Lorry and David

Places to go...

2012-02-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

We have been enjoying the different museums here in the Baltimore and DC area. We have been to quite a few now and have thoroughly enjoyed getting in free everywhere with David's company passes and a nice employee of the Newseum for his passes.

We started off with the Port Discovery Children's museum in Baltimore. It is a huge fun place. It is targeted for older kids...like 5-10 would be a fun age to really enjoy it. But I thought everything was really cool too and I enjoyed playing there and climbing around helping Katelyn take in the full effect. I may have used her as an excuse, but I had a good time.

They have a HUGE three-story jungle gym/obstacle course that Chris and I willingly took our kids through.

From the third level there is a big slide that finished off the play place. Katelyn and Liam even went down!

There are different rooms/areas/zones through out the museum and the water zone is always a favorite.

David loved that they had spray bottles and squeegees for window cleaning training. He was sold this was a magical place!

You could make giant bubbles with this and we all gawked at this for a few minutes captivated by the contraption. Bubbles were cool in nursery and are still just as mesmerizing.

David sat with Katelyn as she created her art. For the last few months she has loved drawing and coloring. That is often how I keep her entertained and it was a lifesaver on our flights to and from Washington. Sometimes during church she will sit and draw too....only sometimes. (Nursery is so close!)

Katelyn still loves mirrors. At our hotel in West Virginia there were big sliding mirrors on our closet and I realized that she thinks of her reflection as a friend. She would play peek-a-boo and giggle from excitement, but she does that at home as well. What really made me realize it was that I gave her a little bowl of cereal to snack on and she went and sat on the floor in front of the mirror. She was playing a kicking footsie game giggling and screeching in excitement and would talk and point to her friend as she laughed trying to breathe all at the same time. She would also try to give her cereal to her friend in the mirror as she would reach her arm out all the way to the mirror. Her friend wouldn't take it out of her hand so Katelyn would put it on the ground and push it to her. She was pushing the cereal into the track that the mirror door ran along and it would disappear. Later I opened up the closet door and there were tons of pieces of Katelyn's cereal that she shared with her mirror friend. Turns out that little friend wasn't as hungry as she seemed!

Here's the happy campers in the mummy cave zone. Katelyn never has been a smiley girl.

The classic "stick your head in the hole" pictures were a little different for Liam. He secretly likes to put on a show for his mom and dad as long as no one else is watching.

Katelyn is the happiest queen around!

The random horse bum was for brushing the horses tail....Katelyn thought it was interesting.

They had a mini indoor soccer court with a beach ball soccer ball that was fun. I got a little into it and Liam and Katelyn would run through here and there and even got knocked in the face with the ball. It was soft and they weren't too bothered by it. I miss playing and would so much rather play a sport to get my exercise in than plain running or exercise videos.

Fun toys like this were all over the place. This museum would be perfect for 5-10 year olds and they could thoroughly enjoy it all.

Usually David has a hard time keeping his eyes open, but it was me this time so we tried again...

Oh great...next time the Rudds will just sit out. Half of this picture looks amazing and the other half need some serious help! Even Liam is doing what he is supposed to!

Next we went to the Baltimore Aquarium. I was most excited for the dolphins. I have always loved whales and dolphins and my secret dream job is to be a whale or dolphin trainer...and has been since I was 10. The show was a little wimpy and had less dolphin action and too much of a presentation on keeping our oceans clean.

It was still fun though. Dolphins always look so happy!

I loved that we were able to go and watch the dolphins from underneath the water. I love watching their playfulness and how they twist and turn and jump! So fascinating to me!

Like I said...David is usually the one that has a hard time keeping his eyes open and here's proof...

and another...

make that four...

and then he tried too hard...I was laughing too hard to try again.

He's a cute dad.

There's some pink birds in the back of the picture, but I mostly like Katelyn's face here. That's a new one and I think a bird snatched her hand off. She hasn't needed it much lately ...kidding ;)

The inner harbor is really pretty at night.

After a long day of playing she lets us snuggle in and read some books...she can be so sweet sometimes!

New Year's Eve we went to the Newseum with Chris and Tricia. It has everything news there and was not as fascinating for little kids. On the top floor you can go out on the balcony and get a really nice view of DC.

Afterward's we went to the National Harbor shopping center. They still had lights up everywhere from Christmas and it was fun to see.

We waited for a light/water show for way too long. The people and signs kept saying it would start so soon, but after a while we gave up hope.

We hung out that night at their place and played games, ate yummy Brazillian food, and slept/watched a movie to ring in the new year and Chris' birthday.
The next day we had yummy cinnamon rolls and rushed off to church. Chris slaved away and cooked up some pizzas for his birthday dinner. He has his special recipe (I think he makes it up as he goes) and we sang probably the most beautiful Happy Birthday song to him. He looks very impressed.

Our Newseum passes were good for two days so David and I ventured out on his extra day off to finish seeing the rest of the museum we missed the first time. David liked seeing this Dallas news helicopter on display...he is still a proud Texan!

The next weekend we visited the Discovery Center Museum. This is the harbor on a beautiful sunny winter day!

This museum is targeted towards the older kids and has everything science. It was fun and interesting for us and Katelyn liked most of it too.

I laid down on a bed of nails...much better than just one pokey nail.

We have loved having these free passes to all these fun places! It makes them so much more fun when you get in free! Now I am trying to figure out where I am supposed to find the shopping spree passes to H&M for some cute new clothes :)

Made with extra love...

2012-01-17T15:17:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas Katelyn received some fun gifts that were hand made just for her and some that were hand picked too! I love them probably a ton more than she does, but she looks a lot cuter with them than I do :)

Her Aunt Amber made her some really cute bean bags that she has figured out that she can really throw them across the room....we are trying to emphasize the tossing part of these so we don't do so much damage.

Grandpa Rudd got her some fun toys that she likes. She loves the See 'n Say (The toy with the big arrow in the middle that spins around when you pull the crank arm on the side and then plays music or makes the sound of the animal it stops on) Any animals absolutely captivate her full attention. She likes anything with animals right now and so that toy was perfect for her as we are having fun teaching her the sounds that animals make now.

Her Great Grandma Rudd sent her a little musical figurine of two little angels and it plays "O Holy Night" and it is so beautiful. My brother Luke taught Katelyn to kiss the "owies" on her baby doll and when I gave her the angel figurine, she started kissing it ...probably because they had "owies" from being packed away in the box and couldn't breathe very well, poor angels. That's my little angel...but she isn't angelic enough yet to know not to break the figurine, so the angels sing to her from up on the shelf now (until they need more kisses, of course)

Katelyn's Great Aunt Tina made this super soft adorable stocking for Katelyn. It has her initials sewn on in beads and each bead was sewn on individually. It has an angel charm and a Christmas tree charm as well.

On the inside, Great Aunt Tina "signed" this by hand as well.

Katelyn's Aunt Rosie made this shirt for Katelyn. I told her the wrong size so it will probably fit her better next Christmas, but I had Katelyn wear it this year and just rolled up the sleeves because I couldn't wait :)

She embroidered Katelyn's name on the shirt as well as the big Christmas tree K initial as well.

I hope she doesn't mind if I show her off, but Rosie has a bunch of really cute items that she makes and sells that are pretty snazzy! Her website is http://www.wechoosejoy.com/ . Someday her kids are going to be all decked out with cute things she made. Lucky kids :)

Katelyn sure is loved by her extended family and loves all the toys and gifts she has been given. She has so many people that care about her!

To the Cabin In Idaho

2012-01-15T20:13:00.000-08:00

We packed our car tight and headed out of Washington and on to Idaho. The trip was uneventful as the kiddos in back seemed to be okay with being packed in there. We were fine with that. Chris dropped me off at Terryn's house and I got to hang out with her for a day. We got a little crafty and had a little dance party as well...the usual mom activities. Little Jack mesmerized me with his big eyes and little mouth. Terryn calls him her little bird :)

After playing with Terryn, she dropped me off at Chad and Amber's. Eme and I created Lexis, our turtle complete with a food and water bowl and a bow.

I only post this picture because David can easily raise one eyebrow, and I have tried and tried with no success. This was an attempt, but clearly a failed attempt, and I look psycho....but otherwise Nick looks good.

We all gathered at Chad's before we headed out to the cabin. We all enjoyed goofing off and I caught this silly smile from Liam.

Nick and Christine got some fun toys and Nick was showing Katelyn how to ride the rocking horse and had a cute Uncle Nick moment. Katelyn seems to really like Nick and will play with him and snuggle up with him. Katelyn can be picky about who she lets get near her, and she is comfortable with Nick.

Nick will be a good dad....just saying.

We headed out to the cabin. We piled all of us and all of our stuff in the cars and trucks and headed out to the mountains.

Dad set up a nice schedule for clean up and meal prep, so Mom and Amber didn't over do themselves in the kitchen.

We played a ton of games and did a puzzle too. This shows how much fun we had.....or not.

Katelyn loved chasing her cousins around and didn't seem to mind being the slow one. They all loved playing together and it was cute to see them all play and laugh together.

We decorated our stockings one night and all tried to get creative. We raided Mom's stash of craft stuff and went to town.

Nick free-handed the Grinch. I didn't get shots of the other finished ones but they are all different and fun.

I spent way more time than was necessary and created a penguin stocking holder thing. I don't know, it got late.

The place got cold sometimes and this little fireplace was a favorite all week.

David's dad and sister were able to join us for this trip. It was good to have them there and let them see our wild family.

Our little family on Christmas morning....love that little girl!

We attempted to get a cute cousin's shot and Katelyn and Liam weren't really cooperating for the picture and Chad's kids did their best to try to help them :)

Chris and Tricia and Liam were pretty darn cute too!

We HAD to paint our nails.

That little red ball looking thing is a nail dryer and we had to try it out to see how well it worked :)

We got a family picture of the whole crowd. This looks about right for what our week was like.

We managed to settle down a little and smile. We seriously missed having Tracie and her clan with us. They are just too far away! and...I think it is a little misleading not having Chelsea in this picture...just saying. I guess she will have her chance to be in future family pictures :)

Mom and Tricia (seriously 30, Tricia...seriously there is no way!) (and Tracie if she were there) have their birthday's a day apart and Mom broke the rules and made her own cake. David saw the cake when it was done and was shewed away from it multiple times and had to wait ALL DAY before we finally sang to them and ate some cake. Poor guy!

Like I mentioned yesterday, Katelyn had a day of teething pain and a fever. She snuggled up with my dad all day when she wasn't in bed sleeping. She was having a hard time so I took her off away from the crowd to comfort her and let her get away from the noise. Will was upstairs and Katelyn lit up as she saw him. He started playing a little peek-a-boo and she forgot all about her tears and couldn't help it. Will was one of her best buds and brought out lots of laughs and giggles that trip.

We did so much more at this cabin. There is a lot of stuff that we did while we were there that I saw others taking pictures or videoing so I didn't bother getting my camera out, so we need to do a huge swap somehow with everyone. Some things that were awesome about this cabin stay...There is a huge slide that was awesome. This was almost better than roller coasters, but easily more dangerous if we wanted it to be. Abby and I had some bruises that were pretty. We also decided it would be fun to sled and tube down the hill next to the slide which was equally steep...and fun! We found another sledding hill that was more kid friendly too. We had a talent show that showcased some talents we didn't know about. We had guitar sing alongs. We had a Christmas program that made cry babies out of most of us. We had a Family Home Evening that was pretty good too! We went to church Christmas morning. We played some "minute to win it" games. We chopped down a couple Christmas trees. We played tons of games. We ate yummy food. I made everyone eat salad before I let them eat the legendary 5 Cheese Pasta and became the salad Nazi. We did a fun white elephant gift exchange. We played ping pong:around the world style. We played shuffle board on the floor. We had themes each day for how we claimed our cups (instead of just writing our names). We stayed up way too late and didn't sleep in because we all love breakfast so much and never want to miss out on the fun.

There really is so much that I don't have in pictures and video, but I know others have it and I am dying to have it! I am trying to think up the best way to gather all the photos and videos from every one...

We flew out and headed home. We didn't miss that flight :) Despite Katelyn's day of teething the day before she did fine and didn't seem to have any issues with it! YAY! We made it home and quickly missed having a crowd around to stay up with and laugh at all the quirks and jokes of each other.

Hello from Charlston

2012-01-14T21:59:00.000-08:00

This week has been a little different. When we got back from our fun Christmas vacation out west, we came home to find out that David was assigned to an audit in West Virginia. Honestly we didn't know where it was or how far it would be. So we were a little surprised that it was about 6 hours away. He isn't usually assigned to audits this far away, but they needed some help so he got put on the job.

This is a three week assignment, so Katelyn and I decided to tag along and let David's company spoil us. We didn't want to be apart for so long after spending so much time apart before Christmas. I could never be a military wife.

So we have been hanging out here and we are enjoying it. This city is a little different and strange. It is kind of dingy/dirty/dark looking (but that might have a lot to do with how rainy it has been, but it did snow and I was hoping it would be so pretty and bright, but it was still grey/dark outside ) and the city is spread out funny as it stretches along the highway instead of a clump like most cities I am used to. The people are kind of hillbilly but in their own east coast style. They call grocery carts "buggies" and they didn't like it when I giggled about that, but it caught me off guard. Some people have thick "twang" accents and others are "normal" like me :) (because I am the perfect normal right?) There aren't very many colors of people here...just white ones that I have seen. They are very proud of their high school wrestling and I have heard a lot about the upcoming tournament. They are also proud that they are the home of Marshall University (WE ARE....MARSHALL!) and the university that has the blue and gold W stacked on the V but they are pretty good at football and basketball I think...I am assuming its West Virginia University or University of West Virginia, but I don't want to ask because I might lose "buggy" privileges for asking such a silly question. :)

Our hotel has a kitchen in it, so we don't have to eat out all the time. We are too cheap to buy fancy meals at fancy restaurants, so eating out all the time is fast food...which gets really old, really fast. So it has been nice to be able to get groceries and eat real food and real meals and have someone make our bed and fold our towels really nice :)

Katelyn has enjoyed exploring new places to play and hide. She is loving the cupboards and drawers now and everything turns into a game of hide and seek with that girl. I have been putting her hair up on top in a little pig tail (that sounds weird) and it makes her look so much more like a toddler to me. With not knowing the place and spending a lot of time here at the hotel with her, it has been fun playing with her and not having much to do but soak her up. I have loved that she likes to have me sit on the floor with her to eat her veggies. She rarely eats them on her own, but if I get on the ground with her with the bowl between us, she giggles and thinks it is so much fun to be eating with Mom. She really goes to town eating the "yucky" stuff when I am there eating them with her.

She is still loving books, especially ones with cats, dogs, or bears in them.

She had one really bad day with two big chomper molars coming in and a tooth up front, that made her pretty miserable with a fever for a day. She slept so much of the day and when she was awake, she just wanted to be snuggled. She had a day like this at the cabin in Idaho and Papa the snuggly Bare cuddled up with her all day. This time I got to snuggle with her. She sure was hot! She slept through the night and woke up her regular perky self, back to normal. Those molars haven't come through all the way and have been giving her a hard time so I hope they will be nice to that little girl as they finish coming in.

We ventured out and found a recommended restaurant called SOHO tonight and enjoyed it. It was a little Italian place and I got some soup that looked disgusting, but it actually tasted good. It was a pleasant surprise. It wasn't "that" good of a place from what we ordered, but we saw some things that other people ordered that looked tasty, so maybe we ordered the wrong thing.

The internet here drives me nuts! It takes a million years to upload photos and I have been spoiled and had reliable fast internet, so I am not being very patient with it. I have lots more to post about the past month and I hope to get it all done before we leave West Virginia and head back to Baltimore because we are going to be busy packing and moving the week after! YAY! I am excited to get a little further away from the city, and we get to stay in the same ward! I also have some new personal goals that have been keeping me busy in a good way. This year should be a good one!

Visit at home...

2012-01-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

So I went home to Washington state (I really don't think this needs to be clarified, but people assume I am from D.C. if I don't clarify which is silly, but I can't win here)...(and why would I FLY home if I lived in D.C. which is an hour away?) anyways, I flew home on the 10th, barely. I managed to stay up too late packing, and I scheduled an early morning flight at 7 am. We set two alarms. We thought it was fool proof, but when David's went off, he told me I better get up because his phone has no battery and is turning off. I thought it was no big deal, since I had my phone set to go off in 15 minutes. But mine didn't go off and I woke up to a beautiful morning at 6:30...when my flight was probably boarding :( We called the airline and they told me to go check in so they could put me on stand-by for the next flight. Katelyn and I boarded the next flight across the country just after lunch and made it through our little layover in Denver and arrived in Washington with a soggy diaper and a happy mom and baby welcomed in by my Dad. We chatted all the way home and I loved being on familiar ground. There's just something about being home with my parents that is irreplaceable and I love it!

While at home, I was a little busy finishing up some homemade Christmas presents (that thankfully turned out really cute). We went and did some baptisms and it was so nice at the temple(even though everyone...including you Dad...couldn't remember that I am a Rudd now.) I ran around town getting my body prepped for the Cable Bridge run as well. I went to a couple of the high school basketball games with Dad and the family and watched the boys dominate. I think that it was almost more entertaining to watch the student section at the game. They had so much energy and organized their chants and pretty much made the cheerleaders look and sound like nothing compared to them. There was so much school pride and they let the other schools know they were outdone.

Most everyone got their snuggle time in with Katelyn. She gives good hugs and kisses now that will melt anyone into a puddle of mushy love for that little girl. She really liked Luke and would follow him around and wouldn't leave him alone when he got home from school and weights.

Of course Papa got his snuggle time in. Whenever Katelyn started getting tired and fussy at night, he would snatch her up and she knew she couldn't fight it and would nuzzle on in and snuggle up until she passed out in his arms.

We spent some time with the great grandparents. We played the Farming Game with Grandpa Bob and he won again. I don't remember ever beating him in that game!

We went to lunch with Nana and Liam insisted on holding Nana's hand. It was fun having Chris and Liam there too. Katelyn spent a lot of her time watching Liam and copying the things he did. They had a love-hate relationship the whole trip. Sometimes they were hugging, giggling and running around while other times they would have to push/elbow/back into/and stiff arm each other to get the best spot for what they both wanted :)

Mom got a little change to her hairstyle, but Dad said "it's different" and shrugged his shoulders when she asked how he liked it. We gave him a hard time and tried to coach him on what he should say to his beautiful wife when he asks his opinion :) I liked it!

Liam really is fed, but anytime someone has food out, he would often go climb up and sit next to them and silently watch them eat and drink waiting to be noticed and hoping you offer him a bite. One time my dad and I were eating dinner and for some reason we both got up from the table and left our plates full of food at the table. Liam made his move pretty quick and Katelyn realized what a good idea it was and climbed up too. When we returned we saw that both of them were helping themselves to our plates and they weren't about to let us back in!

My dad has always been goofy and playful and active too. Katelyn is showing no emotion, but he was running and spinning around taking her on the best roller coaster ride ever, and she wouldn't even give a giggle or nothing. Silly girl.

We went and watched the Senske lights. They put up a ton of Christmas lights that are set to music and it is pretty cool. Matt and Chelsea are modeling the cool glasses that turned all the lights into snowmen.

These two are super cute and fun and Chelsea will be a good addition to the family (wink wink) It was fun to tease Matt about how nervous he was about all things Chelsea. He would ask how he looked and asked for advice if colors clashed, or shoes completed his look, and which jacket worked with which shirt and shoes. He wanted to look his best for this girl and wanted to get a girl's opinion...you know because I know what styles are in. He worked hard thinking about his Christmas gift to her and wanted it to look just right. Then when he returned home with the gift she got him, we made him show us what he got and we made way to big of a deal about it all and how cute it all was.

And Chris is a good creeper :)

The Cable Bridge Run was a good run. We all had fun with it and I had to work hard at settling the competitiveness in me, because I wanted to run with my buddy Brooke. As I started running with her I found out that she wasn't feeling good. So we jogged and took it easy and it was soooooo good to chat with her and I am glad I didn't take off and run ahead of her to finish with a good time. I know I have been running and training so I know what my time would have been. I'm glad I stayed with her and had a good chat. I don't get to see her often enough!

I love going home and having Mom's home cooked meals. Not all of our meals were this fancy, but they were all so yummy.

A couple of 4 generation pictures. It is sad to think about my grandparents getting old. We are all a little worried about Grandma Honey with her health, memory and thought processes slowly getting worse and watching her have a hard time. Grandpa Bob is so good to her though and he is so patient with her. I hope that when my health starts getting bad and I get old that David will treat me as wonderful as Grandpa Bob has been treating Grandma Honey.

It was nice to see Jeff and Shirley too. We are usually home and have a big get-together for Christmas and see who gets stuck being the new "lucky" owner of Harvey, the 5 foot stuffed animal bunny. They stopped by before we headed out to Idaho for Christmas and brought some amazing homemade french bread and gingerbread cookies. They are always welcome :)

Katelyn can be the queen of the serious stare down, but she also has some stinkin' cute faces when she gets goofy!

She also went to town on the chocolate pudding for my "not lemon dessert" dessert.

We spent plenty of nights up way too late. Whenever we are together we are amazing at functioning off of no sleep....

See? These were taken within 10 seconds of each other and you would never know

Much to Dad's dismay, Maggie got pregnant from a roaming neighbor dog. The dog came snooping around one night and Dad saw him and scared him off by shouting at him (with no swearing :) good job Dad!) We think that that boy dog had an idea of what was coming and was just trying to be a responsible father, because that night Maggie had her puppies. Sadly most of them didn't survive. Between all of us we guessed, but Maggie wasn't eating much so she probably didn't have the nutrients to provide for all the puppies. There was one little fighter that made it! I hope that my parents keep him :) I also hope that they call him Rolo since he has a pretty caramel color and it seems like the perfect name!

Katelyn loved petting Maggie and was always so proud each time she pet her.

This little guy was so itty bitty! Katelyn wasn't so sure, but I loved it! I can't wait until we live in a place where we can have a fenced in big yard for a big dog...someday.

After a fun filled time in Washington, Chris and I headed out a couple days early towards Idaho where we stayed in a cabin for Christmas....so much good stuff to remember, but that story will come later.

Yard Sale

2012-01-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

Back in November I was in a rut with the clothes I had, but with didn't want to spend a lot buying new clothes...well I did, but I knew it wouldn't be a smart choice. I had heard that a family was hosting a multi- family yard sale with all sorts of good stuff. So I went for it thinking maybe they had some cute clothes that were in good shape for cheap and we were looking for some furniture too. I usually don't do yard sales because I always feel like I am being watched like a hawk and sometimes I am the only one there and I feel bad if I just come and then I don't like any of their stuff and I don't want to offend them and tell them their stuff is junk or that it is over priced by leaving right away. So when I heard that this was going to be a big one I thought I could at least find something I liked and if not there would probably be a lot of people there and I could sneak off and not offend anyone by not buying any of their stuff.

I got there and started browsing. I had Katelyn with me so David could go off and enjoy some table tennis. I found that there was a lot of good stuff for real! I loved it! I found a lot of shirts and fun stuff. I got some fabric and a few crafty things and a couple movies too. I took my time searching through stuff and Katelyn enjoyed following their dog around even though he kept trying to steal her snacks. I think she was half teasing him though but wasn't always fast enough to pull her cracker back before he snatched it. About half way through I had an armful of items and Katelyn in the other arm with a freshly stinky diaper. I went and asked the people that were hosting it if they could set my stuff aside while I went to my car to change her diaper. They didn't mind at all.

I was changing her diaper and I just laid her on the seat while I stood outside of the car with the door open to air out the car and not trap myself in the car with the smell...ew. (Is it normal that once I smell that she is stinky, I hold my breath or only breathe through my mouth until she's clean?)

That cracker-snatching dog came by the car and probably smelt what we were up to and didn't listen to me when I tried to shew him away. He wasn't in my way, but I was nervous that he was out by the street and I didn't want him running out into the street and getting hit. I should have known though. Right as I took off Katelyn's dirty diaper, I set it to the side and started cleaning her up. The usual. That silly dog snuck right in between me and the open car door and snatched the dirty diaper! I screamed a little and told the dog, "Wait!" but he didn't listen and he took off like he won the jackpot. I didn't even wrap up the diaper yet! I always wait until I am done with the wiping, and then wrap it up. He bolted across the huge yard (these people had like two acres) and was running around with a disgusting...OPEN...dirty diaper! I was a little embarrassed but I laughed a little too realizing what was going on and hurried up and put Katelyn's new diaper and pants back on and the chase was on.

I ran over towards the dog and he just stared me down as I hurried to him with Katelyn and maybe I should have had some of Katelyn's crackers out. I was hoping he would give it up and nobody would have to know, but as I got close enough to grab it, he bolted again. Oh great! The wives that were hosting the yard sale were wondering what was going on with this lady and her baby running to the dog and then the dog running off to be alone with something in his mouth. I think they thought it was something from one of the tables that I wanted to buy and one lady said, "I don't think she'll buy that anymore." I laughed and told them what it was. I wasn't very close to them though so I had to shout it so not only did they hear, but all the others that were shopping heard loud and clear and got real interested in what was going on when I said, "Your dog has my baby's diaper in his mouth!"

And her response, "Is it dry and clean?"

"Nope! Wet and poopy!" I hollered back across the yard.

Everyone kind of gasped and chuckled at the same time as they were grossed out thinking about how friendly that dog was when they were petting him as he wandered from stranger to stranger earlier. The lady sounded like an marine Sargent as she called out the orders, "Catch that dog and get the diaper out of his mouth!"

All the kids that were hanging out while parents hosted the yard sale and any other kids that were there joined in on the game. The dog was loving all of it too. He was dodging kids left and right and bouncing around as he ran all through them. The kids and teenagers would get close and then realize what they were trying to grab as he ran by and would pull their hand back and let him run by. Katelyn and I and the moms were all equally entertained and grossed out at the same time. Finally one mom got serious and told the dog to sit and drop, and once that dog realized she was serious, he listened even though he seemed bummed that the fun was over. We all giggled a little more about what all just happened and then returned to our shopping. The mom apologized and was embarrassed about what her dog did, and I apologized too and we both shared a laugh about how helpless we both were in that circumstance.

I finished up my browsing and was happy with all the fun stuff I found. As I left to go home I couldn't stop giggling thinking of telling this story to David. Just another yard sale...

Nana

2012-01-05T22:34:00.000-08:00

Today is Nana's birthday and I can't help but think about her. She might have terrible memory and wouldn't remember this last visit I had with her, let alone how old she is today (no matter how many times we tell her) but she is such a happy and silly lady. She knows quite a few songs and once she starts singing, it is hard to get her to stop. She loves singing and loves any attention. She has a song to go with everything, and will dance a little jitterbug too if you are lucky!

Here's a picture of the classy lady all dressed up in her toilet paper wedding gown and accessories at my bridal shower. I had help with my look from a different crew and mine isn't quite as sophisticated as hers turned out :)

When I was home last month we went out to eat and cousins, first Liam and then Katelyn joined in, insisted on holding Nana's hands as we walked. Cute stuff!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Nana! I think she's 87 today. We love her so much and love her silly cheerfulness she passed on down through the genes. (I know exactly what she would say about passing things through her genes and it makes me giggle)

Watch out!

2012-01-05T21:05:00.000-08:00

It has been busy around here and I have been loving it! I have a lot I want to catch up on and as a waning, the next couple weeks are going to have a lot of posts. I hope you can keep up!

I am not a tour guide.

2011-11-17T21:33:00.000-08:00

We ventured to Washington D.C. last weekend and here's how it went. We had our bike with Katelyn attached in the trailer. Then a wonderful ward member let us borrow a bike and we were off. We drove to D.C. and parked close to the sites. I have been here once before about 4 years ago so we decided I would lead the tour. I had my map and we were off. Our first stop was the cute little White House. David thought it would be so much bigger and more majestic, but when I mentioned that it is just the president that lives there, he was okay with how "small" it was...silly boy.

We headed down Pennsylvania Avenue and we passed by the Navy Memorial and the National Archives building. This is when I realized how terrible of a tour guide I was. Throughout the tour, we would pass by buildings and memorials and museums that are a big deal, I would tell David what it was and take a guess at why it was important. Like with the F.B.I building, I think I said something like, "I think there could be spies in there watching us through their tinted windows and talking into their sleeves." or with the National Archive Building, "That is where they probably keep old stuff that is important to our nation. I think this building was in the movie National Treasure with Nicholas Cage."

Heading down Pennsylvania Avenue you can see the Capitol Building from far off. David thought that was pretty cool because he was so nervous about the bike lane being in the middle of the road that it surprised him when I said, "Hey look! That's a cool building!" I promise I really did know it was the Capitol and I wanted to see him react as he realized what it was.

From the Capitol we turned around and enjoyed the view of the Washington Monument. They are doing construction on the main reflection pool in front of it and David was a little bummed about that.

We trekked all the way across and passed tons of museums along the way to the Lincoln Memorial. My legs were dying at this point. I was either out of shape, tired from hauling Katelyn behind me, or maybe those "no flat solid rubber/foam tires" were really heavy. Probably a combo of all three!

I love this next picture because it shows Katelyn's perfectly rounded cheeks...still soft and they jiggle with every cute little step of hers.

I went to lock up the bikes and David went off walking with Katelyn. She headed right for the stairs.

After the first couple big flights, Katelyn had people cheering her on and even though David wanted to give her a break and carry her up, Katelyn just kept on going up each big step. The last little bit she was worn out and she tried switching which leg went first, but she ended up crawling up and pulling herself up the last few tough ones. She made it all the way to the top and we weren't the only ones proud of her!

David's favorite part of this adventure was seeing how big Lincoln was. He's so much bigger than that itty bitty guy on the penny :) It is pretty neat!

I knew that there was so much more to see, but my legs couldn't take it and so we headed back to the car. We got a "little" nervous when we realized that neither of us knew exactly which parking garage we were parked in. We were so excited to get going and missed that minor detail. I back tracked and guessed at a couple of blocks we might be at. As we were heading that way, we got even more nervous seeing all the parking garages that were closed. We asked before we left when the place closed and we heard his thick accent say 9, but when he told us where to park we heard B3, but there was no B3 but there was a P3 so we parked there. So we were REALLY hoping we didn't mis-hear him, because we were not about to snuggle up under the dirty blankets the bums were pulling out for the night.

Lucky for us, I guessed right and we went right to our parking garage!!! What a relief!

We packed up and headed out to get some dinner. All the places we wanted to go in D.C. are closed on Saturdays and our Halloween candy only did so much for our hunger and we weren't about to eat Katelyn's food since we can control our hunger anger much more than we can control hers :)

We headed out to hang out with family for the night and passed by the Jefferson Memorial on our way out. The sun was setting on it just right and I could see Jefferson in there standing strong. Very pretty.

There is SOOOO much more to see in D.C. and David got a good taste of it. My legs have never felt so exhausted and I tried stretching them and rubbing them, but they kept aching more and more through the night. I took some Ibuprofen and went to bed scared about how bad it was going to be in the morning. When I woke up, I was thrilled that my tired muscles enjoyed the night's rest so much that my legs felt completely normal! It was strange, but I had nothing to complain about so we were all happy!

Now...what to see next?

We're calling this place home?

2011-11-16T21:35:00.000-08:00

Moving here has been quite the culture shock for us. We were signing our lease and then they were finishing up installing the new carpet in our apartment so we went around town for a bit. I had heard that Baltimore had a large percentage (I have heard about 60%) of black/African Americans, but I didn't realize or think about being the minority. I was shocked a bit and even though they have been nice and we haven't had any issues with anyone, I really felt out of place being one of the only white people around.

As we were unloading the trailer, well as David unloaded the trailer, I went to play with Katelyn at the playground. There were some black kids playing and they loved little Katelyn. They loved my "super blonde hair" and thought I looked like a Barbie model...they are so close! The girls wanted to have hair like mine when they got older. Who knew?!

Almost all of our boxes we packed were McDonald's boxes that were all the same size. There were a couple bigger ones and David asked for my help. I had Katelyn on my back in a carrier and so I got on one side and David was on the other and we just about started to haul that box up the stairs when a neighbor and his wife told us to stop and insisted that he help. He and David worked together and moved in the rest of the stuff and David loved having a helper that could do a lot more than I could. I enjoyed chatting with his wife and loved that there were nice people around that will go out of their way to help.

Driving around here is the complete opposite. I think a lot of people around here drive with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the horn. People honk way too often and are really aggressive with lane changes and everyone speeds like 10-15 over. Some people walking across crazy busy streets and play "Frogger" and go one lane at a time on a five lane road are also insane. If we take half a second to get going at a fresh green light, we get honked at. If everyone is stuck in traffic, people honk...it does not help. It was funny to us when someone ahead of us was busy in their car and really didn't notice the green light for a while, we got really excited and wanted to honk, but we couldn't remember if the horn was in the middle or on the sides of the steering wheel and we missed our honking opportunity. I had my first honk last week when there was a lady in my lane at night (not enough street lights) dressed in black (so I could barely see her) and she was black (so I really couldn't see her), and she was arguing with a husband/boyfriend/man who was in the turn lane. I hit the brakes hard and gave her a solid honk and David was so proud of me :) I am officially a Baltimore-an...that sounds too close to Balti-moron...I don't know what they call them but I guess I am officially a natural.

David's job is going pretty good. He likes it a ton more than his old job but he is worried that since they hired him as a Level 2, he doesn't want them to think that his old job gave him that much experience so they shouldn't expect him to be able to do everything that employees that have been there for two years can do. Otherwise they have treated him wonderfully and they even gave him plenty of time off for Christmas to join the family at the cabin! We were nervous about that since he was a new hire, but we'll take it!

Our apartment is okay. We signed a short term lease thinking that we wanted to see if we liked it or if we didn't like it and wanted to move somewhere else, we could. It isn't terrible, but I don't love it. So we will be moving to a new place that we heard of from people in our ward. A lot of the young families from the ward live in that area, and none of the ward lives near us so for my sanity's sake we will be moving there in a couple months.

We absolutely LOVE our ward out here. I have never felt so welcomed, had so many people go out of their way to introduce themselves to me and want to know about us. We sold one of our cars before we moved and David needs a car for work so I am stuck at home...well I do have a bike so I am just without a car during the day. Multiple people from the ward come and visit for lunch or come pick Katelyn and I up to go play. The ward has a website where they keep in contact with everyone about everything (stuff they have to share, doctors they like, places they like to visit, places to eat, sewing groups, exercise groups, play groups, kids games to swap, all sorts of stuff!) and we were able to borrow a bike for a bike tour we went on. Another family in our ward offered us their old couches. Another family invited us and anyone else that wants to come, to have Thanksgiving with them...they host about 60 people every year for Thanksgiving and put on quite the party! I am excited! Everyone in the ward lives so far away and the ward boundaries are about 25-30 miles across, yet I have never seen a ward so close and friendly. I was seriously amazed the first two weeks in this ward. The immediate love they had for me and my family was overwhelming and they pulled us in and have made sure we love it. I don't know if all the wards in this area are like this, but I am making sure we stay in this ward when we move.

There are endless lists of things to do and see here and we can't wait to get out and explore this part of the country. We don't know how long we will be here, so we have to get going on our site seeing!

We're not stranded!

2011-11-15T21:18:00.000-08:00

When David was in the interview process for his job, we were excited when he got to the third interview and was being flown out to Baltimore for it. My brother heard about it and mentioned that they should meet up. We knew that Baltimore was on the east coast, but we had no idea how close we were going to be to family. My brother lives near the DC area in Virginia so they are about an hour away. We were thrilled to find out we were going to be close to some family!

It has been so nice having them out here. The day we moved in, we ditched our mess and headed over to their place and celebrated my nephew's birthday. He just turned two and so he and Katelyn run around together. It was a fun birthday party and it was fun seeing them and eating their yummy food and meeting Tricia's side of the family that is there. I didn't know what they were saying most of the time as they would talk to each other, but they were very nice to me and they loved Katelyn too.

They have a Kinect and we had fun one night playing some games. We are plugging up some leaks in our tank :)

We are so glad that we knew people out here already. They have been helpful and they seem to always have cake when we are over there, so I know David likes them too!

A fresh new start....

2011-11-14T13:26:00.001-08:00

I have a lot to catch up on that I would like to write out for the memory of it and also to let everyone know what's going on. So hang tight and we'll see if we can make it through it all.

I'll start off with the big move. David and I tried to out smart it and so we decided to sell or get rid of a ton of our stuff because we kept thinking how it would be cheaper to buy it out here in Baltimore than it would be to rent a big truck. Those trucks are pricey! It sounded like a fun way to get rid of the old stuff and start new and I kept imaging how nice it would be to have a fresh new start in so many ways at our new place.

I think she helps more with just her boots on.

As we packed up, we thought we did a really good job at de-junking and getting rid of or selling stuff. Then as we were pulling all the extras together and packing up the last things, we realized that we still had too much for the space we had. We packed the car and trailer as full as we could and dumped the rest. I was frustrated at the time feeling that we had to throw too much stuff away at the last minute and that my thrifty-ness had gone a little too far. I was wishing that we would have just paid the extra money to bring everything with us.

I had one more soccer game I was coaching and then my assistant was going to take over for the final two weeks. Chad did a really good job and was a lot of help with those rowdy boys.

We hit the road and once we did, we both felt a sense of relief. Once we left we felt good about leaving all that stuff behind and realized that it really was just "stuff" and we were excited for the brand new journey ahead. It seems interesting now because I can't remember most of the things we left that I was so frustrated about...its funny how that worked.

We had a week of driving across the country and though it seemed intimidating, we were ready for the adventure. We had 10 states to go through with 44 hours of driving ahead of us...Yikes!

We made our first stop in Idaho Falls and Rexburg. We hung out with family and Nick and David took on the big task of repacking the trailer. We had too much stuff in the car so they unloaded everything and packed every inch of that trailer full so we could all be comfy on our long drive. This helped us keep our sanity along the way. They did a wonderful job and we all slept well.

We caught a student ward sacrament meeting (I forgot how quiet those wards are with no babies/children making noise!) and then we headed out. We drove through the beautiful Swan Valley as we exited Idaho which has been home for us for quite some time. Our car had a rough time lugging the trailer up and down the hills and mountains in Wyoming and we got an all time low for the trip at 9 miles per gallon...that was quite the heavy load! We stopped in with Ben in Colorado as we all squeezed into his little room in the house.

The next morning we headed out and cruised our way to Omaha. We stayed with the Dickson's and decided to take a break from driving for a day and went around town a little. They showed us around town and we toured the Mormon Trail Center and the Winter Quarters Temple grounds there in Omaha. We had a cool tour and it was neat to take a break to think about what they went through. We thought our 44 hour drive was a little uncomfortable, but to walk as far as they did, with as little stuff as they had, in the terrible weather losing family and burying family along the way...our trip looks pretty glamorous and I didn't have much to complain about.

We ventured around the Mart and we all dreamed of all the fun furniture we would buy when we had pocketfuls of money. A visit with the Dickson's wouldn't be the same without some games so we fit those in too.

We headed out late the next morning and decided we were just going to go as far as we could then we would get a hotel for the night. We were on toll roads for the most part of the rest of our drive. We made it to some little town in Indiana and called it good for the night. The downpour of the rain was wild most of the drive. Semi trucks were kicking up so much water anytime we were near them and we needed to calm our nerves for the night and take a break.

Iowa was full of corn fields and wind mills...and sunshine!

Katelyn liked hogging the big beds at the hotels and snuggling up with us and now she doesn't want to sleep in her own bed...once she was spoiled she doesn't want to go back.

She is always trying to help. She is a quick learner sometimes!

We checked out of our hotel and we were off again. We drove all day in the rain and then it cleared up as the night came. As we would leave one state and enter another we got more and more excited as we realized we were getting close. Indiana, then Ohio, then Pennsylvania....It was getting late, but we were so close we just wanted to drive a little bit further and be in Baltimore. We knew we wouldn't move in until the morning, but being so close gave us the extra energy to finish the drive. We got a hotel in Baltimore that night and then moved in the next day.

There were plenty of toll roads along the way.

This was one of the first signs we saw for Baltimore...we were getting close!

We were proud of ourselves...but we were probably more proud of Katelyn. She has had her good and bad days in the car, and the whole trip I think we only took one stop for her when she couldn't handle sitting in the car any longer. Of course we did have stops to change her stinky diapers...holy moly she can stink up the car and David and I had to pull over for those ones! We stopped to eat as well and tried to coordinate that with getting gas.

All in all it was a good trip. We didn't waste much time and we all still loved each other by the end of it. We learned that audio books are not our thing on long trips but we both enjoy them in spurts when commuting or when we are puttering around in a quiet home, but they make us sleepy during the long stretches and we would much rather chat. We entertained Katelyn with snacks and Disney movies and singing. She didn't care for toys much in the car. We didn't see much of the beauty of the country because of the rain. We spent a lot of time battling the fogged up windows and saw a lot of grey skies. Once we arrived here in Baltimore it was beautiful and the fall colors were amazing. I don't think I will miss the sagebrush of Idaho too much with all these beautiful trees around.

On our way to church there are beautiful back roads.

Hooo-Hooo

2011-10-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

Last year my mom made a super cute costume for Katelyn. We turned Katelyn into a Tootsie Roll! She made it really fast too! I think it only took a couple of hours and it was finished.

So, for this year's costume I decided I wanted to make one...I thought that if my mom could put something that cute together in a couple of hours, I could do something in a day at least. I have seen ideas floating around but nothing seemed right for Katelyn until I saw this one. I loved it instantly and I started thinking up what it would take to make it. I got to work cutting out the feathers and the headband pieces along our drive as we moved. Then once we moved everything in I pulled out my sewing machine and went to town during nap time! I sewed all the feathers on a plain white onesie of hers and pieced the headband together. I love it and that is the cutest owl I have ever seen :)

Here's the front...in action...

The back...

This costume goes where she goes!

Poor girl...being an owl is hard!

I love this little costume on her...but for some reason I can't convince David that I should make mom and dad owl costumes for us to wear :) We could be an owl family! ...maybe next year :)

A Break from Moving

2011-10-10T13:04:00.001-07:00

All this moving stuff wears us all out sometimes. I mentioned earlier how good of a helper Katelyn has been...maybe that has something to do with it. David is done working now and so we can tag team on actual packing and entertaining Katelyn.

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to...besides packing.

Katelyn was helping me clean out the dishwasher and as the story goes, "the dish ran away with the spoon." They didn't get far but who knew they had some help :)

Coaching has been entertaining. It has been a nice break for all of us to get out and have some fun.

Sometimes I wonder what skills we should work on in practice. Between the boy sprawled out on the ground, to the one boy pulling the other's hat over his eyes I no longer have to wonder if they learned anything about spreading out. I think they are on the same team...hello defense? We'll work on that.

Sometimes there is an odd number, so I have to even the teams out. Whenever I go after them when they have the ball they turn into a giggling mess. They love it when I play and they try to fight over which team I join by getting rid of their own teammates.

GO FIRE NINJAS!! Some of them still wish that we were the Killer Kitties and refuse to be a fire ninja :)

We had a really good rain storm. We usually sleep with our window open and I loved waking up to the sound of the rain downpour. Katelyn and I had some fun in the parking lot pond.

She learned how to stomp. It is now her newest dance move and she tried it out in the puddle making her own ripple circles. The water was cold and there was no sun to warm us up so we only played for a bit before she started shivering and we headed inside for a warm bath and hung out in warm footie pajamas the rest of the day.

This morning she was determined to help out and got her own breakfast ready :) This reminds me that she is getting taller and can reach things up on the table pretty easily! Where'd my little itty bitty baby go?

"No big deal, Mom. I got breakfast all by my self!"

Here's a mouthful of cheesy cuteness and she knows it!

Gotta love this silly girl :)

David kind of likes her too! With him being home now he's loving the extra time with his little girl. She loves it too and I think these two are going to have a tough time when David starts his new job and is away all day again.

We've Been Busy

2011-10-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Ever since we got the new job news we have going and going. Our minds can't help but bounce around from all the things that go into relocating. We are in the thick of it all and so me writing a blog means that I am tired of it all and want to sit in the middle of our packing mess and not even worry about it for a bit and it is very nice!With us driving across the country in a couple weeks, we are trying to figure out what to take, what to dump, what to sell, what to pack that we won't need along the drive, what we need to keep out until the last second before we leave, and all that fun stuff.We have turned into carnivores! In the last two months there have been really good deals and sales on meat so I stocked up and nearly filled the freezer. Now that we are about to drive for a week, we don't want to have to worry if the meat is still cold enough in a cooler, and we don't want to throw it out, so we decided we have to eat it. We have never had so much chicken, pork, beef, and elk in our lives. Is this how people turn vegetarian? Anybody want some meat?Katelyn got sick right after our trip to Washington and that wasn't fun. She went from a runny nose, to a nasty cough, to an out of breath wheezing little girl and it scared us when it got to the out of breath/wheezing so we took a trip to the doctor. They checked for pneumonia, RSV, and the flu, and she was clear for all of those. They sent us off with some antibiotics to help fight off the virus she did have and we were good. She is doing great now, but it made for a long week and a lot racing to wipe her nose before she wanted to...yuck!She is back to her happy goofy self running around and "helping" us pack by unpacking and rearranging how she thinks it needs to be :) The boxes are fun, but they don't listen when she tries to boss them around which makes her very frustrated. I think moving is just as stressful for her as it is for us!

He's Home, And He Talks Funny Too

2011-10-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

Just after David got the news of his fancy new job, we headed home for a visit. In the back of my mind the whole stay was how far away we are going, and that I wouldn't be coming "home" to hang out with Mom and Dad nearly as often as it won't be as easy. But, that didn't stop us from having a wonderful weekend!

My handsome little brother was flying home and he just finished serving a mission for our church in Brazil. We drove late in the night to sneak in just in time for his flight arriving. It was so fun to see him and to have him home!

He had a fun little accent and I enjoyed teasing him as he tried really hard to sound like an American again. As he would talk, he would raise the tone of his voice (kind of like we do when we ask questions) and he would do it in the middle of his sentences even when he wasn't asking any questions. He had some issues reading and talking when the word in Portuguese was spelled the same or pronounced very similar and he couldn't remember how the English was supposed to sound. It was cute, and I was hoping he would sound different :)

It was a nice weekend with the majority of the ten of us kids home. We ate, didn't get enough sleep, played games, and had plenty of fun. We went out to Luke's football game and we were relieved that they pulled out the win in the end. We had a loud and obnoxious cheering section and Luke knew it! He would look up at us and then flex his huge biceps for a proud fist pump. He could knock all of us over at once and plow right through us easily if he wanted....Go Luke! Go Braves!

The next night he got dressed up and smelling good for his Homecoming date. He kind of likes this cute girl :)

Christine made us girls all be a little more girly and we all went out to get our nails done. It is always fun to be pampered, except that Abby got a much better foot rub than I did so that wasn't fair :) As we were picking out the color we wanted, Mom was cute and requested the boring colors....What Mom, you don't want neon green???

David was able to hide out to cram for his test and then run off to take it with his proctor before anyone noticed. Then he joined us in the first ever official Bare Open. This sounds much more revealing and rated R than it was. John set up a wonderful tennis tournament and we even had to draw cards to determine our position on the single elimination bracket. Everyone thought I was going to win it all, but somebody decided to invite a friend. Chelsea is not a Bare at all, but she gave me a run for my money. I played Dustin first and taught him how to play, and then Chelsea came in and made me work for it. We were all tied up, but then the mental aspect of the game got to my head and I couldn't stop thinking about how I didn't want to lose, so much that I lost the last game really fast making me lose the match. She said I wore her out though! She was fun to play.

Dad ended up beating Chelsea and then playing Abby for the championship and was pretty proud that he won! Way to go Papa Bare....60 years old and you can't be beat!

We had a family barbecue with the aunts and uncles and grandparents where Katelyn fell in love with watermelon...that's my girl! There have been a few times this summer where I have eaten half a watermelon in one sitting, just like when I was little hanging out at Grandma Honey's with Abby and we each got half and went at it with a spoon. We couldn't have been happier.

I can't get enough of this little girly!

It was a nice weekend surrounded with family and exciting news all around. Katelyn wasn't ready to go home yet and let us know most of the ride home. I was pulling all the goofy faces and glove tricks I could think up, but I think she just needed some more time snuggled up with Grandma and Papa Bare. Until Christmas!!

Good Morning Baltimore!

2011-09-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been quite the adventure for us. Just as we started feeling like we were getting into the groove of things here, we got some new exciting news....news that David has dreamed of since we have been dating.
David has been on the job hunt for the last year. He had a job, but he didn't enjoy working with a cranky lady each day. He had interviews here and there and we kept hoping he would be able to move on to a better job, but nothing worked out.
At the beginning of August David started interviewing for a job at one of the Big 4...there are four accounting firms that are the kings of the accounting world. David had his first two interviews over the phone. Then after a month of this, he finally heard that he was going to be flown out to Baltimore for an in-person interview. He was just a tad bit excited. While we were still aware that he didn't have the job yet, we couldn't help but think that as long as he didn't do anything socially wrong, he was hired. They probably don't just fly anyone out for those interviews, but what if they did?
We went and got David a brand new suit and trimmed his hair and he gave me a preview of his interview attire to check for my approval and so he was looking so good! He packed his bag, studied up on interviewing skills and was off to Baltimore.
He assumed he was going to be grilled and that this would be such a tough interview for such a big company and was very surprised...and relieved that it was casual Friday and his interview seemed to be just as casual. He loved it!
He loved talking to people that he would be working with that were actually young and in the same stage of life as him. People that had similar interests and that he could have an enjoyable conversation with.
But now the wait began. We wondered how long it would take before he heard if he had the job or not. He met up with my brother and went out to eat and they tracked down the Ravens NFL stadium...top priority I guess :) Then he flew home and dreaded the thought of going back to his old job and possibly getting turned away from the new big and fancy one.
Monday came and we mentioned that it could be the day. The first business day after the interviews that he could hear back about the job. I was checking the phone and his email constantly for any news....and there was something. They emailed him and wanted to chat with him about the interviews. We only had one phone between us and I had it so I rushed on over and he gave them a call.
They had the best news he could have imagined...he got the job! He got the new job with a huge pay raise, 10 times better benefits, and 1000 times better future job potential.
We are mostly excited to be heading out east. We are on the hunt for a place to live...(too many places have bars on the windows...YIKES, no thank you!), trying to sell some stuff we don't want to haul across the country on our drive, and trying to figure out what we want to keep. I will be leaving my soccer team, but they will only be without me for a couple weeks and my assistant coach is okay with finishing off the season for me. I am sad to go, but it isn't worth it to stick around here to coach. David also started up his window washing business a little over a month ago...he is sad to leave it since it has been doing really well and it picked up really fast, but we know there are bigger and better things in store for us in Baltimore. This will be quite the adventure, but we are ready for some changes and for the big opportunities we can find out there.

Fire Ninjas

2011-09-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

I am quite the super hero! A couple weeks ago I realized that it was almost soccer season and I thought it would be fun to coach a kids team. So, I emailed around to the different soccer clubs around here to see if they were in need of any coaches. Coaching is 100% volunteers and usually one of the parents of the kids on the team steps up to coach, so it wasn't very likely, but I thought I might as well ask.

Lucky for me, there was a team that was in desperate need of a coach. Apparently the club had called through the roster of kids to beg the parents to coach. The called a meeting hoping that they would have better luck convincing a parent to step up if they talked to them in person. If no one would step up and be willing to coach that season, then the team would be dissolved and done with.

This is where I came in! They had called the meeting and were sad that this team was about to be done, and then they got my email. They were thrilled but wondering who I was and why in the world would I want to coach "just for fun". We chatted a bit and they realized I wasn't crazy and that they had a willing volunteer!

At the meeting they introduced me to the parents and my new team. They were all grateful that I wanted to help, but I was so glad that none of the parents wanted to do it :) We all got what we wanted!!

We have had our first week of practice and it has been really fun. They are all 8 and 9 years old so most of them have the basics down. There are a couple of air heads, but what team doesn't have those :) At the end of the first day, one boy came up to me, gave me a hug and said, "I love to play soccer so much and I am so happy you will be my coach. Thanks a lot." He is the sweetest boy, but he is serious about soccer and he is a really good player.

We weren't assigned a team name and so I let the boys decide on what they wanted. I kept pushing for the Fireballs since that was my team name when I was little. They liked it since it wasn't girly. The boys submitted their favorite team names and we voted. I had them vote with their eyes closed...they still peeked. Some of the boys had their hands over their eyes with their fingers cracked so they could see and every time I would say a team name the boys who liked that team name would raise their hands. The ones that were peeking would swing their head around and see what people were voting for...really sneaky :) I was a little tempted to sway the votes and say Fireballs won the vote, but it came in a close second. The majority wanted to be the Fire Ninjas. I was surprised to see that the Killer Kittens came in 3rd...goofy boys! These boys crack me up and I have already been karate chopped by one boy when I asked for a high 5 :) It will be a fun season!

Mud Run

2011-09-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend we went up to Bogus Basin, but there was no snow. ..luckily! We had a friend watch Katelyn so that David and I could run the Dirty Dash. It was pretty fun!

We were running through the mountains on the slopes and there were obstacles about every mile over the 6 mile course. Some of the obstacles were muddy and others weren't. The first one was some hay bales that we jumped over. They were 5 foot tall bales on an uphill. By the last one were were getting tired and didn't realize how scraped up our shins and knees were.

Then there were some balance beams along the way. Then we came to the tires. The tires were tricky for me because there was a girl in front of me and to the side of me that I was trying to steer clear of and not land in the same tires as them. David took his time through the tires, just taking them one at a time :) We were a little bummed with these "boring" obstacles, but we knew the good ones were coming!

The first "good" obstacle was nice and muddy! We climbed over a slippery/muddy hill which seemed impossible to stay on your feet and it dumped us into a shin high mud soup pit. Then we climbed through the swampy mud through some tunnels. Then there were poles that you could either climb over or duck under. We went over which we thought would be easier but we just got a lot of mud between our legs every time we straddled the pole to get over which was NOT good for more running. We were nervous about rubbing our thighs raw, but they were just fine :) Our shoes and our shorts felt a lot heavier after that mud pit and our shorts had a hard time staying on!

The next obstacle was this wall. There were a few of these and some were 4 feet tall and some 6 feet tall. We definitely didn't train for these! There was mud sloshing around at the base of them where we were trying to jump from to get up. The walls were really slippery and muddy too and one time David went to jump off and his feet slipped out from under him and he rolled nicely into the mud pit on the other side. He didn't get hurt and I got a good giggle out of it!

At the top of the mountain there was a beer chug, or for us there was a root beer chug. They had a couple water stations along the way and those were nice and refreshing. But root beer is not the refreshing drink you want when you still have 2 miles to run! I drank half of mine before I realized how bad of an idea that was. The last 2 miles were all down hill and we were burping and pulling our shorts up and mud was flinging off our bodies as we probably sounded like a pair of laughing elephants trudging down the mountain.

As we came to the finish line there was this huge slide. I loved it!

David was in the next lane over sliding on down.

After the huge slide, we were greeted into the huge swamp of mud with kids all around the outside chucking mud at the racers. One of them nailed me on the side of the head and took off running but I got him back :)

I had to make sure they could see my number!

We made it! This was such a casual race as they weren't really recording times...thank goodness! There were teams that would dress up in costumes and had fun with capes, armor, tutus and waldo outfits. It was such a fun, non-competitive race and we cleaned up pretty well in the freezing community showers. I donated my muddy shoes to a show company that was collecting them to clean up and give to those that need them. Such a fun race but I can't wait to run a real race soon to see how my running has paid off.

I have a ONE year old!

2011-09-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

I have often heard that your first and your last birthday have a lot of things in common. You need help blowing out the candles on your cake, someone chooses who your friends are and does all the inviting, and you don't know what's going on during your own party.

We celebrated Katelyn's birthday and we were definitely more excited than she was about the whole thing. Well, I think I would have to say that I was a little more into it than David was once he realized she really didn't have a clue what the big deal was.

Some people rent their own circus with a balloon-animal-making clown, bounce houses, carousals, water slides and invite half of the world. We almost did that...you know us! Just couldn't find the clown so we called the whole party off :)

Here's how we celebrated her special day...

This cake and cupcakes...writing with frosting is stinkin' hard! I do not have a steady hand and those cupcakes were for family only because I used my fingers way to much and licked them every single time :) The cake was safe to share though!

I made very attractive party hats. They did a wonderful job of emphasizing any "extras" around our jaw lines being sure to let everyone know about our double chins. Katelyn didn't dig in like I wanted her to. She was very careful with the cupcakes and didn't even make a big mess. She also didn't blow out her candle. We tried to practice the whole week before, but she didn't get the idea of blowing. She better be a pro by her next birthday!

She was very thoughtful of others and wanted to share her cupcakes with Dad. I don't think he minded at all :)

So sweet!

The party hats weren't that flattering but we all wore them because I wanted them so badly. Katelyn even wore hers to the store too :) She sort of figured out that these bags had stuff in them...

...and she wanted to make sure Dad saw her new clothes as she tackled him :)

We love this little girl so much and never realized how happy she could make us. We love having her around and being constantly entertained by her. She may have drop dead stinky diapers that have to go directly outside, but she is so sweet and playful and we can't get enough of her!

I love that face of hers! Such a precious girl looking so grown up and not so much like a baby any more!

Look what I Made!

2011-08-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

I inherited a beauty of a sewing machine. Well, no one died for me to get this, but my mom has her own fancy one so she gave me this one. It is pretty old, but that makes it so much better...maybe. But the important thing is that it works! It can sew strait lines and that's all I know how to do so I'm happy!

At a yard sale there was a ton of fabric for super cheap so I grabbed a bag full for just $5 and have gone to town. It has been fun so far!

David wasn't so excited to get this as it comes with the desk and I put it up in our room. He knows that this crafty space won't just stay within the boundaries of the cabinet/desk so he worries how fast I can make a "mess with this stuff" (that's what he thinks it is). As I started on my first project, he was excited that I was actually using this sewing machine and it wasn't just hogging space. He warmed up to the little thing and wanted to try it out himself! He watched a couple intro to sewing videos on YouTube and then went for it.

and this is what he made...

...a fun little toy dice for Katelyn and it even has a homemade rattle in the middle of it :) Here's how we made it...Cloth Blocks Tutorial

I have been addicted to this site...http://www.makeit-loveit.com and some other crafty blogs and have followed tutorials to make all of the things I've made. You can learn almost anything on the internet for free! Hooray!

Here is my first project...Diaper and Wipes Case... I first covered a wipes case to make it pretty (no sewing) and then I made a case to hold diapers so I don't have to swim through the diaper bag anymore looking for a diaper.

This is my most recent project and I almost ruined it and threw it away but I saved it and made it work and I love it! This dress is pretty simple...Braided collar dress...not too shabby!

I couldn't get Katelyn to look at me...or smile. She was perfectly happy and giggly and then once I turned on my camera Katelyn was so distracted.

That cat kept on inching forward and at first Katelyn was ok with it but it kept on getting closer and closer and it started to scare her. I have never been a fan of cats and this one annoyed me just like they usually do. And this is the cat that has torn up my welcome mat...:(

I also made some of these ...Bandana Dress...this pink one, a black one and a blue one.

They are cute, but not my favorite. You can see the short and the long spots...those are supposed to be there I promise. But it makes it tricky for Katelyn to wear with her walking, crawling and standing and getting caught on the long parts as she moves. Right now the short spots make it too short for dresses, but the long spots make it too long for skirts. I might trim the long spots off and turn them all into skirts.

Here is a cool project that is surprisingly simple. I made this neat scripture cover ...Scripture case tutorial...and I even modified it since my Bible is separate from my Book of Mormon combination but I still wanted them to be together and only have one set of straps.

It has been fun and I have plenty of fabric left to make some more cute stuff. I love that I have been able to make things that I can actually take into public without being completely embarrassed :)

Today's a Big Day

2011-08-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

This day is a special day for a few reasons. My not-so-little little brother is another year older!

He's a cute one! But he's got himself a girl he chases after already...sorry this stud is taken :)

I can't believe he is a Senior this year. That makes me feel so old...Yikes!
Luke shares his special day with one of my other brothers. Chad and Amber are celebrating their 10th?..maybe 11th anniversary today.

They make cute kids too! It must run in the family because so far they have all turned out pretty good looking :)

When I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Katelyn my dad started up a guessing game so everyone could put in their prediction of when they thought she would arrive. I think everyone was wrong with her coming a week late...silly girl.
Today was my sister's due date. A week ago we started putting in our guesses. I thought maybe a couple days over and the baby would come on the 20th. Others thought the 22nd, the 16th, 19th, and so on. But we should have all been a little suspicious when Tracie and Ryan put in their guesses early for the 14th and the 15th. I think they knew something we didn't or maybe they just really wanted that Blizzard prize :)

This cute little boy made his arrival late Sunday night and Mom and David cheated and tried to snag those time slots for the Blizzard once they heard Tracie was at the hospital. This family will do anything for ice cream!

These are the cutest little kids! I have been looking at these pictures all week! I am glad baby Jake didn't wait until today to come because I have loved seeing these pictures of him with his brothers and sister.

Such a precious little guy! Katelyn has been fascinated with him in all the pictures and I think she is okay not being the youngest little grand child anymore. I am not sure how Morgan, the new big sister, is taking this new addition, but Easton and McKay seem to think having a tiny little brother is pretty neat!

Oh happy day!

She's Taking Off

2011-08-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

This was written up at the beginning of the month...whoops!

The last few weeks with Katelyn have been so fun! She has been doing and learning so many new things and we love it! The way she moves and plays and talks and thinks seem to be so different than they were before. I don't think any of these things are record breaking events, and some things might be advanced for her age and others might be behind for her age but I am fascinated by watching her mind go to town.

She is understanding the purpose of most toys. She stacks rings on their stand, holds, hugs and "kisses" (eats) teddy bears and dolls, she shakes things that make noise, puts the phone to her ear...or shoulder...and jabbers away, pulling the toy on a string like a dog on a leash, and she rolls balls and chases them all around our place. She likes to just play with her toys and it is cute to watch her ways of doing things.
She is learning different signs. When I started showing her the signs she didn't show any interest and never did the signs from 6-9 months so it was frustrating and it was hard waiting for her to respond to them. Now she can pick up on a new sign immediately and within a day she will have it down so if I say a word like "all done" then she will do the sign. It is neat that we can communicate with her a little bit even though she can't verbally talk yet. We mostly use the signs for feeding time so she knows when to do these ones on her own: "more", "all done", and "eat" (I'm hungry). I love that she knows "all done" so she doesn't have to smack the spoon and food out of my hand to tell me anymore.
Sometimes we don't know the real sign so we make one up and she picks up on it. We have bath time each night...which she now loves and she turns into a little wild monkey crawling and splashing and climbing around the tub laughing and jabbering and singing away....and we have now idea what the sign is for bath, so we "wash our hair" for our sign. We did it one night and then didn't think to do it for a few days and then one night I told Katelyn it was bath time and she did the sign! I couldn't believe she remembered what I showed her the few days before.
She loves drinking out of water bottles rather than her sippy cups. Not a big deal, but it is just cute to watch her lift the heavy (for her) full water bottle and prop it up to drink out of it.
She chooses to walk more and more. She chooses to walk most of the time but still crawls sometimes too. She is still very unbalanced and falls often but seems to like walking and gets back up. Often when she could crawl one step she will take the time to stand up and take a couple little shuffle steps and then squat down or sit and get what she was going after.
Her teeth came in rapid fire and didn't give her a break. She has 6 teeth now. She had her little fangs for a week or two and then the top and then the bottom front teeth started coming in one after another. She has been okay with teething. Most days she is normal but the days the tooth is ready and pokes through she is a cranky beast!
She talked with Grandpa Rudd for 30 minutes on the phone. She kept interrupting him and wouldn't let him talk very much. He is quite the talker, but I think Katelyn will give him a tough time for that title in the family :)
She loves cheerios. She only likes the complete round ones though and will pick through and leave the ones that aren't whole. Goofy girl!
She figured out how to use those teeth to bite off pieces of a banana.
Often times we have our clean pile of laundry in the hallway before it gets put upstairs. Lately Katelyn has been fascinated with David's underwear (they are clean, remember?) and will find a pair in the pile and then come back down the hall with them over her head ...sometimes walking which makes us laugh so hard because she is already wobbly as she walks and with underwear over her head she tries to look around to see where she's going and she falls and gets turned around easier... and then plays "peekaboo" with them! I promise we have not taught her this, We have only played peekaboo with blankets or behind walls/around corners/around furniture...not underwear! We have no idea why she keeps choosing the undies when there are all sorts of other things to choose from but maybe she knows how funny she is and likes the laughter and chuckles she gets out of us.
She is wiggly and doesn't like to sit still much. She tries all she can to climb out of her high chair, stroller, or shopping carts. When she is done being in there, she always figures out a way to get through the straps and buckles and start climbing out.
She is also fascinated by the stairs. We didn't want to buy a gate for our stairs and we just had a box in the way so she couldn't get up. She figured out how to push the box out of the way so then it became a battle. We were trying to figure out how to keep her downstairs but still be able to get down ourselves safely even when holding Katelyn. So David filled two boxes with books thinking that would definitely be heavy enough. It wasn't. She pried that box away and headed up the stairs. Then we put the tool box in the way as well. She was able to hold onto the box full of books or the tool box and put her toes on the tiny little piece of the stair that hung over and climb up and over the barricade. David ended up putting a huge box over the top and then wedged it with the basketball. Finally Katelyn couldn't get through...but neither could we without nearly twisting our ankles and we had to hand Katelyn off at the bottom of the stairs so we wouldn't drop her trying to get past the wall of stuff. We gave in and bought a gate that night and the problem is finally solved. We were outsmarted by Katelyn and we finally gave up.
She likes giving things to us. This has been the most helpful when she puts something she's not supposed to have in her mouth. If we ask for it, she will spit it out and hand it over...much better than fishing through her mouth and getting chomped on with her sharp teeth! There are way too many bugs around though so a few times it has been really gross!
She has finally figured out how to fall asleep without being held. I love snuggle time, but I also love that I can put her in her crib when she's getting droopy-eyed and she will go to sleep.
She gives good kisses now to us. If we pucker up she will climb up or do whatever it takes to come claim her kiss. She doesn't pucker up her lips, but she will lean in and just touch you with her lips and it is so sweet. We LOVE her sweet soft kisses and we can't get enough of them!

Her time to shine...

2011-07-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

Katelyn is on the move. Not just crawling anymore, but walking too! She took one step a week ago for David and we were trying and trying to get her to go for it and show us some more. She has been standing on her own for a while now and we've been waiting so patiently for this.

Sunday before my parents and Luke were about to head out Katelyn hadn't had enough of Papa and they started playing and passing a musical ball toy around. Katelyn is very good at sharing and kept giving it to Papa. He got her up on her feet and 'sure enough' (as he would say) she started walking to him to share her toy!

We were all thrilled and Mom and Dad couldn't leave just yet. Katelyn squeezed as much time as she could out of them loved it!

Here is a video of her first steps. She has been walking quite a bit this week. Most of the time she prefers to crawl but she likes the clapping and attention she gets when she walks so we are seeing it more and more. (The audio is quiet, but it's not too crucial. I hope you are okay with that :))

It is cute when she comes to uneven ground...like when she steps on a book, or when the carpet turns changes to the kitchen floor, or walking on grass. She uses her toes to dig in for balance but she has had plenty of falls. No bruises yet, but I am sure those will come soon enough!

She sure is fun and we love watching her when she is proud of herself and has that smile full of incoming teeth.

Our Weekend of Celebration

2011-07-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

What a fun weekend! We headed out of town to be with family and we made the best out of it.

We started off with some yummy donuts and a game of tennis. I think I beat David, but he thinks we tied, and I'm ok with a tie :) David went for a long run and came back all sunburnt. He had a nice red sock line and a really good and nerdy watch burn line. That's my boy!

We got all ready to swim at the new Rexburg Rapids only to find out they had met their maximum capacity and weren't letting more people in until people left. So we thought up plan B and it turned out pretty good!

A couple kiddie pools, popcicles, twinkies, sprinklers, squirt guns, and bubbles. We were a happy bunch!

funny Chad...

We can't go to Rexburg and not see the Dickson's! So we went and got snow cones and played games for the night. This was the last time we'd see them before they move on to bigger and better things in life! We stayed out way too late, but just couldn't say goodbye. We decided we didn't have enough of them so we went back on Sunday and played a few more games and then said our real goodbyes. We'll miss them and I hope we cross paths again someday!

Rachel came and played with us and entertained Katelyn with cheerios the best she could. It was fun to hang out with her and catch up and have her on my team for Trivial Pursuit.

For the 4th we started off at Chad's. We said hello to Penny, their baby goat. Goat's eyes are weird looking, but the penny is cute. Katelyn did her best not to touch her even though we tried. She wouldn't touch Nick's turtles either. She has never been too excited about animals.

We went to the parade and we even knew some people there! I spy Emme and Eddie on the float with Chey...Emme is in the plaid suit next to the girl that's leaning over. Eddie has two buns in her hair and is holding the big squirt gun getting ready to squirt people :)

Katelyn wasn't so sure about this parade stuff.

I spy Amber and Christine in the parade too! They got to pass out candy and fliers.

I told you Katelyn didn't want to be there...too many sudden loud noises :(

Chad was our wonderful experienced photographer and took some family pictures of us. It was a little bright, but I like how they turned out!

I love this one with Katelyn on David's shoulders...

This one's another favorite...

Then we suited up for a little more fun in the water. But first some cute scrunched-nose smiles...

I love that little girl!

The water was really cold but Katelyn didn't complain much. Just shocked a bit!

Cute girls!

Emme liked pushing Katelyn really high in the swing and Katelyn didn't mind.

Happy girl!

Since Eddie could talk, she would ask David to swing her. David would bundle up and go out and swing her for such a long time. Every time he would try to stop and try and go inside, she requested more swinging, and David always gave in and always had to be "saved" by someone that would convince Eddie that David couldn't push her anymore.

She still loves it!

CUTE KISSES!

They filled up this bucket for Katelyn but it would have frozen her toes right off! Emme was brave and was showing me that it wasn't even cold...not convinced :)

Cute girl!

David had to work the next day so we took off right as the big BBQ was starting! Luckily we grabbed some of the yummy food before we left.

We chatted it up the whole way home and about 10 minutes from home we realized that Katelyn had slept the ENTIRE way! Hooray! I was nervous that she was going to be up all night but I lucked out and she went to bed when we did...YAY!

We thought we were going to miss all the fireworks, but just as we were coming into town it was getting dark so we stopped by a firework stand and asked where the best show was and we headed over. We watched in awe and Katelyn was just trying to figure them out.

Our 4th of July was complete! The fireworks finished it off and it couldn't have been better!

I'm not kidding

2011-07-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

Her first two teeth! A little strange, but we still love her! She can't be perfect in every way so here is her flaw...her teeth don't come in the right order. She can be embarrassed about it later if she wants :)

Watch out for the razor sharp teeth! She likes to nibble on toes...OUCH and ICK!

Easy to Please

2011-07-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

David celebrated his first Father's Day this year. I wanted to do something for him, but I wasn't sure what. We don't do big gifts for Mother's/Father's day so I got creative. There was an awesome sale on candy bars a couple weeks ago and with my coupons, I was able to get 12 candy bars for under 2 bucks! The rest of the stuff I used was from around the house and in my crazy craft box of who knows what. This is what I came up with and he felt very loved and appreciated!

The round little tags were cute too. So cute that I had him wear one to church that said "My 1st Father's Day" ... David wasn't so thrilled about wearing this badge, but I think he did it out of fear that he wouldn't get to keep his candy bars. Nothing like a little embarrassment right?

A few days later David got another new treat. He got his very own Ninja Turtle Popsicle from the ice cream man. He was one happy boy!

Seriously?!

2011-06-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

Katelyn is 10 months old. I didn't think the time would go so fast. I am already having to start thinking about her first birthday...well I don't have to, but I am...and nothing fancy...mostly just what kind of cake I should make her for that would make the biggest/cutest mess and blowing lessons so she can blow out her first candle instead of grabbing the flame and getting her first burn. It's not that far away and I can't believe it. Life goes too fast sometimes and today some moms were talking about first hair cuts and when to register for Kindergarten, and other mom stuff I don't have to worry about yet but it made me think about how fast time has flown by and how time has never really seemed to go slow enough for me except the last month and an extra week of pregnancy that seemed to be longer than these last 10 months Katelyn's been here.

Katelyn got her first tooth this month. Usually the front bottom two come in first. Katelyn is a little vampire baby and her first two teeth were not any of the front teeth, but the top two next to the buck teeth. The ones on each side next to the canines and the top two front teeth. Does that make sense?

They have just barely come in so I can't get any good pictures of her fangs yet. I hope her two front teeth hurry up or she is going to have a goofy looking smile until they can catch up!

Dad has always said that I would be the first to know, and I sure was! She bit down on me really well, but not how Dad was thinking. She has been a very calm and nice eater and I have made sure to make her as happy and cozy as I can let her be so she has no reason to bite...yikes!

Katelyn is a million times better at not smacking the spoon away when I feed her the yummy fruits and meats and veggies. Thank goodness, because it was not funny anymore. The wall and the blinds still have some of those memories caked on :)

Katelyn is a pro at standing. She can stand up all on her own in the middle of a room or outside, but she prefers to stand next to something or someone.

She isn't walking yet...she still hangs on tight to move around until she remembers that crawling is the easier/sturdier/safer mode of transportation.

She crawls elephant style and pounds her hands down and her legs follow. She has two speeds...her exploring speed and her "SHE'S GONNA EAT ME!" speed. She giggles up a storm with a good game of tag with extra tickles and smotherings of kisses.

This is her upset crying face. The hands behind her head is a new thing she's been doing when she plays with toys and when she's sad...I don't know but look at those muscles :)

She likes closing doors, then screeching to have someone to open the door for her so she can close it again...and screech again...not my favorite.

Spying on the neighbors is always interesting...

She wants to eat whatever we are eating and will come to our feet and beg so pathetically for a bite.

She points with very good form :)

She scrunches up her nose and squints her eyes and snickers and she knows we love it and can't help but smile.

Her dad's whiskers tickle!

Her skin is still so so so soft! We lotion her up after each bath and her skin is perfect. Those little feet that struggle to balance, and her little bum so perfectly cushioned for all her falls, and her little round cheeks that are just the perfect plumpness. She has such a beautiful tint of brown in her skin. I love it!

In this last picture you can really tell how she is stretching out. Those arms and legs hang out all over the place when we snuggle up and I can't believe it! She is growing and changing and learning so fast. I can't believe how old she looks in this picture. She's an old baby now!

Her personality is making its entrance as she jabbers away and has a conversation with you or as she "wrestles" and crawls all over us or as she snuggles up letting us know she's sleepy or as she gets upset that she can't pick at the camera lens with her slimy fingers or as she lifts up my shirt when its milk time or as she squirms out of your lap because she wants to go play or as she sings/hollers as she plays on her own. We love this little girl so much and can't even begin to imagine the new things she will learn and the millions of memories we will get to make with her.

Still alive and kickin'

2011-06-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

Katelyn has officially been outside my belly longer than she was cooking in there! She just passed her 9 month birthday...ok it was a couple weeks ago but still! She is quite the busy girl but she likes to make sure Mom or Dad are close by. Some new/continuing talents, interests or anything else she does include:

She eats her fruits and veggies great, but only when she has something in her hands to play with. Otherwise, she will whack my hand/spoon and the food will make a nice mess anywhere from on me, the table, her, the floor, the walls, her eyes. . . who knows!
Sometimes she gets so focused on whatever is in her hands that she forgets to eat the food in her mouth. She will barely open her mouth ready for another bite realizing that she can't open it very well without losing what's already in there. Sometimes I don't realize this until I see that her cheeks are extra round. She's our little hamster.
She will purposefully put things under the couch and then swish her hand around under there to find what she put under there. . . or whatever she put under there last time. Today it is her pacifier.
If we ever can't find something, we look under the couches because of the previous talent.
She likes other babies that are her size or smaller. She likes dolls too. She isn't very gentle with them though and gets excited and whacks them in the face multiple times or uses them to hold on to as she stands up. The dolls don't seem to mind, but the other babies do.

She stands a lot and most of the time she is holding on with one or both hands. She is now finding that she can just lean against her belly and stay standing. Sometimes she will stand for a few seconds on her own and then squat down. She's getting braver and braver but probably still a month or two away from walking. Crawling is the safest option still.

She often sits in a kneel/squat position like she's ready to stand, crawl, or sit. Triple threat :)
When she eats our face it seems more and more like she is giving kisses. She is getting gentler and cuter with it.
She can stink up a room, no problem. Multiple times this last weekend she was being held and then handed off because they thought she was poopy. I would take her off to change her poopy diaper only to find it was clean. She learned how to toot from her uncles and papa...Papa, NO!
She loves the stairs, the fridge, and the dishwasher. Almost any time I open the fridge or the dishwasher and she hears me messing with dishes or things in the fridge, she drops what she's doing and crawls as fast as she can on over to see if she can get there before I close them up. If she is fast enough she likes to climb on up!

What a pose!

She loves books more than anything...well she likes us more, and then food, and then comes the books. She can turn the pages of her board books and she seems to have a favorite page in the books that she will turn to. Once she finds it, she will keep it open and take that book around with her as she explores.

So many things that she goes after aren't really okay for her to play with so we take them away. She is almost always fine if we replace it. Some time she will go after something and pause to look at us for approval or to see if we are going to take it away. Once she realizes we're going to let her have whatever she's going for, she smiles really big and starts panting with excitement...funny girl.
She is stinkin' cute in her sunglasses...thanks Aunt Kim! She keeps them on pretty well too. Yesterday she wore them while we shopped at Winco. Others can't help but notice her cute shades! I can't wait until it warms up for good and I get to put a suit on her round body and go swim!

Somedays are "cling to mom" days. She will do whatever she can to make sure she plays by me as she will drag her toys over and then just lean on me as she plays, then climb on and over me, then lay her head on my leg when she's ready for a nap. I love it most of the time, except when I want to clean or make dinner...Katelyn doesn't like it when I try to be productive around here either.
She still waves and dances and it is still cute.
Sometimes when she's sad she says mom. We don't think she is meaning to talk to me, but I think we are counting it as her first word...maybe.
In church, David takes Katelyn with him to his classes while I teach mine. I think he is the only guy in Elders Quorum that has a baby. Katelyn was getting tired and was all snuggled up with David in the back of the room. She started talking saying,"da da da da da da da..." and everyone looked back at David. He secretly liked the distraction Katelyn was and how cute his little girl was being for everyone to hear.
I have been working on some signs with Katelyn while we eat. She has started to do a clap-like motion and I am hoping she is signing "more" but I think she has picked up on clapping. I am going to count it until she proves me wrong and I'm okay with that :)
Some nights she sleeps all night long and it is wonderful. Other nights she wakes up multiple times and it isn't so wonderful. We haven't seen a pattern as to why she is waking up, so some days I get nap time too!
She has always taken a bath in the sink until a couple weeks ago. The first two or three baths in the tub were life threatening for her or something. Our neighbors were probably suspicious, but somehow Katelyn survived. We aren't sure why the big tub was so scary, but most days it isn't too scary anymore.
Her skin color is beautiful! I love it! It is super soft too... irresistible!!!
Katelyn is not discrete if she's watching you. She will stare you down with her mouth wide open and maybe even drool if she's watching long enough. She will lean to the side or forward or back if something gets in her way and stare until she's had enough.
She is still our heavy duty girl. She weighed in a couple weeks ago at 20 pounds. It might have been 20 1/2 pounds I didn't write it down. For her height she is 27 inches. So she is still on the shorter side and on the heavier side of that short side.
She is a pro at eating cheerios or any scrap of whatever she finds on the floor. She pinches it with her two fingers and gets it in her mouth REALLY fast. I have fished way too many things out of her mouth that she wasn't supposed to eat.
When she's done eating cheerios, she has learned to pick each one up and put it in her high chair or drop it off to the side that mom isn't on. I think she is saving some for later explorations.
She drinks a little at a time out of her sippy cup. That is still a work in progress, but she is making progress.

If I say, "Can I have it?" she will very hesitantly place whatever she has in my hand. Once I say thank you, she is ready for me to give it back.

She likes having her toes painted...well maybe her mom likes having her toes painted :)

So that's our toothless little girl. She doesn't slow down for anything and is always on the lookout for something to entertain her. She is quite a bit of work, but very easy to love! Everyone always mentions how soft her skin is and it must be from all the snuggles and kisses she gets...must be!

Geography Lessons

2011-06-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

For Christmas I got a new puzzle of the world. I was honestly excited for it! Maybe it is the teacher in me, but I was excited to put it together. I was determined to do it without using the box and for the most part we were successful. David didn't think doing it without the box was very fun so he opted to hold Katelyn so she wouldn't eat our puzzle.

The outside has the latitude and longitude numbers and letters so that was pretty simple. The ocean seemed like it would be tricky, but there were facts about each country and each country was listed alphabetically so that helped with that a lot. Then we did the countries and most of the countries are individual pieces. The big countries are spread across multiple pieces and the tiny countries were sometimes combined into one piece. I knew which continent each country belonged to, but David had a hard time with that. That's probably because of my geography class in college :)

This has got to be the cheesiest family picture with the completed puzzle, but as you can see, I was a little excited and David and Katelyn went along with it for me. I loved doing it and had a hard time wanting to take a break. Katelyn wanted to help quite a bit but we are such mean parents and just made her watch. Maybe someday she will be able to really help without sucking on the pieces.

Who planned that?

2011-06-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

This year's birthday was quite the celebration. I had no idea everyone was so excited to celebrate ;) I went home for a visit and brought David this time. . . and Katelyn too. I am pretty sure that everyone would make us go back if we didn't bring baby Katelyn...or is her name Natalie? Eddie and Emme were a little confused which baby she was. So we arrived Friday night and Chad and Amber and kids, and Ben were already there. Brooks and John brought their giant great dane friends Duke, Gus, and Daisy (I think I made up Daisy, but that's what we'll call her for now) They were all there for this big birthday weekend I am sure.

Friday night we stayed up way too late playing Famous People and since Katelyn slept the whole car ride, she even stayed up with us! We all got good laughs at Dad trying to act out Hootie and the Blowfish, and Brooks reading Johns special spelling of the artist Van Gogh as Vango...kinda like Rango the movie right? Thanks to David, Rachel Ray is now Mexican. And Will had some input on the game even though spelling some of the names is the toughest part! Like Herkyalees? And medl man? and vatasic 4? We were all a lot lost a lot of the time, but luckily David didn't have to moon everyone this time to get them to guess Joe the Plumber.
We all went to bed and passed out until the sun came up and we must have had enough sleep by then so we headed out for a little tennis tournament. Very official. Ben slinky-ed his arm through the gate since we had misplaced the key and we were whacking away! It was a bright sunny morning, perfect for tennis!

Dad, you are a cheatin' fool :) Stay on your side!

This was probably one of those lucky hits that I was just staring at thinking the point was over!

John and Chad both beat me the first game and I couldn't lose for my birthday's sake, so I buckled down and made them sweat! They think I was the one to beat since I am the only one with real tennis lesson experience. I never got to play Ben though...he's tough to beat with his tricky hits. Chad and John surprised me and made me work hard for those wins and whenever I thought I had them, they would pull out a lucky hit or ace me on a serve. Dad claimed he beat me, two games out of three, but I remember how it went now. We played three points..maybe..and David came back from his potty break and Dad called it quits before the first game was even over and put David in there. I think he was a little scared or something ;)

We then ate some french toast and then headed off to Luke's Lift-A-Thon. Holy Moly! Luke raised quite a bit of money! Some people said they would give hime 2-3 cents for every pound he lifted. That doesn't seem like any donation at all, but they knew better. Luke did 4 different lifts. He lifted 250 in the bench press (not is personal best, but still WAY more than the little boys next to him lifting 70 pounds). Then he squatted 495 pounds! The bar was bending over his back and I thought his eyeballs were about to pop out! He went for 500, but just barely couldn't get it! He seriously had the whole weight room full of about 100 people watching him! He is the one to beat in the squats!!! In the power cling he lifted 295 for a new personal record and then topped it off with another personal best of 445 for the dead lift. So he lifted a total of 1,485 pounds!!!! That is insane! It was pretty cool to watch though! He raised about $700 for his football team. That's my brother!

The Ultimate Cheer Squad. You would lift more too if we were cheering you on :)

Sweaty friends...Luke and Forrest

Then we all got ready for Abby's graduation. She has grown up to be such a beautiful girl and I am so excited for her to go to college. We all cheered our throats raw for her and made her proud! As she walked in she was looking around for us among all the cheering people and finally found us. She kept looking back at us just to make sure we were still there :) We all can't believe she's all grown up and reminiscing about when we graduated all those years ago. What a fun and exciting time in her life!

We headed home and got some fruit and treats ready for the party. Mom and Dad planned this party with 5 other families so it took the load off of them a lot and we didn't have too much to worry about. It was nice to share the prep work with everyone!

Who knew that this party wasn't planned for me? There were lots of people invited but I didn't know a lot of them. None of the gifts or cards with money in them had my name on them. Maybe they just got a little confused? Obviously somebody didn't get the message that it was my birthday because the cake had a basketball, a football, some books, and some graduation hats, and I really only like basketball and there weren't even any candles for me to blow out. There was good food and even better treats so I was okay with that. Next year I will be sure to let everyone know so we don't have to worry about this confusion at the party again :)

When she falls asleep on you, she slowly moves into positions like this or other similar uncomfy positions.

Saturday night the boys went off and played soccer and I was determined to get Katelyn down for some real sleep. She wanted to stay up and paint nails with us instead and she tried her hardest but got more nail polish on her pajamas and smeared on the tile. We'll have to practice. Emme practiced on me and I ended up with three dark blue nails, two light blue nails and fingers, one orange nail, and one gold sparkley nail. My toes got painted a mauve color and my toenails were lucky enough to get some of that mauve color too :) Emme is quite the artist!

It was a wonderful birthday weekend even though all the parties, cakes, ceremonies and presents were for Abby. I think she worked a little bit for them. I think she got a total of maybe 10 hours of sleep over that weekend, and possibly 20 for the week. I asked her if she would get to sleep in this week and she said, "Well I do have to work at 3 each day." I guess that only means she gets to sleep in a little bit ;)

Sunday I was serenaded the ever-wonderful Happy Birthday song. I have never heard it sound so tired. I think we were all ready to crash and head back into hibernation for awhile. We were all too excited to sleep and we don't see each other enough so we have to spend every ounce of energy together playing until we get delirious or someone decides to watch a movie.

Never a dull moment at home with the Bare clan even if we are all running off of a handful of hours of sleep!

Special Extra Long Weekend

2011-06-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

David got back from his audit trip and I got home from my parents and we were excited for the long weekend ahead. Neither of us wanted to worry about dinner, so I grabbed a coupon and we headed off to Olive Garden and let them take care of the cooking and clean up. Like I always do, I ate too much salad and bread sticks and was only able to take a few bites of my meal that I couldn't pronounce...but it tasted delicious! We boxed up our meals and had them the next day for lunch and they were still so tasty!

Saturday we went for a walk/run with Katelyn (where David went through the poky stickers that he took out so fast he was hoping I wouldn't notice the flat tires) and then relaxed most of the rest of the day. Nothing fancy, just unpacked and relaxed.

Sunday was very nice as well. I taught my lesson to my girls and it went great. They are almost always behaving and we had a new girl move into our ward and I think she felt very welcomed by the girls. In Primary, we sang songs the whole time and the chorister made brownies for all the kids. She told them all about how soft and chocolatey and yummy they were and had everyone drooling. But, she said that EVERYONE had to sing the whole time if they even wanted a chance to taste those brownies. The oldest boys class in primary NEVER sings as they feel it is silly and they say they aren't good singers. The whole 30 minutes of singing time, those boys were singing loud and proud and wanted to be sure that their brownies weren't given away to their parents. They seemed to be almost pleading with the chorister as they worriedly sang for that brownie. They were willing to be silly and they wanted the whole building to hear their "terrible" voices. It was very fun and they had great voices. Those boys will do anything for brownies!

Monday David worked on our bed frame again. He's too proud of it to give up on it, but it seems like it needs a lot of work. David's solution this time was to level off and re-cut the legs so they were all the same. He felt very manly using his new circular saw. He got cutting and decided he wanted to trim everything down. I think he just liked using his saw! He made more work for himself though and ended up taking all day to put it back together. He was exhausted and wore out. He was proud of his work though and all that work he did seems to have paid off. The frame is definitely sturdier and doesn't wiggle one bit! It looks a lot better too having everything cut evenly and crisp. Not too shabby!

Tuesday was our 3 year anniversary! David took the day off of work and we made a fun day out of it! It started with a job interview that went really well and we are hoping it turns out well too. David has been nervous and excited about it for the last two weeks! After the morning of interviews, we headed to the park for a picnic lunch. Nice and simple.

We forgot our stroller, but were saved when a friend let us borrow theirs for the day and we headed to the zoo. I was excited about it and David and Katelyn just went along with my excitement. The weather scared us as I dressed for warm sunny weather and it started raining when we got to the zoo. It cleared up quick though and was beautiful for the rest of the time we were there.

Some of the animals put on quite the show for us...

This prairie dog made me think of you dad ;)

These goats are fiesty. If you have food, they love you. If not, they could care less about you.

The penguins swam around and did some loops and turns for us. Katelyn and I were mesmerized by them!

Some of the animals weren't quite as excited for the visitors... but this leopard was still very pretty.

This sleepy animal of some sort missed the memo about the hammock and slept on the hard wood...

This is what we paid to see?

These prairie dogs were cute. The bubble dome is also pretty cool. There is a cement tunnel under the prairie dogs and every once here and there is a dome window that people can stick their heads up to see what the prairie dogs are doing. Fun idea!

Sleeping tiger...ready go! I'm sure they were really pretty, but I was a little bummed they were so sleepy.

These monkeys were all snuggled in a row. I only see two heads, but there are another two in there somewhere.

I like how this monkey just hangs out clinging onto things...

We walked around with the wallabies...

Here's that pretty leopard again. I liked her.

I liked this giraffe slide even more though.

David like this big tortoise...he was actually moving and looking at us!

David loves me so much that he was willing to be a tortoise. What a good sport and a cute tortoise:)

I liked the lions too...Katelyn wasn't so interested. A little side note...We were asking one of the zoo workers some questions and she mentioned that her and her husband were volunteers. Her husband helps out with feeding the lions and carving up the meat they feed them...and he's a vegetarian :)

The mama lion was watching me very closely

The giraffes were my favorite. This mam giraffe likes the bushes on the other side of the fence.

I wanted a family picture with the giraffe. David thought I was silly and Katelyn tried to get out of the picture. The giraffe turned her booty at us. I didn't have any help on this one.

But these giraffes were so neat to me. The mom and her baby were so cool to watch.

Katelyn woke up as we left and was a happy girl. If she only knew what she missed out on! I claimed this trip to the zoo was for Katelyn, but I know that David wasn't fooled by that.

Happy 3 years babe! I think we are safe to say we aren't newlyweds anymore. We do have a baby now so that qualifies for something right? Newlyweds or not, I will always love your goodnight kisses :)

Home Again

2011-06-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

The last couple weeks have been close to perfect. It all started with a visit home. This would have been better if David were able to come play, but he was being responsible or something to that effect and decided to go on his business trip for a scheduled audit. So I took off and went to visit at home for the week so I wouldn't have to be so lonely here on my own.

We all kept busy with one thing or another. I always get there and then relax and then as my time there is coming to a close there are always too many things I want to do before I go! I guess that just means that I have to visit more often. Life is rough!

Mom is working on memorizing The Living Christ and is hoping to have it completely memorized by the end of next week. She would work on adding a paragraph a day while she went on her 6 mile walks. She was about halfway done when I left last week and so she should be about done now. . . right mom?! Each day we would quiz her on it and see if she still remembered all that she had been working on. The first time through, I would help her through as a little refresher and then she was really good and just needed a few key words. As I was helping her, I was able to memorize a few paragraphs. Sometimes she remembered them too well, so I wasn't able to help her enough times to remember it myself :) It is a powerful testimony that is so neat to sit and think about the meaning of all the parts of it!

I was able to get into an exercise routine that I have kept up this week being home. I always feel better when I get out and do something to sweat a little each day. Just yesterday though, my steal-of-a-deal-free-jogging-stroller bit the dust...literally. It has always had a rough time with steering, keeping air in the tires, turning, wobbling, keeping the seat up, and some other small issues. We had just got new tubes for the tires and one of them had a bulge in it so Katelyn's head would sway back and forth to the rhythm of the tire with the lump, and the faster I run the faster she sways :) Katelyn didn't seem to mind, so we didn't worry about it. But David found a patch of stickers when he took her on a walk and was hoping I didn't notice, but when I told him that two of the three tires were't holding air at all and I asked him if he went through some stickers he said, "I pulled them out right away!"

So the tires need to be replaced again, but I think I am done with it, because as I was running yesterday I came to the last stretch before I was home. Dad always taught me to sprint the last 100 yards or so just so you finish strong and it is always fun in a race to pass a couple people right at the end too. So I was sprinting...probably REALLY fast ;)...and as I was turning the corner one of the back wheels FELL OFF! I am sure this was quite the site first off because I am sure my sprinting probably looked like I was working really hard and not even going fast enough to blow Katelyn's wispy hair, but as the wheel fell off, the rod/axel? or whatever the wheel connects to, hit the road and grinded us to an abrupt stop which I was not ready for so I ran into the stroller and got tripped up by it. I checked on Katelyn and she wasn't even phased by it...this is another reason I have a hard time believing I was going as fast as I was imagining/trying to go. BUT she was buckled in, so I am sure that the trusty seat belt did such a fantastic job holding her in safely as we came flying in to that fast stop. I think I will just stay hopeful that I was truly sprinting really fast. I am on the look out for a new jogging stroller though. I can deal with flat tires, but wheels falling off is a little too much.

Anyways...Back to my visit at home...I introduced Mom to the world of coupon shopping and we even went on her first shopping trip. She was thrown off on all the prep work that goes into the shopping trip, but was drawn right back in as we were checking out and she saw her total drop from $6 down one dollar at a time down to $1. We dropped some coupons for yogurt in the driveway before we left so we only came home with some diced jalapeños, Tabasco sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, so Dad wasn't too excited about this trip. He wanted some ding dongs, cocoa dino bites, and ice cream :)

I made a yummy dinner with mom while I was home and now I even have a meal named after me. I don't know if they decided on what to call it, but something along the lines of Lorry's sausage pasta or something clever like that! After all there is Tracie's Chicken, Ryan's Pies, Chris' pizza, Dad's meatloaf, Amber's Sasla soup and some other non family recipes too. So I am now a legend :)

Dad and I wanted to squeeze in a game of tennis, but the nights or mornings he didn't have work or meetings were rainy! Another time...

I pulled out Katelyn's dresses hoping to finish them up, but there just wasn't enough time when Katelyn didn't need me.

Katelyn learned some new dance moves while she was home. She was rocking out for Abby, Luke and Dad and Abby helped her get her arms into it, but she just got too worn out and fell asleep still dancing. Abby still had her arms waving and Katelyn was out. She was fully entertained each night and passed out when she had enough. Sometimes she is hard to put to bed, but not on that trip!

All in all it was another wonderful trip home. Katelyn is a million times better in the car than when she would scream as a newborn so that helps. We always have a fun time at home and we don't mind the low key nights when everyone has meetings or things to go to. Spending time with mom and learning her cooking, sewing, gardening, or anything tips are always fun to chat about. The house is getting quieter and quieter now that we're all big grown up kids! I am feeling older and older and its not fair! The homemade ice cream always makes it better though...yummm :)

Poor Cake

2011-05-29T22:45:00.000-07:00

Dad turned 60 this month and wasn't too excited about this one. He and many many others just can't believe it...well, some days he can and feels a little creeky ;)

I wasn't able to be home for his actual birthday which was probably a good plan since he was hiding out at work all day. When he came home LATE at night, Mom had his favorite stroganauf and chocolate cake ready. He was hesitant to eat and dig in because of an early morning doctor's appointment/blood work that he was supposed to be fasting for, but Mom wasn't going to let him off the hook and let that yummy food go to waste. He didn't resist much and his eating began. I'm sure he savored each bite of dinner and then Mom went off to get his cake set up with all the candles. . . all 60 of them. Here's how she explained it:

"Oh, the cake, I had to put 60 candles on it and a six and zero candle. so I put the 60 candle in the middle and then 58 candles circling it. I lit the first half of the cake, and by the time I got the second half of the cake lit, the 60 candle was melting away and the regular candles had melted down to the frosting and was burning the frosting. It was one hot cake!!! We got a big laugh out of it. There was melted wax all over the top and dripping down to the plate."

That beautiful chocolate cake took a beating! You can hardly tell that those big candles in the center are the number candles!! Sorry Dad, but it looks like you really are old! I think that you redeemed your youth on your quick trip to Six Flags California with Abby that weekend though.

Even though you got a little puke-y, you couldn't help but finish off the day with a few more roller coasters!

A year supply...

2011-05-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

This is why I love coupon shopping:

6 Brownie Mixes
3 Bottles of Soy Sauce
3 Tubs of Butter
10 Boxes of Multi-Grain Cheerios
4 Packages of Jello Temptations (Cheesecake treats for a little dessert each night...yumm )
4 Boxes of Oatmeal
2 Bags of Quakes Rice Snacks
2 Fuze Drinks
8 Bags of Goldfish
8 cans of Green Chilies

I got all 50 of these items for $27.60 which means I got them each for about 55 cents!

I go coupon shopping every other week and it is so fun to be able to buy things we will use and eat and some extra special treats too! We haven't stocked up enough that we don't have to grocery shop each week for our meals each week and we would have to buy our milk, bread, eggs and produce anyways. I am hoping I can work up to that point where I can have a pantry full. . . . not my own supermarket full that takes over my home like on the extreme couponing show... but enough to be able to provide for our family for a year if we ever needed. I mostly have us set up for the beauty/hygiene/non food items for a year which is so nice. It is a little nerve wracking for me to check out because I don't want to be a nuisance, but I think I have found my favorite cashiers that are helpful and even encourage coupon shoppers like me.

I love doing this and especially love that none of us will have to starve if some disaster were to happen. I only have one problem though... we have been storing all of our stuff under our bed and it is full now so I am trying to think of a new place to hide our storage that would keep it accessible. I am okay with that problem though :)

Dancing and Waving

2011-05-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Katelyn is 8 month old now and she continues to learn new things all the time. Some new things she has figured out lately. . .

dancing to oldies music. I love that she almost swings herself off balance...too cute!
She can pick up Cheerios one at a time. . . or any intriguing piece of something left on the floor. . . and she can finally get it into her mouth. No more diapers with Cheerios stuck in the front :)
She will wave using her whole arm.
She can get down from standing along something. She used to just plop down, but now she figured out how to squat a little to ease the plop a bit.
She used to just stand in her crib when she wanted out, not she rests her head on the crib for a more pathetic look.
She will follow us anywhere we go. She will crawl over anything or will drag it with her. She likes to "help" with the dishes and making dinner by pulling herself up on our legs and dancing or whimpering until we pick her up or acknowledge she's there.
She will fake cough or fake scream/cry to get our attention and stop once we look at her and give us a sweet smile.
She figured out how to squint her eyes and do a cheesy smile.
A few times when playing with her toys with her she seemed to have said "thank you!" We aren't convinced she knows what she's saying yet, but it always surprises us. She jabbers and says a lot of different sounds, some regular sounds, some creative/slobbery ones!
She loves to get her hands on a laptop. Something about whacking all the keys and loving it!

She sure can fill a diaper, but we still love her and can't stop smothering her with kisses and tickles!

I thought I'd be retired by now!

2011-04-30T23:28:00.000-07:00

David's birthday was a big one! Big ol' #25!!! Yikes that's old. . . .right?! I asked him what he thought he'd be doing/where he imagined himself when he was 25. He said that he thought he would be retiring by now! Almost David...you are almost there. :) He mentioned that he's a third of the way dead so why wouldn't he be retired and playing for the rest of his life? :)

That seems like a big birthday to me, but when I asked David if he wanted to do anything special, I got nothing except that he wanted cookies and cream ice cream. I already knew that so I had to think of something special for him on my own. I didn't think up anything too fancy but I planned out a week of little things each night to celebrate.

Monday we started off the week with the final basketball game. Our brackets went down the hole long before the final game, so we were able to just enjoy the game. David picked the underdog Butler to win, so I went for Connecticut. The game was actually really dull and low scoring. We loved the night though. We had Cafe Rio style chicken tacos. . . yum! They were good! We had our concession-type snacks to munch on through the game. Through the game we anxiously waited for our teams to score three point shots. We kissed for every three pionter :) We were disappointed it was a low scoring game and definitely not enough three point shots were made!

At halftime we played Horse with rolled up socks and a laundry basket. David ended up winning that one. . . it was his birthday week, so I had to let him win right?! I am too competitive for that, so he honestly did beat me. Those shots from the stairs and off the light switch didn't fool him!

We were going to have a "dunking contest" with fresh made cookies and milk, but we were sugared out from the candy we were eating, so we saved that for another time. It was a boring game, but it was nice to sit and snuggle as a family to watch the game.

Tuesday wasn't as fun. David had a homework party while Katelyn and I tried really hard not to distract him so we could play the rest of the week. We were mostly successful with that.

Wednesday David got to go out and play ping pong. He hasn't played in a long time and really liked playing that night except that with work all day and then ping pong at night, he didn't get to see much of his family since by the time he got home from playing it was time for bed for all of us.

Thursday we had a casual date at the library. David loves bookstores and libraries. He mostly likes business books or whatever topic he is into for the week/month. I mixed it up a little and we designated a meeting spot. Then we went off and found certain types of books anywhere from cooking, travel, children's books, and poems. We would meet up and share something we found like a recipe we'd like to try or have made for us, or a place we'd like to vacation to, a children's book we liked when we were little, or a poem that reminded us of each other. It was hard to try to find something quick, but it was fun to share what we found.

Friday we had a date alone. We started trading off every other Friday with another family in our ward. So one Friday we get to have date night and they watch Katelyn and the next Friday we watch their little girl while they have a date. We went out to eat and it was nice to just be able to talk to each other all night and not be interrupted by stinky diapers, bath time, feeding time, or entertaining-Katelyn time. After sharing a meal at Red Robin, David was serenaded by the wonderful singers and even got to wear the "birthday ears" (two helium balloons were tied to the ends of a ribbon and then the ribbon was placed under his chin so the balloons floated and looked somewhat like Mickey Mouse ears). He got some ice cream out of it so I think it was worth the little embarrassment. David really wanted to look around at Home Depot after dinner. I tried to remind him that we were supposed to do things that we can't usually do with Katelyn around, but that's what he wanted to do and it was his birthday date, so off to Home Depot we went! So romantic right?! I finished off the date with a massage and he loved it. He was a little skeptical about it, but he was able to be so relaxed and just enjoy the quiet. Now that's something that doesn't happen with a baby around! As much as we love having Katelyn around, it has been great having dates every other week!

Saturday night my family came into town. We shopped around while we waited for an hour to eat at Texas Roadhouse. That food tasted so good!

Those rolls and cinnamon/honey butter are amazing...yumm! It was quite a different experience having Katelyn there. Trying to feed Katelyn and entertain her was tricky and didn't leave much time for me to eat my meal. I felt like I had to scarf it down between feeding her cheerios and sweet potatoes as I saw the next course of my meal on it's way out. David got a big Texas "YEE-HAW!" and some more ice cream for being a birthday boy. Abby and I shared our meal and the boys. . . I mean men. . . stuffed themselves so much they were waddling out of there. Luke got the biggest steak they had. . . 16 ounces I think! He had no trouble polishing that off, but when we got to my place he met his match. Let's just say that he forgot to spray/light a match/cover up what he left behind :) Cake and ice cream had to wait a bit! We were entertained by a line dance from the waiters and the bus boys were fascinating to watch as they would swipe all the dishes off the tables as people left leaving the table and seats cleared in like 10 seconds. It sounded dangerous, but they had it down and were even cheered for their speedy work.

We finished off the night with German Chocolate cake and David's favorite cookies 'n cream ice cream.

We chatted until way to late in the night like always! I put up balloons and made a cheesy looking birthday boy sign that Katelyn loved chewing up. I got David a new circular saw and have a lot of "fun" projects in mind for him! He got some cake at work and so we had plenty of cake left over for the next week. Somehow we didn't have any trouble finishing it! Don't ask how that happened!

Sunday was his actual birthday and we kept it pretty low key. We went to church and said farewell to my family, went home teaching, played games, had a simple dinner, ate some more cake and David chatted the night away with his dad.

He's another year older, not quite retired, but pretty happy with where he's at. David turning 25 seems like nothing compared to Dad turning 60! Now that's old!! Love you Dad :)

It was tough to think up things to do. I think it is safe to say that he enjoyed having a week to be spoiled and catered to. But now he's worried I will be expecting something great for my birthday. .. Of course not...but I wouldn't mind a bit!

There she goes!

2011-04-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

Katelyn passed her 7 month birthday late last month. Then as April came in, she took off. She figured out how to really crawl and this was not an April Fool's joke. She means business when she's crawling. She seems to love it and will pause to make sure you are watching and give you a cheesy grin and then keep on going. She showed off for everyone during our monthly family skype FHE over conference weekend. She seems so proud of her new talent and she loves when we cheer and clap for her.

As she crawled across the floor for the first time I had so many feelings flood in. I was excited that she figured this out and learned how to move. I was nervous about all the things she would be able to get to now that I couldn't just sit her down and know that she'd stay there. I was sad that she's becoming more independent and she's doesn't need me as much anymore. I was proud of how she learned how to do something new. I was happy to see her so happy and excited to be getting herself closer and closer to the phone all by herself.

As long as I am in sight, she will sit and play with shoes or toys. She will move around and roll around with whatever she's wanting and then as she's done playing, she will whimper and crawl over to one of us. She has figured out how to pull herself up our legs or to stand along the couch and will peek over the edge or around our leg so she makes sure we know she's there.

She's trying to figure out how to crawl over things, but for now she just plows through and drags any toys or blankets along with her :) We have become her personal jungle gyms as she likes to climb all over us . . . or other babies at play group. . . to keep our attention on her or something. We never really know what she's thinking, but she seems to be very expressive so we feel like we have a good guess most of the time.

Along with pulling herself up on things, you would think that getting back down would be part of that skill, but that hasn't come yet. She used to be a really good sleeper, but now if she wakes up at night she will stand up in her crib and then call out for help. So I have been waking up multiple times a night to find her standing in her crib. It never takes much to get her back to sleep so I wonder if she knew how to get herself down if we would have our good sleeper back. It could be teething, hunger, scared of the dark, loneliness, or even a bad dream, but I blame it on her inability to get down for now :) We will never really know, but I miss those nights of uninterrupted sleep.

She loves playing any type of peek-a-boo game. She loves having a blanket or towel over her head to figure out how to grab it and pull it off and have everyone cheering for her. She also loves to play with people that sit behind us in church. She will lean from side to side to peek at the family sitting behind us hoping that they will play along. She's so irreverent, but too cute to ignore! I will sneak around the corner and play it with her and if I take too long to come back she will start crawling after me. The best thing about this game is definitely her face and her reaction. She knows that the face is somewhere close and when it pops up she couldn't be happier! Most babies love that game and she is definitely one of them!

Lately she has had a thing for the dishwasher. Whenever we are loading or unloading it and she hears the noise of the dishes, she will quit playing with her toys and head on over. It might be that it is at her level and she is trying to help, but her "help" is cute, but not really helping. She also likes to "help" by sorting her clothes. She knows right where they belong, but then changes her mind a few times. Soon enough we will have her helping out and I don't think she will be so eager then :)

For a few months now she has been a good "kisser." It seems and looks like she is trying to eat my face, but I like to assume she's sharing her love! I used to think she was teething and would use my chin or cheeks or collar bones to massage her gums, but she's been doing these "kisses" for a long time now and I don't think she has been teething all her life. She even put a nice little hickey on my chin. David wasn't even around for me to blame it on him and we were both impressed with it :)

Here is a video of her recent talents. She sure is a cutie and we are very entertained by her growing personality.

'Tis the Season

2011-03-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

David had a quick audit trip he went on last week. He wasn't gone too long, but what made it bad was that we were all sick. He was only gone for three days. We all somehow managed to get to the peak of the congested stuffy heads right in the middle of it too. So we couldn't even complain about it to each other, well Katelyn complained to me, but she wasn't very good at sympathizing with my complaints. We were all pretty miserable and wished we were all together at least at nights.

David didn't like blowing his nose in front of his boss all day, but couldn't really take "nose blowing breaks" especially when he was riding in the car with her, working side-by-side with her all day, eating out with her for every meal, and did I mention the 4 hour car ride home? I'm absolutely sure she was ready for some peace and quiet away from the nose-blowing David.

Does anyone know how you have to eat with a stuffy nose? You can hold your breath with each bite until you swallow or you have to keep you mouth open so you can breathe. Nobody holds their breath, so I just hope that David never had to sit directly in front of his boss because that would easily make me lose my appetite.

So when David got home I thought it would be nice to eat a nice home-y meal. I have never liked chicken noodle soup unless it is homemade which I wasn't up for making. I thought a homemade chicken pot pie would hit the spot. Doesn't that sound like a nice "Welcome home sick dad" dinner? I even "artfully crafted" a little house with a picket fence and walkway out of extra crust on top :)

Well David got home and we said our hellos and exchanged hugs and kisses all around. He couldn't smell the dinner in the oven, none of us could but I am sure it was lovely! I told him that dinner was just about ready and it was in just finishing up in the oven. He wasn't too thrilled. He was tired of food and eating out. . . and probably eating and trying to breathe while he ate. He wanted cereal. Simple. Plain. Boring.

I couldn't believe it. I was sure this would be the perfect meal to come home to and he wanted cereal?

Well I didn't convince him this pot pie was better than his cereal. We each had our different dinners and mine looked a million times more delicious, but I couldn't taste a thing. Having a cold makes my taste buds paralyzed or something. I could smell or taste anything I was eating :( It was a fail all around.

David even got some girl scout cookies, thin mints, from work and I couldn't even taste those. Very disappointing. So maybe I should have just stuck with the canned chicken noodle soup since I wouldn't even taste it. Might be something worth remembering the next time the cold decides to take over our house. I think we have had our share of stuffy noses and I am ready to be able to enjoy my food, be able to say "nose" instead of "dose" and "Katelyn" instead of "Kate-l", and to be able to see friends without getting them sick.

Not That Bad

2011-03-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

This whole March Madness thing is actually a lot more fun than I expected. I have only watched part of one game during this whole tournament and it was the BYU and Gonzaga game. . . . as a side note, I haven't seen BYU play though I have heard tons about their star player and also about the center who is off the team now. I couldn't believe how sweet of a shot that Jimmer has. He was shooting way beyond the 3 point line with defenders guarding him racking up the score. He definitely has some talent and David and I were amazed with how easy he made it look.

Anyways, my bracket is doing ok. . . nothing fancy. It is funny how David and I are rooting for some of these teams to win even though we have no idea who the players are, we probably don't know where the school is, and we don't have any connection to these schools except that we picked them to win that game. I have never been so curious how the games are going. An update of the score and how much time is left is good enough for me. I think the bracket system makes it easy for people to get emotionally invested in this tournament and follow the games.

Like I said before, David is rooting for Texas and picked them to win the whole thing. He has picked them to win the last three years. Does anyone know who has won the last three years? Well all that really matters to him is that Texas isn't one of those. David has been let down year after year. Yesterday, Texas lost to Arizona. He was pretty bummed about this and disappointed in his team for letting him down again. His Texas blanket has been his support system.

I haven't been very sympathetic, but he hasn't really been that sad over it either. . . AND he's my competition and I even predicted that Arizona was going to knock Texas out so I was a little happy. I thought of cheering him up with a little Texas song on my recorder, but I just barely found it unpacking some leftover boxes and haven't practiced. I am sure he would have loved it though :) I have a pretty good chance of coming out on top of this whole competition. I wonder what the winner gets. . . I'm ready to negotiate that now :)

The rest of the story. . . for you Papa

2011-03-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

My dad sure is on top of the current events. I left out some VERY important events of Katelyn's visit to Washington. Dad sent me an email and let me know. . .

"You didn't mention some of her first time experiences that we had here at the farm!!! If you recall we had a wonderful time that one night and Katelyn's first taste of ice cream!! and what about her first Georgia Mud Fudge blizzard which happened to be the same time she had her first ice cream experience. And, and what about the first time I really got David upset!! or, or how about the time she had her first fortune cookie, or Frieto corn chip, ro, or her first kissk on the lips from Maggie!!

lorry you're going to have to get your journal entries updated so that little gal can savor all those firsts that evidently you are just letting pass by! :) :)

Just kidding!!!! I love your letter and the photos were pretty good too!!

Later,

DAD"

So first of all, my parents don't live on a farm or anything like it but that is what he called his place. Actually I do remember Dad always saying "Who left the barn door open?!" whenever we would leave the door open during the winter and let all the heat escape out the front door. So maybe we did live on a barn. All of us kids must have been his animals. . . now I get it!

Dad loved coming home from work and playing with Katelyn. They played plenty of peek-a-boo and were just plain silly together. Sometimes Dad would even let me play with her for a bit and just loved watching me be mom especially when she would get the giggles.

The ice cream story is his favorite. Here's how he tells it:

"I went to see Abby at work, purchased a few blizzards and shared them with the family. When I got home Lorry was Skyping David with Katelyn on her lap. She kept looking back at me away from David, . . . sooooo cute!! Well, I just started sharing some of my blizzard with her, . . . . ooh, she liked it!!! Her eyes lit up, her lips got to smacking, and I could tell I had a buddy for sure. Then, BANG!!! David caught onto what I was doing and busted us!! Oh did she put up a fit when the spoonfuls stopped, . . . not really, but you could tell she liked it! David was funny though, " Hey, Lorry stop your dad from feeding her that stuff!!" " Hey, that can't be good for her!" Man was I in a pickle now! no more from me for sure!! I'll be good!

Katelyn and I are buds though, . . . . . there's a special bond there now I know!! :) :) Saturday night we danced at Vanessa's wedding reception for about half the night away. Every now and then someone (like Lorry) would come take her away from me, and then I'd have to go rescue her from some stranger and we'd go dance some more."

Katelyn wasn't very happy when the ice cream stopped coming. Dad loves his ice cream and the fact that Katelyn liked it too won him over. He was a proud grandpa. . . even though David got on him about giving "poison" to his little girl. Dad liked sneaking treats to Katelyn all week. We went out for Grandma Honey's 87th birthday for Chinese food and Katelyn got a hold of a fortune cookie. She sucked on that cookie until it was so soggy, then she left it for me as she stuck it on my shirt. She also got a big corn chip which she sucked on until she broke a piece off and was on her way to choking on that. I had to take that one away from her.

Dad loved having Katelyn around. She didn't mind the extra attention at all. . . except those puppy kisses from Maggie. Katelyn wasn't sure about the big furry animal especially since Maggie didn't like when Katelyn tried to climb on to her! They just don't know about each other yet.

So those are some of the things that I didn't mention about the trip. Let me know if I left anything else out! :)

She Poos in Blue

2011-03-18T00:44:00.000-07:00

I don't usually buy the name brand diapers, but with sales and coupons I snagged some of these for really cheap. I can't help but laugh about them. David was disappointed that the pockets weren't real and they were just printed on. It was just too good to be true.

Here's our little mover showing off her jeans.

This is the Huggies commercial that makes me giggle every time I put one of these diapers on Katelyn.

Katelyn sure has been inspired to go-go-go when she wears her "jeans". She is moving all over the place now.

"The coolest you'll look pooping your pants."

Around here lately. . .

2011-03-18T00:13:00.000-07:00

We aren't doing anything too wild and crazy around here. We are just kind of going with the flow it seems. Here's an update:

David:
~Lots of work and auditing trips. He isn't doing taxes, but most of the people at work do taxes there so he is working more hours.. . . it doesn't really make sense to me, but he says he has stuff to do, he gets paid, and so I guess it works out. Not so fun for him, but the extra bits in the pay checks are welcome anytime.
~Putting together bed frame for storage. . . for a second time. When I started to get too much food storage and non food items from my coupon shopping to fit into our cupboards, David built a bed frame that was tall enough to slide boxes under it so we could store everything under there. It isn't fancy by any means. It is really heavy. When we moved it was best to unscrew all the pieces and move it all separately. When he was putting it back together after the move, he thought of a sturdy way to put it together. That way wasn't very sturdy. David likes to "plop" into bed. I climb into bed. But David's plopping jostled the bed too much and we were afraid all of our soaps and food would all get squished. I never liked getting into bed first, especially trying to fall asleep before David came to bed because I was scared of the night where the bed just couldn't take it. It got to the point where the frame would sway a little bit and make scary creaky noises when I would roll over. So David fixed it and he can plop his little heart out every time he gets into bed. He is very proud of his bed frame he built. It has a lot of "character" :)
~David's birthday is coming up and all he wants is cake and ice cream. . . nothing else. No presents. Well he did ask for cookies for his birthday dinner, but he's not getting that. I should make veggie cookies or something healthy that looks like a cookie. Maybe he won't try to sneak into the stash of German chocolate and treats. I'll show him! I am going to have to be creative and think of something for a good gift and birthday dinner/date.
~CPA exam. . . he is planning on taking the big tests this summer. His review material is ordered and on its way. He's excited, but very nervous.
~Online classes. . . he is retaking a couple classes he took a long time ago and didn't do so well in. He wants to get his GPA up so it looks better on resumes. He is also thinking about doing an online MBA program starting this fall.
~His job is fine for now, but definitely not his dream job. The work is fine. The co-workers are too old. He has to travel too much. He has to work on Sunday every once in a while. They are very set in their ways and don't want to change, grow, be more efficient, or any of that stuff which is very frustrating and boring to him.
~Not playing table tennis. He hasn't played much since Katelyn was born. He still loves it, but this little baby is just too precious to leave and he feels like he is already missing out on so much while he's at work that he likes to be home as much as he can.

Lorry:
~Finished off the basketball season with a pizza party.
~Volunteering at the school and enjoying not working there full time. I do miss the kids, but I do not miss the stress that comes with that job. . . or the crazy parents. . . or the stress that some teachers have about the new bills/laws/reforms or whatever they are called that are cutting into the teachers. I do keep picking up all the sick bugs from there I think :(
~Visit to Washington. . . usually when David goes out on his business trips, I will head out to my parents. They love seeing Katelyn so often. Each time we go Katelyn has more and more personality and spunk to her. And maybe some attitude too. My parents like that David has these trips since they get to see the baby, but we all wish he could be there to play too.
~Mom guided me through making a baby dress. I wasn't able to finish, but it was actually looking like a dress, so I was proud of my sewing job. The last time I sewed anything was when I was 9 and I made scrunchies out of rubber bands and scraps of fabric. Mom had to start from the beginning basics with me. I'm sure she could have easily made it herself, but she was patient with me and let me try it out.
~Dad and I went to the temple. It had been a while since I had been especially since I had been to that temple and it was so refreshing.
~Dad and I climbed Badger. It's a good climb that gets you huffing and puffing. . . especially hauling around the baby!

~One of my best friends got married! Too cute! Too beautiful!! I am such a cry baby for happy things. . . Thanks Dad :)

~Coupon Shopping. . . once a week I will sort through my newspapers and file away my coupons and put together a shopping list of the best deals at one or two stores and then go for it. It takes a lot of planning, but coming home and playing the guessing game, "How much did all this cost?" is always fun. It is so great to be able to stock up on things we use every day for so little. David likes it too except I have a hard time buying anything at full price when we need them. For example, we ran out of face wash and I would almost rather not get anymore because I know that if I wait for a good sale I can get it for free if not really cheap.
~New recipes. . . I am tired of the same meals that we keep rotating through and have been trying out some new recipes. David has been a trooper. He now knows that if I like it, then he will say it is good even if it isn't good to him. If I mention anything that I don't like about it, then he knows he's safe to share what he doesn't like about it. David likes plain and simple. I have been trying to get him to branch out a little and for some reason I think he is crazy when he doesn't like something that I love. I always know when he likes something because he will ask or request to have it for lunch or leftovers the next day.
~My sister coming home from work with a free yummy ice cream cake for being such a good worker!

~Doctor's visits. . . there have just been too many between Katelyn being sick and her regular appointments.
~Teaching primary. . . I have the best girls. I teach the 9-11 year old girls and they are great. They are so sweet and it is so neat to see how much they know about this church and that I get to fill in the gaps and help them understand more. They like learning about the gospel. I am so glad there aren't boys in this class :)
~I am wanting my long hair back. It is taking way to long to grow again. Luckily I am not shedding anymore, but there are more little baby hairs coming back in that I've noticed. This is a post pregnancy thing that I am very glad to be done with. I was worried I was going to go bald for a bit there.

Katelyn:
~Trying to crawl. . . I think she is almost there, but this could be like having a baby due date. . . it could happen in a week or in a month. She's up on her hands and knees, sometimes on her hands and feet when she's really showing off :) It's like she's doing girly push ups and then the occasional manly push-up. Funny girl!

~She's getting more and more ticklish, but only when she's in the mood, otherwise she just looks annoyed and gives me this look like, "Nice try, Mom."
~Get's excited and bounces on her bum when I blow my nose. She's weird. That is not exciting.
~Does not like when I wipe her nose. She is a pro at turning her head away the second you are ready with the tissue making me chase her little nose back and forth.
~No teeth yet thankfully. . . she likes to suck on my collar bones and my chin when we are playing and tickling. She actually gave me a hicky on my chin last week. She got me good, but I am just glad there aren't teeth to chomp down on me!
~She LOVES peek-a-boo. She leans from side to side with eye brows up to catch where you went and looks so pleased and happy when she finds you.
~She's been a wonderful traveler and does a million billion times better in the car then the first 2 months when she would scream until she was sweating. Now she sweetly plays with her stuffed animals and chats and sings away until she falls asleep.
~Learning to play the piano. She really likes to repeatedly whack at things, and this made noise so it was extra special.

~Her 6 month shots were not fun. She can wiggle too much so they literally held her down. She did not approve of this. And then they poked her chubby little legs. OUCH!!
~She is determined to get things. . . especially things that she shouldn't ever play with like cords, poky things, plastic bags, messy food, and such. She is not as easily distracted. She will look at the new toy for a second and then continue squirming and doing all she can to get what she sees.
~Watching her uncle do homework.

~She has a nasty cough. . . .her dad and Grandma both had it so she was bound to get it. It isn't anything serious, just annoying for her. Tis the season!
~She DOES NOT like to be left alone. She is getting more and more attached to me, but if I leave out of sight and there isn't anyone else around, she is not happy. She lets out a full scream to let me know I have gone too far.

~She is a pro at scarfing down baby food. Those green beans, peas, squash, broccoli, carrots, bananas, pears. . . so creamy. . . .mmmm. Doesn't that sound so yummy? She thinks they truly are lip smackin' good! I'm not brave enough to try them but I have caught myself a couple times about to eat a spoonful of baby food because sometimes I feed her while I am eating and give her a bite of her food then take a bite of mine. Almost got our spoons mixed up. . . that would have been a dirty little surprise!
~Loves to stare and then try to eat everything . . . including other babies. This is new. She used to just stare, but now she knows she can kind of move places so she goes for them and likes to feel how squishy they are.

So that is life for us! We are staying busy, but not too busy!

Madness? . . . Nah.

2011-03-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

David convinced me to fill out a bracket for the basketball tournament. I don't follow basketball too closely but I have seen a game here and there. So in filling out my bracket I was really clueless. I have always just filled them in and called it good not even having any idea who the top ranked teams were. I have no idea who is going to win what game, who will have the big upsets, and all that. David gets really excited about it. Of course, David is betting on Texas to win it all. He is a loyal fan and will always support any team from Texas over anyone else.

I didn't do any "research" on the teams and I just went off of the rankings. So we'll see how my guesses play out this time. I guessed Duke is going to win it again this year. (I didn't realize they won it last year until David told me) So maybe I have a chance of racking up more points than David. . . let the madness begin :)

Our Growing Girl

2011-03-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

Katelyn definitely isn't a little baby. We went in early awhile back for her 6 month appointment but just a week. The appointment scheduler lady said it would be fine to go in early and she would still get her shots. Well the first thing they said to me when I got there was "Oh, it looks like you are a little early and you will need to come back in a couple of weeks for her shots." I was definitely annoyed. They still did her wellness check-up and she was looking nice and healthy.

She is weighing in at 17 pounds 15 1/2 ounces. . . almost 18 pounds. She is about 25 1/2 inches long with 17 1/2 inches around her head. She is high on the charts for weight and low/middle for height. So she is still a squishy baby.

Her recent talents and interests include:

this fake roll over trick belly out and all

rolling over and getting disoriented and losing her toys.
pulling things apart or stretching them over her head. . . like socks or paper or bears. . . just to show off how big and strong she is getting :)
grabbing, grabbing and grabbing some more. (especially the things we don't want her to grab like cords, phones, glasses, and plastic bags)
anything she can get her hands on gets a stare down and then goes to the mouth to really figure it out
she sticks out and tries to suck on her own tongue. . . go ahead and try it and you will look just about as cute as Katelyn does, maybe
she is getting close to crawling, but she pushes too much with her arms and goes backwards. This makes her very frustrated because she ends up further away from what she wants
she knows how to throw tantrums and doesn't like when I take things away that she really wants to play with
sleeping during basketball practice
she still stares people down and is tough to crack a smile out of when we are out
she's really good at girl push ups
when she drops a toy and you pick it up, she realizes she just started a fun game. If you don't want to play this game, she gets very sad.
distraction is wonderful. . . new toys, tickles, songs, etc
socks don't belong on the feet
people are personal jungle gyms that can be sucked on, pinched or climbed on with the occasional snuggling
bananas make the yucky vegetables taste wonderful

She's our little princess and she keeps getting cuter and cuter!

Good ol' February

2011-03-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

This month hasn't been too wonderful. We started it off passing around a cold. I go and volunteer at the school after the kids leave once a week. Some of the kids are still there and are waiting for their parents, who are teachers, to finish up and take them home. One girl in particular is one that I had in my class when I student taught. She was excited to play with Katelyn. I wasn't so excited about this. She came sniffling and sneezing away and I knew I was in for it. She asked to play with Katelyn and I suggested she wash her hands first. She went over to the sink and flicked water around and called it good. I offered her some of my hand sanitizer and may have given her a little too much on purpose. I had her rub it in really well and up to her elbows too :)

Katelyn is usually very cautious to smile at strangers, but this little girl was trustable I guess. Katelyn was smiling, grabbing her glasses, and playing with her in no time.

Not long after that visit, Katelyn was sniffling. David noticed first, and I blamed it on the crying. It lasted all week and the sniffles stuffed her up. It was passed on to me and then on to David as well.

We all cleared up and were on our way. Katelyn's didn't clear up all the way I guess. One day she was hot. Just by holding her I could tell she had a fever. I figured it was probably teething, but called the doctor just in case. My at home temperature checks were high and they asked me to come in. Her congestion turned into an ear infection and the fever was connected to it. We picked up some antibiotics and were on our way. Katelyn loved the medicine and didn't seem to be in too much pain so it was manageable.

David started working Saturdays so he only gets one-day weekends now. It's busy season. I am coaching the basketball games on my own now which isn't as fun. The boys miss having David around at the games. I miss him too. This Saturday is our last game and pizza party. David won't be able to be there because of work. Bummer.

Valentine's day wasn't anything too fancy. Each year we trade off and this year it was my turn to plan our date. We don't know anyone too well to babysit, so we had Katelyn with us but we still like her so we were okay with it. David only gets Sunday off so I had limited time. David also has a tough time wanting gifts of any kind. If he wants something, he gets it. He has a hard time wanting me to get him gifts because he sees it as his money being spent on him and he already has the basic things he needs. He is very simple too. So the real way to his heart is food. I made some egg rolls and I think David is convinced that I am Asian because the egg rolls, sweet 'n sour sauce and fried rice was that good. We went and enjoyed a college basketball game that night too. On the real Valentine's day, I snuck a little love note with him as he went off to work. Katelyn and I joined him for leftover Asian food and cookies for lunch. I made some yummy tacos for dinner. His belly was filled with love that weekend and he was a happy boy.

One Last Bit of Magic

2011-02-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

Our basketball season is coming to a close. This weekend is our last game. Hopefully the boys enjoy this last game. I know one boy's dad just got back in town from a long business trip and he couldn't be happier that his dad gets to see his last game.

Last weeks game was against a good team. They were better than us and they rubbed it in pretty hard. The boys didn't like it. The parents didn't like it. As a coach, I didn't like it either. They had trick plays and they picked on our boys that aren't as talented basketball wise. Some boys are a little fragile and don't like getting scored on that much. Some boys didn't want to play anymore. They weren't having fun. There were almost tears, but parents were still proud of their little all-stars and scared those tears away with words of encouragement.

We survived the game and the snacks after the game made it all worth it. Even I got some treats.

We had our last practice last night. I got the parents together and we had a show down. Parents vs. Kids. Everyone loved it. Dads with pot bellies were huffing and puffing. Moms slipped some yelps as they tried to keep up with their boy. The boys were all over their parents playing the roughest game. Pot bellies were used as bumpers ricocheting ball-scavenging boys to the floor.

The parents were given some obstacles they had to work around. Sometimes the ball had to be passed to all five players before they shot. Sometimes they could only use one hand to pass, catch, shoot, rebound, steal, defend, etc. Sometimes they couldn't raise their arms above their shoulders. Sometimes they couldn't go in the key on offense or defense. The parents had fun with it and sometimes the boys figured out how to use the handicaps to their advantage.

This weekend we will finish off our season with a final game and a pizza party. Endless pizza. What could be more MAGIC than that?

Goodness

2011-02-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

I feel like I have too many things to do, all of them very important of course, so which tasks do I cross off the list first? Well, lately it seems like my answers have been "none of the above" and at the end of the day I think back and realize I didn't really get anything done. Sometimes David will come home and ask, "So what did you guys do today?". . . and my answers are laughable to say the least.

For example. . . painting my nails, and Katelyn's. Katelyn doesn't need her nails painted, and she squirms so much that it really isn't necessary. I have never been a painted nails kind of girl,. . . I can never seem to get the right hand painted well enough and then if I do, I can't sit still long enough for them to dry, but somehow it has found its way in and trumped making a decent dinner for the night.

Having a good meal. . . more than cereal, PB&J, or some wimpy sandwich. . . makes it feel like a successful day. And if that meal gets cleaned up that night, I may as well have won the lottery!

I have to shower first thing in the morning before Katelyn wakes up. I have tried to feed her, distract her with a bucket of toys, shower while she naps, sing to her while I shower (she always loves our singing. . . to her we are pro but sorry, we don't preform for anyone but her). She doesn't approve of me showering. I made up this theory that she gets sad because she knows someone is home and she hears the water trickle down the pipes behind her wall and that someone is home is not entertaining her. If only she knew how bad it really would be if I didn't shower. I have mastered the 5 minute shower. . . sorry Dad, I know you tried your hardest, but I never caught on until I had a wailing baby. This is a normal problem right? Has anyone else found it difficult to get a decent shower when you are home alone with the baby?

It is funny to me because when Katelyn naps, sometimes it is for 30 minutes, sometimes 3 hours. When it is a 30 minute nap, I am begging for her to go back to sleep. Mostly because she doesn't wake up that happy so I assume she needs a longer nap. When she sleeps longer than an hour, those are conveniently the times when I am planning on going somewhere and waiting for her to wake up. Or sometimes I start worrying that she'll take too long of a nap and then keep us all up until midnight. Where's the balance?

I love when my baby wakes up happy. That means she got plenty of sleep and she is ready to eat and then play. Note: Wait 20 minutes after eating before tickling, spinning, or bouncing or things get messy. And when she wakes up happy, that usually means that Mom and Dad wake up happy too. Lately she has been waking up off and on at night. Some nights are great (like last night. . . heavenly!) and we are all peacefully sleeping, but others aren't so peaceful. We aren't sure what makes it a good or a bad night, but I have a feeling that the train that goes by every hour "Choo-Choo!" mixed with the neighbor who is not a graceful stair climber and thuds his/her way up and down the stairs only when my baby is sleeping also mixed with the neighbor that hacks up a lung with every cough might be part of the problem. (Anybody that would like to buy us a house, we will humbly accept the donation.) Luckily, Katelyn goes back to sleep with a little bit of lovin' at nights. I have also wondered: I want my baby to be able to sleep through anything, but she wakes up if we are too noisy so where is the balance? Do I tip-toe around to ensure she sleeps and avoid noises at all costs, or do I do whatever I want to even though it might wake her up?

While Katelyn is sleeping I have these great plans for all the things I am going to accomplish. . . cleaning/de-cluttering, planning a coupon shopping trip, getting myself ready for the day, planning a lesson, getting dinner ready, planning a basketball practice, paying bills, calling a friend to chat, updating our blog, making something cute and crafty, or anything productive. I am not quite sure how time gets away from me and at the end of the day it seems like the to-do list didn't get any shorter. I am ready for a good routine and some motivation to get things done. I know I don't have to be all over the place and some Super Mom, but
I want to be able to respond to the question, "What did you do today?" with something more than painting our nails. So off I go!

Something Special

2011-02-11T15:01:00.000-08:00

When I was little, I always knew I wanted to be a mom. I just figured it would happen and didn't think too much of it. I played with my brothers, and so I didn't really play with many dolls or any girly stuff. I did love the stuffed animals, but I didn't really do anything with them. . . . ok, now that I think about it, I gave my stuffed animals "hair cuts" and those didn't turn out so well (like the hair cut I decided my big bear needed before I brought him to the Kindergarten Teddy Bear Picnic. . . he had to stay home and the Hard Rock Cafe bear came instead. Sorry Big Guy :) But I don't remember playing make believe with them or doing much else with them. I just thought it was fun to have a lot of them.

So I played with my brothers which meant we would :

ride our bikes and roller blades around our track or in the street
play capture the flag/gold rush
run through the sprinklers/have sprinkler wars/jump on the tramp in the sprinklers
"secretly" pull out the thin tarps and make a slip 'n slide and try and move it often so the grass wouldn't be soggy when dad got home. . . never worked, he always knew
play with legos. . . made houses mostly and there never was enough roof or windows or doors for all of our houses
make sling shots out of our shirt tags, rubber bands, and branches
play dodge ball or British bulldog on the tramp
swim all summer
play hide and go seek or sardines
make up games
play soccer
do Kool-Aid stands, cherry stands, and I even attempted a rock stand from "special rocks" found in our driveway and our neighbor's driveway. . . . not a single rock sold
team tag wrestling
play baseball. . . which I can never remember a time when this ever turned out well. . . someone always got hit in the head with the ball, or the bat (sorry Matt!), or the ball ended up crashing into the van window (nice throw Luke)
throw the hamster under the pile of clothes and guess where he'd find his way out. . . like plinko. . . I know we were mean to the little hamster, we were young, and no, our parents didn't know we did this so don't judge them

So I wasn't anywhere near a girly girl. Occasionally I would try to "curl" my hair with a round brush which always got stuck in my hair and I either cut it out, tried to use peanut butter to get it out, or mayo. I'm guessing all of those options were bad ones as my hair was often in a pony-tail and my bangs progressively made their start further and further up my head.

I didn't mind the dirt and grime. I just went along with it, and actually enjoyed it. Fishing and camping trips with Dad and Papa were eagerly looked forward to.

I became more and more of a tom-boy and loved playing soccer and basketball. I would play all school year, and do camps all summer. Having my hair slicked back in a pony-tail was my specialty!

I was rough and tough. I'd play the slug bug game with my brothers and I'd slug them just as hard as they'd slug me. In middle school, I realized that I wasn't nearly as girly as most. My buddy, Brooke, and I thought "the baggier the comfier" by means of clothes. Make up? No way. We thought some glitter around our eyes was close enough and called it good. She wore red glitter, I wore green glitter.

I got a couple of babysitting jobs and I realized how much I loved playing with kids. This is where I realized there was a softer side to me. I enjoyed being silly with them and helping them learn and do new things. It was fun to laugh and pretend to be goofy things. It was a good feeling to wipe the tears away and give them a big hug and kiss the boo boo. I felt comfortable around kids. I had fun around kids.

I started teaching swimming lessons and loved it. Kids were too fun! Belly flops were fun. They would turn into dives which meant they were getting two thumbs up from mom who was cheering them on outside the fence. Kids tried to be so brave and go off the diving board. Mom took pictures of that great event, and then gave the thumbs up for the job well done. Thinking up games like the treasure hunt was a lot of fun too.

I went off to school to get my degree. I thought that teaching was the only thing that really fit me. I tried to fly through the general classes and get to the teaching ones. I met this cute boy along the way.

We got married and knew that it was important for me to finish my degree. Having kids was on our minds, but teaching was on my mind as well. All my classes prepared me to be the greatest teacher, but in the back of my mind, I knew that I wasn't going to be teaching in the class too much.

Graduation was coming quick for both of us. David searched high and low for a job and had a rough time with it. We were moving out for my student teaching, and then what? Did I need to be preparing to teach full time? What if David didn't find a job? This is the reason I wanted to finish school, but I wasn't expecting to actually have to work.

Christmas came and we were out of the college town. We wondered what this new place would bring. Christmas morning we found out. We were going to have a baby. I knew what the plan was from there. I knew I was going to stay home with the baby when she came, but felt the need for a back up plan to teach just in case. What if I was being too optimistic?

David found a temporary job, but was still in search for a long term job. We both worked at it and I think I may have sent out more resumes and filled out more online job profiles than he did, and we got through. He got a real job. A real accounting job. A job that would actually use some knowledge that he has because of going to college. We were both so relieved and so happy. It was hard to believe the search was done.

David was so happy. It was comforting for him to know that he really was going to provide for his family, new baby and all. Having a job that was the start of his career. We felt like we had control now. We felt like we could make plans for further in the future than 3 or 6 months away. We felt secure in the sense that this job would be long term. We still save, but we no longer have to assume the worst and save up for it. It was a great burden lifted off his shoulders. It isn't his dream job, but it provides. It is a start and we have been so grateful for it.

With that job, we were both overwhelmed with peace. Peace that we really were being watched over and being blessed for doing something right. Peace to know that I really could stay at home with the new baby.

I wanted to handle her all on my own. That was my full time job, right? David went to his office and took care of his responsibility. I felt that I could manage. It wasn't like I had any other kids. Just the little one.

I wanted to be the mom that could handle this. The mom that would enjoy every snuggling opportunity no matter what time it was. I was tough enough to handle this, right? I really wanted to be, and expected myself to be. David said it was okay for him to help. But then was I failing? I wasn't helping with his work. He really wanted to help though. It showed me how great of a husband and new father he really was. This was his little girl too.

She would keep us up at night. She would have massive blowouts that would make a mess of some of her cutest outfits. She would spit up on her back up set of clothes and just have to smell like sour milk until we got home. She would yank on my hair just a few hairs at a time. . . ouch! She would spit up on my clothes. We are both lucky to make it through the day without needing to change. She would scream in the car when we would go anywhere. She would knock anything in reach over. She would cry if we walked out of sight. She cries if we take something unsafe away that she was having fun playing with. Trying to figure out what she needs. She tries our patience.

She does all of these things often. People ask how it's going having a baby around. We always say it is good. No it isn't always good all of the time.

But. . . her smile, her cozy little body, hearing her giggle with pure delight, having her hold on tight as long as she wants, or the joy in her face just to see you is like no other. It makes you forget about all the rotten things she does or makes them seem like they aren't so bad. Holding our sweet little girl as she falls asleep is simply peaceful. So innocent. It is so rewarding to calm her down and be the one she needs. The someone that holds her just because as the tears dry up.

Though I haven't always dreamed of being a mom, I feel honored to have the title. I know how important the home is and I know I have a huge task in front of me to create a consistent feeling of love and happiness in our home. I may not be in the classroom each day, but I have plenty to do in our home and I feel so lucky to be able to be here.

Good game, Good game.

2011-02-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

Our basketball team, the Magic, is doing awesome. We have 2 awesome little dribblers, and 2 awesome shooters, and the rest of them really like running around.

We are the black team. Here's a look at our play :) I taught them all they know. . . and the season has just begun!

Our first two practices before the game were very interesting. I was thinking. . . we need to find out what skills they are each good at so we will do drills for each skill (dribbling, passing, shooting, defense, etc.) and then we need to put together a simple play so they have a rough idea of where they can go to get open instead of everyone swarming around the ball.

By the time the first practice was over, we were trying to figure out everyone's names, and we had no clue who could do what. As far as a play, I was thinking a pass-screen-dribble-shoot idea would work. . . simple Not so much. The boys couldn't figure out where to start. What's a point guard? What's a lay up again? Is his name Gabin or Gavin? I'm really good at 3 point shots, watch! Look! I can spin the ball in my hand! Who farted? Can we get some water? I have to go to the bathroom? Can we just shoot instead? I have a fun game, can we play it?

After the first practice, I went and bought a whistle :)

At the next practice, we practiced freezing when the whistle was blown. We went way back to the basics. This is how you hold a basketball. Now you do it. This is how you dribble. Now you do it. This is how you pass. Now you do it. This is how you play defense. Now you do it.

And our play? Down the drain the first week. Not a big deal. Just pass, dribble, get open and shoot. We figured out something to work on for the next week, and there were no screens involved.

We worked on the basics, and that is all we do still. They are getting there. We are having a blast and the parents. . and grandparents. . and so glad we volunteered to do this so they wouldn't have to.

Our cheer is just the basic. We tried one that I did when I was little that goes like this:

Razz tazz tootie frootie

Let's go out and kick some booty!

Goooo Magic!

They all giggled and said it is a girly cheer. They did it once for me and made promise they would never have to do that cheer again :)

If their cheeks are rosy at the end of each game and each practice and they have a giant smile on their face, we call it a success! No score is kept at the games, but I am pretty sure we are winners!

Over and Out

2011-02-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

She figured it out. A couple weeks ago Katelyn realized how to roll that chubby little body over! She was a little confused when she did it, but now it is just part of playing for her. This is one of those milestones that are great for her, but for me, I am just thinking about the little time that I have left of an immobile baby. Now I can steal her away and give her as many hugs and kisses I could possibly imagine. Soon she will be tromping around and I know it will be much harder to catch her and smother her with all those hugs and kisses like I can now. I like that I can set her somewhere and clean the kitchen or do some "good wife task" and she will just sit there. She's not crawling yet, but I know it's coming. I don't think I am ready for her to learn these new things. Is it ok to knock her down every once in a while so she will stay put a bit longer? Kidding. . . mostly. She's still an itty-bitty newborn that just wants to lay there and be held right?

Not quite! When we snuggle up with her, she's got chunky arms and legs hanging out all over the place. She grabs at anything . . . especially glasses and faces. . . and her curious mind doesn't always want to sit and snuggle with mom and dad.

She started having solids, which aren't really solid at all as she has no teeth to chew. . . so I don't like calling them solids. Baby food. . . you know, everything blended, or mashed so that it can get everywhere a little easier? She is still figuring it out and how to swallow it. It's just not quite milk. She has figured out that it makes really thick bubbles :) Here's some pictures of how the feeding went. Katelyn is very expressive. . . and didn't think this was as fun as mom and dad thought it was. The one in the middle cracks me up!

She got a little sick lately and I think it is harder on us than it is for her. A stuffy nose makes things so tricky when you have to close your mouth to eat. I couldn't stop snuggling with her and so I got sick too. David hasn't caught it yet so no snuggling with him right? There's no way he would give up his Katelyn time each night.

She's been sleeping longer the last couple of days, but she wakes up often because she tries to breathe through her stuffy nose. It's rough on her and me. We are both sleep deprived and all stuffed up. She is super snuggly now though and I don't mind that a bit!

She learned how to squeal really high and she knows that it gets my attention really quick. The last couple of days she hasn't been able to get her voice up high though. . . it cracks and is out. She has that sick croaky voice now which is so pathetic but cute.

She takes about 5 minutes or so to warm up to people. She's not a baby that flashes a smile at everyone. She still stares them down, checks often for my "approval" and then after a bit she will then snuggle up real close or start blowing bubbles for you and smile at how cute she is. She needs to be convinced that you are worth smiling at. . . that's my guess.

She has figured out how to pull her bottom lip in and suck on it. . . it gives her a goofy face.

I love that she can play with toys. She will sit and reach for them and will play with one thing at a time. She fiddles with them in her hands and sucks on them. She focuses on each one so hard. . . with her double chin tucked in, cheeks plumped as plump as they can be, down brow in full force, lips together just enough to let the drool seep out, and her mind gets going. Her arms reach way up high and then pounce down on the toy of choice, though sometimes it is a bit too far away, so she will try her pounce again and reach a bit further.

Here's a video of all of her specialties!

We can't seem to get enough of her! We love that she is so squishy and sturdy all at the same time. I don't know what I would do with a skinny baby. . . I guess feed her more :)

Call Me Coach

2011-01-13T11:24:00.000-08:00

Recently David has been into basketball. He has been trying to figure out the best sport for Katelyn to go pro in and he has narrowed it down to basketball. I know. . . he's a little crazy and over the top with his plans for her, but I just go with the flow and let him do his thing and the plans usually settle on their own. He has never really played basketball except for pick up games and church ball. He went to the library and checked out books on the fundamentals and has been loving it. He asks me questions here and there and really tries to figure out the basics of this game that he missed out on.

In this phase of curiosity, he wanted to find out how soon Katelyn would be able to start playing. I told him not to get his hopes up of our child becoming a star athlete and that he shouldn't be too disappointed if it doesn't work out, but he still looked into it.

As he was looking into the youth basketball programs he realized two things. . . first that Katelyn has quite a while before she can be on any basketball team, and second, that the local teams need some coaches.

He mentioned it to me, and it sounded pretty fun! We dug further into it and volunteered. . . . and ta-da!!!

We are the official coaches of our very first basketball team. We are coaching an 8 year old team and we are the Magic! Not the Orlando Magic, but we'll get there right? We are a little anxious about all this. . . have any of the boys touched a basketball before. . . where do we start. . . will there be crazy parents that believe their child is the next NBA player (like David) . . . what if nobody shows up for the games. . . what if we lose every game?

This will be a fun adventure. We have two practices before our first game which means the first game could be a disaster!

Does anybody have any good plays? Any fun Magic cheers? Who's bringing the treats to the first game?

Wish us luck! We might need it!