Made Gramma and Grampa Smile

This is a blog post taken from Gramma and Grampa's blog:

Yesterday Little Ethnie was at our house.  

At one point in her busy, busy play she took Baby, basket and all, 

set her outside, closed the door and said "bye-bye."

I wonder if this is a bad omen for her new little brother 

that is scheduled to join the family on Friday?

Grampa's Girl

 Saturday I get a phone call from Dad that went something like this: "If I bring food, do you think I could stop by?" Talk about horrible children. Poor Dad has been all alone and I totally dropped the ball since we had Leanne visit and we've been prepping for Duke's arrival, I totally forgot about him. Like I said WORST. CHILDREN. EVER! So Dad came over and brought us some treats. Be still my beating heart!! Chinese and Slurpee's. Bliss!

Have I mentioned before how much Ethnie adores her Grampa? As soon as he pulled up to the drive she raced to the window and started knocking trying to get his attention. She was so excited she ran to the door to let him in. He's totally her favorite. She's been rocking a head cold for the past two days and some snuggles from Grampa are just what she needed. We are so grateful that Grampa was able to come over! We sure do love and appreciate him.

A Quick Project

In a desperate attempt to clear out some of my scrap fabric I decided to make a lap quilt for Missy's daughter, Zada. I made her car seat canopies when Z was born and had matching fabric left over. I mean you can't just throw away Minky material!! This project took me a total of two hours and I was so pleased with the end result. I had to snap a photo in my car before I gave it to her since I forgot to before I left. Here's to using up the scraps!!

A Nursery Woman

 Daddy took Ethnie to nursery for the first time today. It was bitter sweet. She is 100% ready for nursery, but at the same time in my mind she's now no longer a baby at all. It made my heart sad a bit to see her grow up. I mean, how did it happen so fast. Daddy said she had a good time, she enjoyed being with the other children. They had goldfish and fruit snacks for a snack and she was quite pleased. I ran into her in the hall, she was watching the rain at the door with all of the other kids. She was just as happy as could be. After church she was rather excited to show me her picture. She's such a sweetheart.

Special Moments

 As of late I have been trying to be a little more creative with activities for Ethnie. To be honest, I'm tired and I really want nothing more than to curl up on the couch and cuddle her while she watches Elmo all day. I'll admit it, for several days lat week that's just about all we did, and I felt terrible. I should be soaking up these last few days/ weeks where it's just her and I, so I resolved to be better. I wanted a quick, clean, and fun activity for her to do and then it hit me... play dough. Why didn't I think of this before? She really enjoyed helping Mama mix the ingredients.

 Her first plunge in. It was a success! Her favorite part was stuffing the dough into the measuring cup. 

Cheese!! I think we'll be having play dough in our home a lot more now. 

Some other special moments these past couple of weeks include: 

1. While driving home the other day we tried to keep E awake so she would take a good nap. She had been swimming and was plumb tuckered out. When I turned around to check on her she was out. I tried tickling her feet and all she did was laugh and smile while keeping her eyes shut. She was just too precious for words. A moment I will always treasure and remember.

2. I asked for a kiss the other day and she grabbed both sides of my face and gave me the biggest sweetest kiss. It made my heart melt. 

3. Watching her take care of her baby doll is always special to me. She makes sure she shares her sippy cup and pretends to feed her food. She'll bring over her baby with a blanket and insist we swaddle her up and then she sings to it or read it a story. Ethnie is going to be an amazing big sister!

4. Yesterday we simply played and snuggled. She fell asleep in my arms during wind-down time (which is a rarity). We laughed, tickled and just enjoyed being together. Not that I'm not beyond excited for little Duke to arrive but I am cherishing these last few days where it's just us girls. Word's can not do my love for her justice and I am so thankful that I get to be here Mama!

Aunt Leanne

 We were very lucky to finally have my cousin Leanne visit. She has been attending school up at BYU-I and there was finally a break in both of our schedules where we were able to get together. We had a ton of fun and despite being 37 weeks pregnant we actually did quite a bit. First item of business, explore the strip. Leanne has a pet whale named Thomas who travels with her. He's rather photogenic and was in several pictures with the Vegas scenery.

 I'm officially a Mom. You'd think that would have happened 17 months ago when we had Ethnie but I crossed a new line today. I chose comfort over style. Here's Leanne in her adorable outfit and then there's me. Maternity pants, and tennis shoes. They were the most comfortable thing I had and I knew that I wouldn't last long in flip flops. Both Jakob and Leanne burst out laughing when I came downstairs.

 Leanne is totally into plants and landscaping which is what she's studying at school. The Bellagio gardens were a must. She couldn't get over how everything was in bloom and continued to say things and names I totally didn't understand. Needless to say, she enjoyed it.

We had a recommendation from a few friends to go and have Serendipity Frozen Hot Chocolate. So we stood in line for 20 minutes and paid our $11.87. That's right $11.87 for a drink... crazy!

Leanne licking off the whip cream before it all melted.

It was totally lame! It tasted like watered down peppermint with little chunks of ice. Leanne said the whipped cream was the best part. I was totally expecting a rich and creamy experience, perhaps similar to a frosty, but better. I was wrong. It was cold however and that was fabulous! 

We then went to the Las Vegas sign and to the Little Chapel down the road. Leanne has a dream of getting married in Vegas, so I suggested that we check out the temple.

 The sky line. I'll have to get a better picture before we move. 

I just love the temple. So beautiful! Not to mention Leanne and E looked adorable together. Ethnie totally looks like Leanne, strawberry blonde hair (Leanne is naturally blonde but went red for the summer) and electric blue eyes. All week people asked if I was expecting my first because they assumed Ethnie was Leanne's.

Too cute!

We then switched and tried to get some of E and I, she wasn't having it and lets be serious, there is no flattering angle when you are 37 weeks pregnant. 

A group shot.Thank you tripod!

We totally look like a lesbian couple, but I love this picture! Where's Jakob when you need him!

We had such a great time with Aunt Leanne! Ethnie just loved her! They would play hide and seek which was just too cute for words. Hopefully she'll come back in October to meet little Duke. Thanks for visiting!! We love you!!

Jakob's Birthday Week

Let me start off this post by mentioning how truly lame I am. I usually go all out for birthdays. I mean Sunday through Saturday of random treats and treasures to spoil that birthday person. This year, I dropped the ball. Jakob's birthday kind of just snuck up on me and being 37 weeks pregnant I wasn't really up to decorating, cooking or partying at all. Like I said, I'm lame! Thankfully Jakob is one understanding man. Gosh I'm one lucky girl! 

We kicked off Jakob's birthday week by having Mom and Dad Tobler over for dinner. Jakob's friend Thomas came by as well. Not that it isn't always fun seeing Mom and Dad but it's been forever since we've seen Thomas so that made Jakob's day. The evening was topped off with Mom Tobler presenting Jakob with his birthday slideshow. He was pretty excited! (Follow link to see the slideshow)

Tuesday night we headed up to Mom and Dad's to celebrate with Jakob's special request: Costco Pizza and Root Beer Floats. Boy do we know how to live it up?! But seriously Costco pizza is delicious! 

Wednesday (his actual birthday) we did nothing. I didn't even make dinner because Jakob had a late lunch. Ethnie and I did go by some helium balloons and we sang happy birthday over some smoothies. It was a low key evening and I think we were both just happy to spend it at home with Peanut. (p.s. don't you just love that cheesy smile??)

 Saturday however, we celebrated. Please excuse the decor. We invited a few friends over and celebrated with a taco bar and some greasy watermelon. I had several compliments on Mom Tobler's Pork Barbacoa and her Cilantro Lime Chicken which we made the night before. We finished cooking at midnight. Delicious.

 Then we headed out to the pool so that the men could have a good game of greasy watermelon. If you asked Jakob to define what exactly greasy watermelon entails he'd say: "It's the most fun you'll ever have with 10 half naked dudes in a pool with a watermelon and a jar of Vaseline." He really has a way with words.

 What it really is is a mix between Rugby and Water Polo with a watermelon covered in Vaseline to make it slippery. Rules are fairly simple, get the melon to the opposing sides wall. You are not allowed to throw the melon out of the water (for the safety of the melon.)

 It is hilarious to watch and the boys really get into it!

 Peanut came along to watch but preferred to sit in the piping hot tub to when it was 110°F outside. I'm not sure what the draw was but once she started turning red Mama had to intervene. Poor girl was not impressed. 

 After the game, most everyone went their ways so we spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying Thomas's and Dukes company. It was time for Jakob to finally get his present... some accessories for one of his guns. It's still on route so he got the receipt. Yup... I'm that awesome.

Usually Mom Tobler takes care of the cake but since she's away having fun with the Texas folk I took charge. He asked for an American cake so this is what he got. I almost felt we should sing the national anthem instead of Happy Birthday.

It was a wonderful day and I was pooped by the end of it! Happy birthday my love! I hope this year is filled with success, love, joy and excitement. Your girls love you!!

Just Like Daddy

Ethnie rather enjoys shoes. (I think she gets that from me ;) ) The other day I found her chilling in the living room with Daddy's shoes on. This girl is too cute for words.

Elmo

 As of late Ethnie has become obsessed with Elmo. She loves watching Elmo's world and will clap, dance and sing when the theme song starts. She loves reading Elmo books and will excitedly exclaim "MO!!" as she turns the pages. She will ran up and turn the T.V. on and then sit down in her spot (pictured below) and politely ask for "Mo." My favorite Elmo feature however would have to be her bibs. She has become quite attached to her bibs and will wear them all day long. I tried to get her to take it off while we were in Target but that was a lost cause. It's rather precious to see her so excited about something. Perhaps we'll have to have Elmo come and visit her one day. (Since Mama has those kind of connections ;) )

Water Wars

 Ethnie and I now spend Tuesday's up at Mom and Dad's. This allows Jakob to work late if necessary and then he heads straight to Young Men's. This also allows us some D.I.L.T and Grampa gets some Ethnie time. One Tuesday evening a water flight broke out. Gramma had bought a few new toys for Ethnie's water collection and she decided she needed to test them out. 

 Don't worry Dad got her back. They were too cute spraying each other and Ethnie thought it was rather funny watching them.

I look forward to Tuesdays spent with Gramma and Grampa we sure are lucky to have them so close.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

If you know me at all, you are probably aware that I'm rather OCD. It's not so much about germs and things (unless we're talking about raw meats in the kitchen) but more to do with clutter and habits. For example all of my shirts have to be hung in the same direction, color coordinated. I also sort my jeans according to wash lightest on top, darkest on the bottom. Jakob thinks it's funny to go move my shirts around or hang them backwards and I simply can't handle it. These aren't my biggest issues but they're the first things that come to mind. 

Anyways Sunday evening we gave Ethnie a bag of "things" (we call them things because she knows what candy is and hasn't discovered that there is candy inside of those wrappers) to play with. She promptly started picking out the yellow ones and placed them in a neat little row. Yes, 16 months old and ALREADY acting just like her Mama. Scary what they pick up at such a young age!

Duke's Shower

 I really wasn't sure about a shower since we do already have all things baby (granted everything is pink but you know.) While in our Primary Presidency meeting the ladies decided that a shower was necessary and I was very grateful. I was beyond spoiled and these ladies did a fabulous job!! It was more than I could have hoped for. We had a waffle bar and my word it was delicious!!! I'll admit I ate 4. So good.

 The only issue was we kept throwing the breaker because we had too many waffle irons running at the same time. In the end we had irons in the hallway, one in the computer room and 4 in the kitchen. It was hilarious. 

 Libby made some delicious treats! They were so cute! 

 I was really amazed at the turn out. It's summer and even though Leslie handed out 75 invitations (that's right 75!!) I didn't expect a very large turn out due to busy summer schedules and like me, most of my friends work on Saturday.

I was seriously spoiled and I am so grateful for all of the people who came out to support Duke and I! I cannot describe how thankful I am for these three ladies! They threw an amazing shower and I love them to bits!!