little chalk artist

After our walk this evening we had some extra time before I put MJ down so I pulled out the chalk for the first time. She thought it was so fun to draw on the side walk. Perfect way to end the day.

 love her chesser grin

Easter 2013

Easter is so much more fun having a little one to spoil. Well more like holidays in general are so much more fun with kids. We started with the morning waiting for Mary to wake up to find her trail of candy that leads to her basket. She was so excited to see the candy and shoved one in her mouth right away, foil and all. She did her raptor squeal when she saw her basket of goodies enjoying the cheddar bunnies, raisins and some candy in there. She also got some books, an outfit, a coloring book and a fun pair of socks. Such a fun morning!

                                   A picture where you can actually see her top teeth!

                                               It was gorgeous out! Absolutely perfect weather.

16 months

Busy, Mama's girl, mimi mama, gentle, silly, dancer, cautious. Those are a few words I would use to describe my sweet girl. With this beautiful beautiful weather we are having she loves to be outside to run around, go for stroller rides and play at parks. She'll go to our door and lift up the blinds looking outside and wimper and wine.

Ryan calls her his little raptor. She makes the funniest noise when she gets excited that...yes, sounds like a raptor haha. 

Wears: 12-18 month clothes but is starting in to her 18+ month outfits because I'm sick of her winter wardrobe and most of it fits so why not! ;) 

size 4 shoes

size 3 diapers

At her last appointment (due to falling backwards on her head after a minor accident with her little friend) She was weighed and is 21 pounds. I took her in because after falling and hitting the back of her head she bled from her nose a little bit. Talk about a whole bunch of new worries now having a moving full blown toddler! She was fine though and was such a trooper.

I am trying to wean her off of her binky now so the only times she has it is while sleeping, in the car and when she gets hurt and needs more than me to console her. She is doing great! This morning she knew what the drill was after changing her diaper and dropped her binky in her crib after haha.

Loves: dancing, listening to music, pushing any kind of buttons; remote, phone, iHome, laptop, ect. pretend to put lipstick on, her baby dolls and stuffed animals, being outside, playing with her cousins.

Hates: Being left behind and cries when I leave, going in to the car rather than her stoller which sits next to it, being told no at times and cries.

Food: For the most part she is a really good eater, but for meal times that she just drops her food to the floor I'll make her a green drink and she'll gulp that right up!

body parts: She can point to her chin, cheeks, tummy, toes, nose, tongue eyes, ears (and hair) when we ask her. And gives us a cheesy grin when we ask where her teeth are.

sounds: when asked she'll make the sounds of a dog, cat, bear, sheep and cow. Pretty sure the sheep sound is her favorite.

She loves babies and is so gentle with them, so stinking cute! Even that doesn't make me baby hungry though. I'm having so much fun with her and loving this age. She is pure entertainment and just the sweetest girl giving hugs and pachiks (kisses) to everyone around her. Ryan has been saying a few things to her in Armenian and is teaching her.

Every day Ryan and I make mention of how blessed we are to be her parents and hope to do a great job. I can't imagine our lives with out her, she bring us so much joy and happiness.

I've heard it said time and time again by so many parents and now I am saying it. Why on earth do I bother to buy this kid toys? I love how she is just entertained so easily by anything in our home.

                               It's a rare moment taking a picture of myself, and I want
                   Mary to have plenty with her Mom. So I'm trying to get over myself
                     and just take them because I know I'll appreciate them later on.

                                Playing with her friend Sally, sharing her cheddar bunnies

                             "Hey Mary, show me your teeth!" love her silly facial expressions

                     

                       These girls were running all over the place "Freedom!"
                            no more being cooped up inside

I am absolutely LOVING this weather we have been having lately. I'm so grateful to live in Utah and be so close to the mountains. Such a beautiful sight to see each day. Don't let those snow covered mountains fool you in to thinking it's cold, well for Utah that is.  60 degrees baby, I'll take it!

 Nothing better to end a great day than a nice evening stroll in the neighborhood before bath and bed time. She is such a little mini mama, loves her baby dolls!

Yesterday was one of those days where I wanted to post a star on the fridge, give myself a pat on the back, or enjoy a 7-11 slurpee. For the first time in quite awhile I felt like I had accomplished so much within a day. I don't know why but this years winter has been really hard me, maybe the fact of living closer to the mountains=more snow and definitely lots of cold. Maybe it's that we live in a basement apartment or as I call it 'the cave' and hardly see the sun light. Or that I hate my wardrobe but can't afford a new one and wont buy new clothes until I shed some weight. With all of the negative around me I had continued to forget about the positive around me. As much as I some times HATE being a one car family and having to get up early to take Ryan to work if I need it that day and having a curfew of 3:00 to pick him up, and take him to and from school I'm grateful we even have a car. Even more grateful that when I purchased that car on my 23rd birthday I paid cash for it. Yay for no car payments! Being a one car family means I GET to take Ryan to work and see him that much longer, I GET to take him to school and pick him up occasionally. The ugly cold snow means more water which our state is always in need of.

Yesterday was a great day. I had time to myself and read some of Stephanie Nielson's book Heaven is Here. WOW, how incredible humbling to read her story.
I played with my sweet MJ, I did laundry AND put it away (for some reason I can do all the laundry in the world but have the hardest time of actually putting them away) I was out of the house before noon to walk around the block with Mary. We explored and found pine cones, threw rocks which she found to be the most hilarious thing ever. We ate lunch and then it was time for her to nap and me to continue my cleaning. One day we will live some place where her bedroom isn't right next to the kitchen.
I held a Mary Kay class, and helped a friend do a make over for her Young Women's group. They taught about taking care of your outer beauty as well as the importance of your inner beauty, your spiritual beauty. Such a great lesson.

It may not sound much to you, even as I'm typing this and reading as I go I know it really isn't much. But to me it felt great. I was proud of myself. I felt accomplished.

In a short amount of time of going to a Mary Kay conference and to learn to try to give up my fears, having chats with my husband late at night, family prayer, reading Stephanie's book, and this glorious warmer weather actually seeing and feeling the sun again I feel like I am gaining myself back. Baby steps.

There is negativity all around us in this world and I have held on to it far too long. I am now going to try to always look at the bright side of things in any situation. I may not love our little cave, or my post baby body, my old wardrobe/shoes, the numbers in my bank account. BUT at least I have a warm home to live in with every thing I need, I have a beautiful working body that allows me to do anything I set my mind to. I have many clothes and shoes to choose from and we have money in the bank to pay bills, feed our family and are not in debt. I have so much to be grateful for.

15 months

It's amazing how much this little girl is growing and learning at only 15 months. She is the most gentle, sweetest, sensitive, and smart little girl. I am completely enamored by her and love watching her play. This afternoon I laid her down for a nap and did she fall asleep? nope. But she did have the time of her life sitting in her crib playing with her stuffed animals and dolls haha.

Today was a fun day, we started out by going to the library with our neighbor who lives above us, our girls are just a month apart. They had a blast playing around and reading books. Ryan didn't have school tonight so we took advantage and spent tonight as a family and went swimming.

At 15 months:
She wears; size 3 diapers, 4 shoes, 12+ month clothes.

Loves:
'Pinky' the jaguar and 'tiny' her mocha baby doll and nameless blondie baby. Animal crackers that her Grandpa O bought for her at Costco, reading books, trying to copy what mom and dad say. She loves to come into our room to turn on my iHome and dance to music. Loves her sleep and typically goes to bed between 8-9 pm and wakes up 9-10 am. and takes 2 naps each day. It's awesome. I have a couple of friends who just had babies and she absolutely loves them! She'll be gentle and touch their arms and heads, so stinking cute. She is my little helper she will help me vacuum and throw things in the garbage when I ask her and as of this week helped unload the bottom part of the dishwasher haha.

Hates:
Not getting her way and has learned to hit! being with out her binky, being in cool water (we went swimming and it took her about 15 minutes to get used to it) still isn't a fan of drinking cold milk so I always have to warm it up for my little princess. The girl knows what she wants! :)

My little luv bug

Oh how this little girl holds my heart, she is just so much fun and bring so much joy in to our family. Cupid brought some gifts for her; pinky the jaguar, play necklaces and bracelets, and big girl cups/plates/utensils. She found the jaguar while we were out shopping one afternoon a couple of weeks ago and she would not let that thing go. She is just in love with it along with her baby dolls. It is so fun having a girl!