Valentines Week

I still think I'm crazy for doing an entire week but now that I have Pinterest it's hard not to do the 14 days of Valentines. There are soooo many good ideas out there! Not to mention Jakob really enjoys the week of spoils even if sometimes they are ridiculous.Everyday I put a little note in his mailbox that I made back in 2010. He just loves coming downstairs to see that he's gotten some mail.

Day 1: I made Valentines day cupcakes. What made them V-day you ask? They were supposed to be heart shaped. Did you catch how I said supposed to be. Major flop. Instead of them turning into cute little hearts they just looked like they had been squished by someone's thumb. I think they rose too much? They still tasted good and the folks in Jakob's office appreciated them. Hopefully you will have better luck. Click on the picture for the link.

Day 2: (Please ignore the facial expression. This man and pictures lol.) I was in the mall with my parents back in January and I saw a this shirt and I knew I had to have it! I mean how awesome is that?

Day 3: Sunday's a pretty busy in our house so he got something nice and simple. A little something to remind him that I love him every time he sings the ABC'S with Ethnie

Day 4: On Monday I gave him the sweetest little picture of Ethnie. Golly she's adorable!! It's a little motivation to help him come home a little earlier to his sweet girl!

Day 5: For the longest time Jakob has been trying to tell me that "The Last of the Mohicans" is a love story. I saw it once a really long time ago but I really didn't think it feel under the same category as The Notebook, The Proposal, or A Walk to Remember.  However Netflix claims that it is in fact a romance title as it was listed under Romance. I saw it in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart and decided we should add it to our collection.

Day 6: A little Gum Ball machine full of his very favorite candy. He was rather excited about this!

Day 7: Happy Valentines. He will be receiving our traditional letter. Little E will be getting a pink Teddy. I really love Valentines Week and being able to spoil my sweetheart! He totally deserves it!! 

Toddler

E has been walking for quite some time now... I just forgot to post about it. This was her first time taking more than two steps. Now she will toddle from the couch to the chair, from Mama to Daddy. She's really getting quite brave and I can't believe that she's upright! One of her favorite things to do is hold one of your hands and explore the house. She is such a big girl! What happened to my baby?! 

A Few Hard Things

I'm not looking for sympathy. I want to start this post off by saying that, I'm just trying to keep the balance. I've said it before and I'll say it again; this blog is our families journal and I feel that I should include just about everything. 

Parenthood is not easy. I never thought it would be but right now is especially hard. I am incredibly hormonal from this pregnancy. It's like PMS on constant overdrive. I can feel myself becoming unreasonable and I just can't stop it which makes me even more annoyed. I am SUPER tired which is obviously understandable. It's no easy task making a baby but I do not cope with lack of sleep well. I go to bed at 8:30 every night and it's still not enough. I would nap while E naps but my OCD kicks in and I must clean, or prep for primary, or try to accomplish something on my never ending list of "to-dos." Yet with all of the bustling around I still feel like my life is in a constant state of chaos which stresses me out and adds to the problem.

I love my daughter and I feel as though I am not being the Mother that she needs just because I do not have the energy. She is in a very needy stage of her life where she's exploring her independence but she wants me right there beside her the entire day. She's a great helper! It makes it hard to maximize my time even though I know that she needs me more and I need to be with her. 

She has this terrible bum rash where she cries because it hurts so bad. It breaks my heart to hear her cry and not know how to fix it.

Let's not even get into being the bomb.com wife that I want to be.

In summation I feel like I'm not enough. I feel like I'm failing every single day, when in reality I'm not. I need to streamline. I need to let go and I need to focus on the important things. Being on the verge of tears every day is killing me. I can't go on like this. Time to cut out the fluff and get down to the basics: My daughter, my husband, myself. Church, the house and all of the other extras are just going to have to wait until I can feel like I can take them on. I've got this! 

I was reading a talk by M. Russel Ballard (Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) from April 1990 and he summed up my solution perfectly: "We observe vast, sweeping world events; however, we must remember that the purposes of the Lord in our personal lives generally are fulfilled through the small and simple things, and not the momentous and spectacular."

Not the momentous and spectacular. Love it. It's time for a change.

A Few Phone Favs

 A very rare snuggle. This girl is go go go!

 This one day she found a sock on the floor and she put it in her mouth. She honestly kept it in there for the entire morning. It was so strange but it sure did make me smile!

 Not the best picture but she is rocking some awesome bed head.... oh and cuddling with her doll.

 Usually the book case is covered with some seriously ghetto diaper box. It looks ridiculous and it is obviously not very Ethnie proof. 

 Just helping Mama clean out her wallet!

 We went puppy shopping with Aunt Amy (just about all of our friends are called Aunt or Uncle) E really liked the puppy but thought it was a toy and kept trying to poke it's eyes! Good thing Amy's quick!

 We got a new activity table from Savers since Peanut loved the one at Aunt Janet's so much!

 This girl {loves} holding oranges. She really enjoys eating them too but if she see's one she has to hold it. So strange.

What I look at most days! I just love our little Peanut! She is such a happy girl and we have so much fun together! Mommyhood ROCKS!

Baby #2

Here is our grand announcement. Slightly lame since we've been spilling the beans left and right! WE'RE PREGNANT! And boy are we excited! I just really wanted to take some pictures of E in her announcement outfit. I have been accused on several occasions of taking too many pictures. Obviously I'm guilty but how could you resist when you capture beauties like the one above! This girl cracks. me. up! She posed like that all on her own! Allow me to share with you a few of my other favorites.

CHEESE!

The best picture I could come up with of her two little teeth. 

 "Wait a minute.... you mean I'm not going to be the only baby anymore?"

 Brace yourselves these next ones make me laugh every time. Probably because I know what she's up too. She really enjoys smashing her face (and Mommy's face) against the Lego lid. It is hilarious.

 Gosh I love her! We have so much fun together!

 Oh, not that I have forgotten about our newest addition, I just think that pictures of E are a little more interesting than of my uterus! As far as this pregnancy goes I feel FAB-U-LOUS! Super queasy but no nausea. I find that if I keep eating that makes things better. I'm super tired and very hormonal. Poor Jakob, that man is a saint for putting up with my shenanigans. No bump yet but I will post a monthly update as we progress along. We are so beyond excited for our newest addition. Ethnie it going to be a wonderful big sister! I know that my "sleep-through-the-night" days are numbered but I wouldn't have it any other way. August 8th will be here before I know it!

11 Months

• Height: ___ inches
• Weight: ___ lbs
• Head Circumference:  ____ cm 
• Nicknames: Peanut, E, Boo Bear, Muffin, Ethiella

• Her first tooth broke through on Jan. 20th! The second one is just about there!
•  Some of E's favorite foods include: grapefruit, oranges (which we've stopped due to severe bum rash), avocado, pears, pasta, tomatoes and cucumber. This girl will eat just about anything... accept carrots, she's still not very fond of those!
•  Her favorite toys include: Her push train (which is really a car but I had a train when I was little so I call it a train), her baby doll, bunny, bear and of course her silky blanket.

• Ethnie took her first steps on Jan. 17th! She took one or two here and there but this was her first long haul! She got 8 steps and I got it on tape! I was so excited!!! One proud Mama right here. As far as walking goes she still love to push around her train and she's a super fast furnature surfer. She will let go of things from time to time and toddle for a bit. She's a big chicken. We like to practice walking back and forth from Mama to Daddy. 
• She Finally mastered "Bye, Bye" this month and will wave and say "Buh. Buh, Buh" when people leave. She is also pretty good at shutting the door on your way out. It's precious!
• She loves to help push the buttons on the microwave!

• She will crawl to the door throughout the day and ask (more like yell) for Da Da!! I have to explain he went to work and she'll start saying "Buh, Buh" to the door and continue playing. 
• She is pretty good at putting her toys away in the toy chest. She has to be the one to do it though. If you do it she wants to take them all out again.

• She can get down off of the couch and bed. It still scares me as she crawls to the edge of the bed but she's very independent and get a big smile when she gets down all by herself. 
• She started saying "that" as she points to things around the house. She's getting much better at letting us know what she wants! It's a big help. (January 7th)
• The temper tantrums have started!!!! Whoa nelly!! this girl can throw a fit and work up those tears in seconds! Most of the time we just walk away and tell her to let us know when she's done. She's starting to realize that we will not listen to screaming but tries it anyways. Can't blame her for trying. This should be a fun thing to over come throughout the next 18 years of her life!

• She really enjoys playing chase. We roar, sniff and howl at her and she just loves it. She crawls around as we flip her over or she races around the coffee table until we catch her. It is so much fun playing with her. Her little laugh melts my heart every time!
• She now says yuck when she doesn't like something. She knows what hot and ouch mean (we learned that one the hard way :(. ) 

• She enjoys when you talk to her and she'll carry on a "conversation" for quite a while. We have our best "chats" while she eats or when she first gets up after naps. She has quite a bit to say.
• She is starting to realize that there is a big world that goes beyond the overflow at church. she made to first blot to the front of the chapel during prayer. Hoping that I could get her before they said Amen and everyone open their eyes I started to move. NOPE. I was caught. Silly baby. She has also learned that as she goes from pew to pew she can collect treasures. She will now go to a row get a bracelet and come back and give it to us. She then moves onto the next pew. It is rather entertaining giving back everyone treasures after sacrament. Her favorite things to steal are quads (scriptures) the mini ones of course from under people chairs.

•  She now knows that the Wii remote can pause the movie. She has gotten pretty good at playing with the Wii. This might explain some strange things being added to Mom and Dads Que.
• SHE IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAHHHHH HOOO! Okay this was my fault I was apparently over reacting and getting her every time she whimpered. My bad. She now goes down for nap and bed while she's wide awake and sleeps through the night! Ahhhh. Peaceful nights!
• She loves to high five and touch finger together like E.T which is fitting since those are her initials. 

• I like to call her Ethiella since she is always missing a shoe or sock. I put two on in the morning and not 10 minutes later she's missing one. Cinderella right here!

 This was such a fun month. Our little girl is growing soooooo fast!! I wish she'd stay this way just a little longer! Being her Mama is the greatest thing ever!!!!

Oops I Forgot

Just when I'm feeling pretty proud of myself (Jakob has been sick and so I've been a "single" mom while he recuperates. That's all fine and good but today I did some laundry, cleaned the kitchen, played with the most adorable baby ever and I made dinner! Like I said pretty proud!) I realized I still had posts that are WAY overdue. I was thinking I should just forget about them and move on with my life but, that's just not my style. So here we go. 

 While my parents were here we went to the Hoover Dam. My Dad has never seen it and my the last time my mother went was when she was 12. Since we have this fancy new bridge now I decided it was better for them to see it that way. 

It was so nice having my parents here. They helped with Ethnie (since I wasn't feeling well) and helped motivate me to get a few things taken care of on my never ending list of things to do! They also spoiled us with a few presents one being a new T.V. Dad claimed our old one was a radiation hazard and he wouldn't let his Granddaughter be exposed to anything like that. What a goof. Thank you Mom and Dad you spoiled us beyond measure. We look forward to your visit in August! 

Happy New Year!

 What did ya'll do for New Years? Jakob and I celebrated once again by parting it up at the Encore with some of the richest people in the world. Jakob was Marty from Madagascar and I was a face painting clown. We had a jolly good time but best of all, when the party ended, we got out of there in less than 20 min! Last year we spent a hour just trying to get out of the parking garage! SCORE! We sure did miss our little princess though. I think next year we will stick a little closer to home.

 As per usual E had a special outfit for the holiday! Isn't she cute? I have a few resolutions for the year. Mostly the same old same old.

 1. Scriptures! Golly why is this so difficult? We had a good routine and somehow lost it! Time for me to start "whipping the crack" again. (Just for you Janet!)

2. Work at being a Mom and a Wife. Allow me to explain. Most days I get up and I work on was has to be done ie. laundry, dishes, house ect. ect. I want to try and do one thing a day, it can be a small thing, to better my relationship and bond with my husband and my daughter. I want to do one thing where I just focus on them and try to make thier day a little bit brighter.

3. Learn to say No. I'm getting better but sometimes you need to put things on hold for 5 minutes to focus on you and your family. I will of course still try to do what I need to and as much as I can but I need to focus on what really matters and that is close to home.

4. Make birthday cards this year. They don't have to be extravagant, or time consuming, but a little something would be nice.

5. Enjoy the Journey. Time is going by too fast and I need to find more joy in my journey.

2012 was a wonderful year and I honestly could not be happier. Jakob and I have been so blessed and we thank Heavenly Father every day for all that he has done for us. Joy doesn't even cover it! I have a feeling that 2013 will be just as wonderful!