blankets

This little girl puts anything and everything into her mouth. Her fingers, shirts, fingers, dresses, blankets, fingers, toys, and did I mention fingers? Over the last day or two she has started putting just her thumb in her mouth. Uh oh. It's darling. She also loves playing peek-a-boo. She plays best with her grandpa Pearson. She thinks it is hilarious. We were playing peek-a-boo with this blanket til she grabbed it from me and put it in her mouth. Guess she was ready for a more tactile type of fun. Ha.

Oh, by the way, in case you couldn't tell, her eyes are still blue. Blue blue blue as ever. She is almost six months old. I'm wondering if they will ever change. I guess the only way to find out is to wait and see. I'm very curious. :)

Pink blankets. The only way to go.

Dan the Birthday Man

Dear Birthday Man,
Today we celebrate your day of birth. We remember the wonderful life you have lived so far and cheer you on with good wishes for the life you have yet to live. Today you will be told over and over that you are loved by people who love you. I am one of those people telling you how I love you. You are a wonderful husband and father. I am so proud of you and feel so lucky to be the one that gets to be with you for eternity.

Happy birthday from us to you.
xoxoxoxo forever.

tuesday mornings

This picture cracks us up every time.

I love the quiet of morning. The calm before the storm. The light of a new day, a new start. The secret smiles sent across the pillow-wall. The foot and calf rubs under the covers. The change in breathing from soft and slow to loud and fast as we get ready to use our vocal chords. The clearing of throats and rubbing of eyes. The glancing at the clock to determine if we can sneak a few more z's. The peeks at the foot of the bed to see if baby is really awake or just dreaming. The grins when baby is grinning at me. The ensuing snuggling in the still warm and comfy bed. I love it all. I love Tuesday mornings.

Weekend Whirlwind

 

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!

We spent Friday & Saturday adventuring in the Orem/Provo area. It was a marvelous time. Hannalyn sat in a swing outside for the first time with her great-grandfather Brown and she sat in the shopping cart at Costco. She is getting so big! We went and visited the gazebo where Daniel proposed to me. We were out there so that Daniel could work at the ColdStone in University Mall, so I got to do a little bit of shopping, too. It was great.

Today, Daniel is fishing & I'm hanging out with my mom and sisters. Later we will have a barbecue. Maybe we will play outside, watch a movie, and eat a delicious treat. What will you be doing?

being mommy

I read this post today from Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim. It really spoke to & stood out to me.

I'm not sure why her post in particular stood out to me when I've read several similar posts from several people - strangers, friends, and family alike. Maybe it was the timing of it. Who knows.

I am so grateful to be a mommy. I feel like I say that a lot on this blog. I probably do - because it is true. Being grateful to be a mommy doesn't mean that it is easy or that I am always happy to do it (especially when it means cleaning poop off of a baby and her clothes and her blanket and her crib sheet and everything). But I love it. The ups and the downs have to come together so we can appreciate the ups and learn from the downs. It's the way of life and I have never been more grateful for an experience like I have from this one.

I am also grateful for the support system that I have - my family and friends that encourage and support me in everything. They help me when I am tired or frustrated. They laugh with me and cry with me and talk me through the wild tumult of emotions that is motherhood. So, thank you to everyone who is, has been, will be, or ever wants to be a mom. Thank you to all those who support those who are moms. And thank you to children - for being beautiful and wonderful and crazy and poopy.

I hope to always be a support to moms around me and just a nice person in general. :)
Or at least, I'll try to be.

Sleeping

Hannalyn is a great sleeper. She is a champ. (Of course, I'm going to say this and it's all going to change, but for right now I have to be her cheerleader.) Hannalyn especially loves sleeping when she can cuddle with someone - as evidenced by the above pictures. She loves cuddling with her daddy, too. Almost every time Daniel puts her down for a nap during my lessons, I come back to our bedroom and find both of them asleep. It's adorable. :)

...and that's about all I have to say about that.

perfect

When it's late at night and the neighborhood is quiet, when the temperature is warmer than the early morning chill and cooler than the afternoon heat, and when teddy bear wrestling and tickles from mommy & daddy are the absolute funnest things to happen all day - this is the time when life is pretty much perfect. This is the time when it's just the three of us - close, cozy, and a jumble of arms & legs. This is the time when I don't worry about the future and can close my eyes to the past. This is the time I feel overwhelmed with gratitude and soak in hope. This is the time I love the most, when life is pretty much perfect.

Book Review: Ilana's Wish

I cannot tell you how much I loved this book. Even when I wasn't reading it, I was still thinking about it - worrying and praying for the characters, hoping that it would all turn it right in the end. It was wonderful. It was intense, spiritual, emotional, and just awesome. I had a hard time reading at a few points because it was so real and the emotion was so raw. It was hard. But it was also beautiful & a fantastic story of hope and change.

That's really all I have to say about it, except encourage you to read it. It is well worth the time.

Ilana's Wish by Annette Lyon, is Book #8 in the Newport Ladies Book Club series. Although it's Book #8, it can be read stand-alone as well. Some of the novels in the series have romance, but they're primarily women's fiction. Here's a short blurb:

Ilana Goldstein leads an enviable life: a thriving career and a happy marriage to a handsome doctor. All that’s missing is a baby . . . Then, in an instant, her life falls apart. Now, beneath Ilana’s once flawless exterior hides a dark secret. Following a rapid succession of crushing trials, Ilana turns to prescription medications to take the edge off her agony—both the ache of her body and the anguish of her soul. But when her desperation to dull the pain leads to the downward spiral of addiction, her friends in the Newport Ladies Book Club must do whatever it takes to save one of their own.

Find Ilana's Wish by clicking on any of the following links. Do it. You won't regret it.
AMAZON
GOODREADS
DESERET BOOK

going on a walk

Hannalyn LOVES her uncle Taylor. Thinks he's the bees knees or some other such thing. Truthfully, I do, too.

Uncle Taylor is home for the summer and the only uncle close by. Uncle Matt used to be close, well... a 7 hr drive to Idaho close, but his family is moving to New York. (P.S. Svedins - we are going to miss you guys so so much!!!) So Hannalyn enjoys spending time with her uncle and going on walks.

We strapped Hannalyn into the carrier & she got super excited. I think she knew what was coming. So we all went on a little walk. It was required to make me feel better after sitting for an hour playing video games with Taylor and quite enjoyable, too. It was the perfect day. Beautiful & warm & not too breezy. More walks are definitely in our future if the weather stays amiable.

I am hoping the weather stays amiable. :)

Sometimes I wonder

Confession time.

I like to think that I'm a nice person, a smart person, a thoughtful person, a fun person, & even  a friendly person. I like to think that others think I'm nice, smart, thoughtful, fun, & friendly. I always try to have a smile on my face and be encouraging and positive. I enjoy playing games (all sorts) and interacting with people and talking and listening, too.

So then why do I have such a hard time making (and keeping) friends?

This is something that has been on my mind a lot lately. Wondering why I struggle so much in this area. Maybe I'm not all those things I think I am. Maybe I'm selfish & whiny. Maybe I'm needy. Maybe I'm just picky. It could be that I don't find people with common interests. Or that our time commitments, responsibilities, and priorities don't line up often. Maybe it's that I am really crappy at returning emails - therefore long-distance friendships are difficult to keep up.

Maybe I'm just not a good friend.

I feel like there have been definite 'stages' of friends in my life. In grade school, I very rarely had friends that were my friends from year to year. Maybe one or two, but not many & not often. In middle school I more or less kept to myself. I was shy and preferred reading to anything else, so I was content to stay home. I did meet a couple of girls, however, that I got pretty close to through junior high & high school. Junior high I definitely had one or two friends that I was really close to and a bunch of friends that I got along well with. Theater in junior high really helped me out - spending hours after school every day with people was a good way to get to know them & we all became friends and a pretty close-knit group. We stayed close through high school, too, because we were in theater and band and choir together. We had a mix of girls and boys and I loved spending time with them. I still only had one or two that I felt really close to, but I really liked everyone. And I felt that everyone liked me.

Then my junior year, I took myself out of the group that we had formed. It's a story for another time, but I suddenly found myself without a 'group', again hanging back and being shy, not going out much, and only having one or two people to talk to.  It was hard and I couldn't wait to leave and go to college so I could start over.

Snow College was the perfect re-start for me. When I got there, I didn't know of anyone else from Vernal that had gone. Later I found a couple, but I was far away from the people I'd known and free to be whomever I wanted to be. My roommates were my first friends, for which I have never stopped being grateful. The three girls I roomed with my first year have been closer than any other friend I've ever had and have stayed that way even with distance ever-increasing between us. I also met a couple of other people that I have remained friends with. Not as close as I'd like, but comfortable friends I think.

During this time, I lost one of my friends whom I'd been closer to than anyone throughout junior high and high school. I wasn't sensitive to her needs when she asked for me to listen to her and she let me know that she didn't appreciate it and walked away without looking back. I wish I could go back and fix it. I can't, of course, but I like to think I've learned from that experience and have been better. Unfortunately, I know it's not always true.

I guess what I'm trying to say through this exceptionally wordy post is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry to all the friends I've lost contact with and all the friends I've let down. I'm sorry for not being a good friend like I should be. I want to do better. I will try my hardest to do better.

I wonder if I can be a good friend. I want to be & I will pray for help along the way. Please forgive me & be patient as I learn to be better.

To those that are still my friends, thank you. Thank you for your love & trust. 

Thank you.

pageant

Here are hubby & baby showing off their poses. Not really. But they are being really cute. In truth, these pictures have nothing to do with the post I'm about to write. They are just for fun. :)

Some of you may remember that my sisters were involved in a couple of pageants last summer. They were excellent and it was a fun time. I have never been in a pageant myself, though I've gone to several to support my sisters. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I got a text from a friend telling me that she had given my number to one of her friends that lives in Roosevelt as a possible judge for an upcoming teen pageant. Not too long after, I got a phone call telling me that the directors were looking for someone well-educated in music to be a judge for the pageant and would I please please do it. I asked if I could bring my baby, they said yes, and so we were off.

We spent most of Saturday in Roosevelt (30 miles away from Vernal). I had to be there at 2 and we got home that evening at 9:30. It was a long day, but lots of fun. Daniel was fantastic and hung out with Hannalyn all day - giving her bottles & naps & being a rockstar so I could judge the pageant. I learned a lot about what the pageant is supposed to be about and what the organization looks for in their girls - someone well-spoken, well-rounded, talented, & kind.

Hoorah for new, fun experiences! 

What's something new you've done lately?

Mother's Day

For the record, the above is not a selfie. It is a picture (with a blurry baby face). The end.


I am sure everyone says this, but it is true for me: I have the best mom ever. This woman is so patient & loving & kind & talented & wonderful. I am so grateful for the inspiration that she has always been to me. Ever since I was little, I knew that the only thing I wanted to really do when I grew up was to be a mom just like my mom. I hope to make her proud every day. And I hope that I can give my little one as much love as my mom gave me.

Love you, mommy.
Happy Mothers Day - to all you mothers in body & spirit & attitude. Thanks for being YOU.

Les Mis

So, for those of you who haven't heard, we have some big news.

The Outlaw Trail Theater is the community theater in Vernal and they put on a show every summer. Anyone can audition and it is always a fantastic time. The first show I was in was a show done by the Outlaw Trail - 14 years ago. 14 years. Yeah. Crazy. I was 10, the show was The Music Man, and I was Gracie (the Mayor's Daughter) with 3 lines. The rest is history. :) I have been in 7 shows at the Outlaw Trail, choreographed one, was the stage manager for another, and this year - I'll be back onstage. This time with Hubby in Les Miserables!

I don't have a part and I am very ok with that. However, Hubby does - he is Jean ValJean. That's right. The main man himself. He does an amazing job and I am so so excited for him. He is thrilled, to say the least, and sings the songs every chance that he gets. He is already working so hard. I am very proud. We've only had one week of rehearsals, but I know this will be a fantastic show.

If you want to know, the show is the last week of June and first week of July. We would love to see you if you want to come. We even have a couch or air mattress that you can use when you come. :) For information about tickets & stuff - just click HERE.

Well, that's the news! I am excited to be part of another show, especially with Daniel. It will be a fun summer.

x's & o's.

M.I.A.

so... yeah. I haven't posted in a while. I have no real reason except that time is just whipping past. It feels like it takes forever to get to Thursday, but then suddenly it's Friday and the week is gone and I realize all of the things that I was supposed to do and never did and HOLY SMOKES. It's all over. Yup.

Anyway. The next few days will be full of posts that I have only had half-written up to this point as well as a few updates on our life. I hope you don't mind. I sure don't. :) Like I've said, it's real life.

And now. I like pictures. So here are a few interesting ones from my phone.

(a) Hannalyn & a chew toy. No teeth yet, but I'm very ok with that. But she loves to chomp on toys & her fingers, so... I'm wondering if they are coming. We will see.

(b) This onion was found in our cupboard after returning from our Texas trip. It grew. :)

(c) Hair grabbing. So cute. I don't remember if she was asleep for this picture or not, but she does sleep that way occasionally.

(d) Once upon a time I went to a craft night with some girl friends (well, went with one to see others) and made these spring blocks. Cute, right?

...and that's it. The end. Happy weekend!