The Mannings

Party Time!!

2012-01-27T21:16:00.012-07:00

We had a party tonight for Addie's birthday. We are so lucky to have so many family and friends willing to support our little girl! I had all of these great plans for her party, but it was simple and thankfully a lot less stressful than it could have been.

Simple, but cute. Don't be jealous of our awesome vertical blinds.

The lighting is weird, it really was a pink cake, not coral.
And there are supposed to be 4 layers of colors, but it looks like only 3.
Oh well, it turned out better than expected for not having a clue what I was doing!

Showing everyone she can walk.

Giving her new toy a hug.

Not sure what she was supposed to be doing with it.

Figuring it out.

She took care of business. It went about everywhere BUT her mouth, but she had fun. No birthday would be complete without needing to totally disassemble the high chair to clean it, right?

The party was a blast. Thanks everyone who came, we love you all!

One Year

2012-01-27T20:58:00.010-07:00

How is it that a day just like every other day makes my baby not my baby anymore? I can not believe that a year has passed since my beautiful daughter was placed in my arms. Addie is blossoming into the sweetest little girl. The best comment anyone tells me about her is when they ask me if she is always this good. As we were going through these pictures, we realized she is almost always smiling. She truly brings us so much joy. We love being Addie's mom and dad! Addie has been so fun these past few weeks {really, ignore the last post. I contribute it more to my stress than anything}. In the last week she has started taking steps, but today she has started walking. I'm pretty sure she was just showing off at her party. The other day I said "uh-oh" when something dropped, and since then she has been saying "uh-oh" whenever something falls down and she puts her hands up like "what?". It is amazing how much she picks up. We were watching Shrek the other day and there is a part where they all scream and Addie started yelling too, so cute. She dances whenever she hears music. She can sign "milk". She loves looking under things, like the stove and our couches. What else can I say but we think she's amazing?

Checking out under the stove.

Loves her sunglasses, even inside.

So excited it was her birthday that she woke up at 6am. Watching TV in our bed.

She thinks she's so funny.

One year stats:
29 inches (48th %)
21.2 pounds (52%)
44cm head (20%)

Fail

2012-01-22T17:00:00.005-07:00

Today I am feeling like a horrible failure when it comes to being a mom. Addie is in the middle of transitioning, but my problem is that I have no idea what she is transitioning to. I can't get her to sleep, eat, or drink. Those are her basic needs and I can't even give her them! Lately it can take up to 2 hours just to get her to take a nap. She doesn't even cry, she just plays in her crib the whole time. I've tried what seems like everything, from putting her down at different times, trying to feed her right before so she's not hungry, trying to have "quiet" time before I put her down so she gets sleepy, trying to stick to a routine so she knows what to expect. Nothing works! I've wondered if it's time to switch to just 1 nap a day (heaven help me!) but when she does finally fall asleep, she still sleeps for more than an hour, so I know (or at least I think I know) she still needs a second nap. She still sleeps good at night, thank goodness. Oh wait, let me rephrase that: she still sleeps good at night if she's eaten well that day, otherwise she wakes up hungry or soaking wet and we feed or change her in the middle of the night. I think I have this number stuck in my head that she has to drink per day and she just flat right refuses to drink it. She won't take water/juice from a sippy cup. So then I feel like I need to make sure she's drinking enough from her bottle. She's over "baby food" but I'm in the stage where I don't know what else to feed her. Sometimes what we're eating just doesn't work for a baby. And the waking up in the middle of the night soaking? We've tried the "12 hour" diapers, but she still leaks. If she's leaking, she's well hydrated, right? But then why do I worry about her drinking enough? I know I'm over thinking this and we'll eventually find a routine again, but right now I feel like I am the worst mom ever because I have no clue what I'm supposed to be doing right now. Does anyone else ever panic and think that you've completely failed your child and they should be doing all these things but you haven't taught them/tried them yet? I think I panic like this once or twice a week, at least. I'm just having one of those days, can you tell? I just need someone to tell me what to do. I'm pretty good at following directions. Luckily I see her pediatrician this week for her 12 month (aka ONE YEAR!!) appointment and I'll be asking plenty of questions about her schedule. I wish Friday would come sooner!

Lately

2012-01-12T15:18:00.004-07:00

Thank goodness for cellphone cameras because I haven't seemed to use our real camera these past few weeks. Addie loves watching out the front window for dad to come home.
One of my favorite things she does is get on her belly to look under doors, the fridge, and now toys.

Life is good. School is crazy, but I've been able to stay on top of my assignments and reading so far. We closed on our refinance on Monday and ended up paying only $150 to close. We went to the appointment with a cashiers check for 10x that, and somehow ended up not owing it. Um, okay! We should have done this forever ago!

Now on to the next adventure: Addie's 1st birthday party!!

Resolutions

2012-01-06T13:07:00.002-07:00

My late New Year's Resolutions:

Be a good mom
Survive school (B's are just fine with me!)
Not gain 100 lbs (or any for that matter) from stress eating
Cook dinner at least twice a week (after these past few weeks, that sounds impossible)
Figure out my new role at work (for my CSU friends, Charge 14)
Organize my life

If you don't know, I started my Bachelor's program for Nursing this week. As of right now, I'm caught up, but I feel like I'm doing homework ALL THE TIME. And it's only been 4 days since I started. It's online, so luckily I don't have to find a babysitter, but I like someone telling me what to do and not trying to figure it out on my own. Do you know how hard it is to turn your brain back to school mode? I'll tell you, its ridiculously hard.
And my laptop charger stopped working, and my iPhone screen shattered. One good thing is our refinance went through and we're closing on Monday. I'll take a 3% lower rate any day! I have a feeling my blogging will be few and far between for the next little bit so I'll try to upload random pictures of my almost 1 year old daughter for your enjoyment.

11 months

2011-12-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

{Check out the next 2 posts too- I went a little crazy during nap time!}

Addison turned 11 months a few days ago. To state the obvious, in less than a month she'll be one!! I can not believe how fast time goes when you have kids. This past month has been way fun. She has loved seeing Christmas lights and decorations. Luckily she never got around to the pulling down ornaments stage and I've already packed away the tree, so I'll just plan for that next year. Addison has taken a few steps here and there and is standing on her own quite a bit. One day she'll wake up and just start walking instead of crawling and life will get crazy! She has mastered the stairs and can get up them so fast.

Addie is still a good eater and lately wants everything Ryan and I have. Even at family dinner if anyone is sitting down with dessert she crawls right over, stands up, and opens her mouth for a bite. She loves graham crackers, cheerios, avocados, beans, and pretty much anything else that goes in.

She still is an amazing sleeper. 12-13 hours STRAIGHT at night and 2 naps during the day. Everyone who meets Addie asks us if she is always such a good baby. She really is. She rarely cries, is good with strangers, and is seriously always happy and smiling.

She loves stuffed animals and grabs them to her face and gives them a big hug. I love it! Addie said "dad" a few days ago and I'm pretty sure that is her first word. So much for being her favorite! She still says "mamama" a lot though and I'll just tell myself she's talking about me.

And of course, Addie celebrated her first Christmas this month. She met Santa and was intrigued by him, loved opening presents and playing with the paper, and loved seeing flashing Christmas lights.

I love this little girl so much and can't wait to have her turn 1. She truly brings us so much happiness. It's hard remembering what I did before I was a mom, and I wouldn't trade my life right now for anything!

Christmas Day

2011-12-29T12:30:00.011-07:00

We had a great Christmas this year. It was the first year we have ever done stockings and I was so glad we did! Years past we've either been in Idaho or I've been working, so I loved having a Christmas morning to open stockings and gifts. We all had a lot of fun. Ryan really does a good job getting me gifts without having to pick them out myself. After opening presents, we hurried off to church, then visited with family. Best part, I didn't have to work than night as scheduled!

My new coat!

Hope you had a great Christmas too!

Christmas Eve Eve

2011-12-29T11:52:00.011-07:00

This year my immediate family celebrated Christmas Eve on the 23rd so that individual families could have time for themselves/other activities on the actual Christmas Eve. My mom made her delicious, unbeatable (SHOULD be award winning) turkey dinner. It really is that good. After dinner we read from the Bible, then had the kids crowded around my brother Matt for the traditional "Night Before Christmas" story. While we were singing Christmas songs after the stories, we were interrupted by jingling bells and Santa Claus walked in. To say he was a hit would be an understatement. The kids just loved him and crowded around him as he called each grandchild (and later each adult) up to sit on his lap and he gave them a present. Addie was the first to be called up and thankfully didn't cry. She stared intently at his wild beard. My nephew Tyler (only boy as of now, but there are 2 more boys on the way) especially loved Santa and was more than willing to tug and poke any and every part of Santa he could touch. Santa brought each child a huge punching balloon and the family room quickly became a chaotic pinball machine after Santa (and his "helper") left.

Part of the group enjoying the food.

My grandma, Meg, and my sister's family (Bo, Laura, Bryan and Chase) listening to the stories.

Ryan, Addie, my brother Mark, Kennedi, my Dad, my brother Paul and his wife Meggie, and Mark's wife Dominique.

Adorable.

Tyler talking to Santa.

Checking out the beard.

The girls watching Tyler give Santa a big hug.

My cute Grandma on Santa's lap.

The balloons.

It was a fun night spent with loved ones, and even though my family is small, it was nice having the 24th left to us 3 to start our own traditions. During the day, we dropped off Addison with my parents and went to Sherlock Holmes 2. We had Cafe Rio take out for dinner, then read The Living Christ, sang a few songs, and each opened a present. In the future, I want to do pajamas for Addison and our other kids. It was quiet night but relaxing and free of stress.

Temple Square

2011-12-17T01:20:00.010-07:00

We took Addie to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square last week. Technically it was her second time going, but last time she went she happened to still be in my belly. She looked like the little brother on A Christmas Story all bundled up and hardly able to move, but she was mesmerized. It was fun getting winter gear for her. Coat size: 12-18 months. Hat size: 0-3 months and funny thing was, it was only a little snug.

We're excited to go see the lights again tonight with my whole family. I am so excited that Christmas is in 8 more days! I wrapped all of our presents this week and now it's just waiting to open them. I'm pretty sure I'm looking forward to watching Addie more than opening my own presents. I hope you are enjoying these beautiful holidays as much as we are!

Albion 2011

2011-12-07T10:03:00.009-07:00

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been slacking on the posts. Here's my attempt to catch up. For Halloween we went to Albion, Idaho with Ryan's family. We stayed in the same place as last time. Since we were there a few days before Halloween we had the kids trick or treat to each of our rooms. They seemed like they had a blast. The haunted house was even better than it was last time. The whole time we were going through I kept saying to Ryan that there is no way it is legal because it seriously was way easy to get hurt in there. But I think that's what made it so fun and seem real.

Ryan, Addie, Ranie, Jim and Bella.

Addie LOVED this walker. She went crazy in it!

Ellie and Addie.

All 3 granddaughters playing.
Addie, Ellie, and Bella.

Our cute nephew Aiden who is 6 months older than Addie.

All the kids dressed up.

Happy Birthday, Love!

2011-12-06T19:37:00.004-07:00

My man turned 29 today, his last year in his twenties! I'm so glad he was born 29 years ago today, after his mom was in the hospital for only 25 minutes! (I learned that today.) He is my best friend. He is the best husband. He is an amazing dad. He teaches me so many things about how to be a better person. I am so lucky I married someone who inspires me to improve myself. Happy Birthday Ryan, I love you forever and always!

Addison is THE luckiest girl in the world to have such a loving and fun dad.

10 months

2011-11-27T20:07:00.007-07:00

Addie is 10 months old! 2 more months and we'll have a 1 year old. That's just crazy, no other way to explain it. This has been both a very fun and crummy month. Within a week of stopping nursing, Addie had her first cold. It was a nasty one too and has lasted 2+ weeks. Poor girl was super pale, feverish, and lethargic. It made for some good cuddle time though! She went from sleeping 12 hours every night to waking up once or twice because she couldn't breathe. If I wasn't good at suctioning noses before, I am now with all of that practice. We found out that Addie LOVES Mac 'n Cheese. She much prefers feeding herself than me spoon feeding her. Today I dipped her noodles in pureed carrots, just to try to get her to eat more veggies. It worked-- at first, but she caught on quick, that stinker. One of her top teeth popped through and the other 3 are well on their way to arrive this next month. She hasn't taken steps on her own yet, but she's standing up and just leaning against things without holding on and I'm sure pretty soon she'll take that first step. She loves jumping in her crib, taking off her socks, waving hi and bye, clapping her hands, and shaking her head no. She always shakes her head no, but I don't think its her saying no, she just likes to shake it. When she sees something she wants, she can crawl to it like its nobody's business. She woke up laughing twice a few nights ago and fell back asleep. What an awesome baby! I always hear people comment on how good of a baby and happy she is. We have our moments, but I totally agree. We are so blessed!
Her new thing is sticking out her tongue to the side. I love it.
Crazy long hair and beautiful blues.
Hanging with mom.
She reminds us of a dog sometimes. She ALWAYS carries toys in her mouth when she crawls around. Pretty smart if you ask me, she's just figured out a way to bring her toys along!
Oh the fun we are going to have with all that hair!
Her first ever encounter with a Christmas tree. We put it up during a nap. Let me rephrase that- we put it up while she was supposed to be napping but was really just playing in her crib. When we brought her out, she surprised us at being hesitant and she still isn't wanting to play with it. I can only hope that lasts, otherwise the tree will be redecorated shortly with no ornaments on the bottom third. We can't wait to spend Christmas with Addison this year. I am more excited for Christmas than I have been since I was a kid!

I can't count how many times a day I say that I love this little girl, but it never seems like its enough. She brings me so much joy, I can't imagine life without her. I can only pray for time to PLEASE, slow down!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T08:23:00.004-06:00

From our Lady Bug to you!

Family {Carving} Night

2011-10-28T00:58:00.010-06:00

9 month post below, don't miss it!

My family got together on Monday night to carve the pumpkins my parent's grew in the garden this year. It was fun to see everyone's style, from simple shapes for a Jack-o-lantern face to intricate designs with an electric saw. I made these yummy cookies for the night. They taste exactly like caramel apple suckers!
The set up in the garage. Laura, my sister, pre-scooped all of the pumpkins, so all we had to do was show up and carve. I could do this every year, easiest and least-messy carving ever! Thanks again, Laura!

Our house with the bright red maple and the pumpkins lined up, all of them grown in my parent's garden. The tree just turned red this week, I love it!

One of the huge pumpkins my parent's grew, and the pumpkins I carved. {Ryan was entertaining Addie so I got to choose and carve our front porch display.}

Spooky!

Happy Halloween!

9 months

2011-10-27T16:02:00.012-06:00

Addison is 9 months old!! She is definitely becoming her own little person, tantrums and all. I thought those didn't come until she was 2? This has been a big month for Addie. She is crawling fast now and can get from one room to another in a blink of an eye. She can climb up the whole flight of stairs. She is in a new "big girl" car seat. She is pulling her self up on everything and has started holding on with just one hand. Any day now I'm sure she'll start letting go and try standing on her own. And then- she'll be walking. Yikes! I finally found a food she doesn't like. Broccoli. I can't blame her, I was gagging just from the smell of it. She loves eating chunks of green beans and bananas. She still has 2 teeth, but Dr. Reese said the top 2 will be making their debut any day now. She sleeps about 12 hours at night, but this month she's decided naps aren't important. I'm lucky if she takes two 45 minute naps. Oy vey! It's been killer after working a night shift. She can wave hi and bye and clap her hands. She gives me kisses and big hugs when she wakes up. She says mama and dada. She still uses her cute little demon voice all the time. She will SCREAM if I take something away, like today at the grocery store. She wanted to eat my shopping list and I took it away and she did not like that. Excuse me, my dear! One of the funniest things this month: Ryan came back from getting a hair cut and when he walked in, she totally didn't recognize him and started crying when he walked up to her. It was hilarious! She realized it was him pretty quick, but I loved her reaction.

Her favorite spot to stand up lately.

Eating her naners.

Let's just pretend I photoshopped that zit out, ok?

Last warm day of fall, except that it was freezing in the canyon!

She loves getting tossed up.

Playing on dad.

My new haircut with baby girl. Short!!

Nine month stats:
Height: 28 inches, 67th%
Weight: 18 lbs 3 oz, 39th%
Head: 43.4 cm, 33rd%

She got a shot and didn't even cry. Good girl, baby! I wish she could stay in this stage for a little longer, but am excited for her to keep learning and growing. I can't believe she is almost a one year old. She's now been out longer than I had her inside of me. It has gone by so fast, its unbelievable. Will I ever stop saying how fast she is growing up? Love you Addie!!

Try not to smile, I dare you...

2011-10-21T10:10:00.001-06:00

Impossible, right? Make sure your volume is up.

Her eyes are the best, like she's totally spacing out. Oh, I just love her!

I don't know how to make it so other Youtube videos don't pop up after, so sorry if something inappropriate comes up! Anyone know how to change that??

Pumpkin Harvest!

2011-10-13T09:39:00.012-06:00

My parents let all of the grandkids choose a plant to watch grow in their garden over the summer and 3 of them chose pumpkins, including Addie {aka, me}. A couple weekends ago everyone went out and picked them off the vine. I couldn't believe how big some of them were. Addie's plant was a different variety from the rest and made a ton of the cutest, perfectly round and just the right size pumpkins. We have a bunch of them sitting on our porch now waiting to be carved.

Addie with the big pumpkins.

My brother Matt showing off his muscles.

My brother Mark and Ryan picking pumpkins.

Some of the group. Sunday dinner when we're all together is starting to become quite the production. There are still two more on the way!

I had to throw this one in. Can you see how bad Addison wants that bubble machine?!?
That is the look of pure desire!

{We're} so glad when Daddy comes home!!

2011-10-05T09:00:00.000-06:00

Best part about both of our days!!

Conference Weekend

2011-10-02T09:07:00.005-06:00

I love Conference Weekend! I remember being younger and hating that I couldn't hang out with my friends on Saturday. I loved when it fell on Easter in the spring and we spent all Sunday eating our candy while watching. Now that I'm much more mature and responsible {haha}, I actually love it for the right reason. I've been so excited for weeks now about getting to hear from our prophet {he cracks me up} and apostles. How could you not love being spiritually fed while lounging in your pajamas?! Thanks to DVR I was able to sleep after working Friday night, and still get to watch Saturday morning's session. Today, after a pancake breakfast and watching the morning session, we're headed off to Midway to look at the beautiful fall leaves that have suddenly appeared and listen to conference during the drive.

{Millcreek Canyon Sept 2011}

Standing Room Only

2011-10-02T08:42:00.007-06:00

You can usually see Little miss Addison standing rather than sitting these days. She'll use anything that is slightly bigger than her to try to stand up with.

99% of the time when we get her out of her crib after a nap or in the morning she's standing and waiting for us facing the door.

She's even trying to crawl up the stairs. I don't think she's quite tall enough to be able to get her legs to the second step, luckily.

Soon enough though, soon enough! I've learned that just when I say to myself "Good thing she can't do ______ yet" she's doing it what seems like the next day.

8 months

2011-09-26T00:28:00.006-06:00

Didn't I just write her 7 month post last week?! This has been a very fun and very active month. Addison is c-r-a-w-l-i-n-g like it's nobody's business. She is CONSTANTLY moving, as you can tell by these photos taken within seconds of each other. Even if I'm holding her, she is reaching around to try and grab anything and everything she sees. She also cries when I take away things she is playing with, namely remote controls, my phone, the DVD's, wires, etc {aka- things she should not be playing with but is obsessed with all the same}.

She still loves eating food and I gave her {Gerber} lasagna for the first time and it is hilarious watching her try to figure out how to gum the pieces of pasta. She is pulling her self up on anything she can and as a result has had quite a few good bonks on her noggin. If she has any sort of booger in her nose she'll do a kissy face and breath in and out of her nose and make funny noises with the snot. She really does this ALL-THE-TIME. And I love it.

Diaper changes have become a joke because she will not stay still. As soon as I lay her down she flips over and is grabbing the blinds, the diaper, toys, her pants..... Addie will laugh at anything it seems like. Lately one of her favorites is when I sniff her and say "Pee-eww!" and she laughs way hard.

She "sings" when I do or at church with the hymns. She sleeps from 9ish at night to 8ish in the morning. The past few days she has struggled with naps and will not take one longer than an hour. This week I'll be working on that. She still only has the 2 bottom teeth. As always, we love this little girl! And we are getting exhausted chasing her around all over the place.

Heaven Sent

2011-09-23T13:22:00.002-06:00

Playing around this afternoon, still in jammies like mom!

I try not to complain about being a "working mom" too much. Yeah, that's pretty much impossible, but I realize I chose to do both, so think of it more like venting. Lately, fulfilling both roles has been extra hard. Addison just keeps going, going, going and has to be constantly moving. Before she was mobile I'd nap on the couch while she was on the ground playing. Now if she's up, so am I. Otherwise, my house AND Addie would be in shambles when I woke up.

The last week or so, though, Addie has become my saving grace. I think Heavenly Father realizes I NEED SOME SLEEP and my amazing daughter has been heaven sent. I stay awake until her first nap and then crash when she's down in her crib. The last few times I have woken up 3-4 hours later. Sometimes she is crying, but today she was just talking to herself in her crib and was happy as a clam when I went to get her to feed her. Okay, that sounds like neglect. Please don't call DCFS. I PROMISE Addie's and my doors are both open so I can hear her if she cries, AND I turn on the monitor, just in case. If she's upset, I'll know about it. She just hangs out in her crib for who knows how long after she's up from her nap and plays. Without that chunk of sleep, I would not be able to function the rest of the day, much less do it without being Oscar the Grouch. So, even though I feel awful waking up knowing you've been awake for a while and are probably hungry, thank you Addie for being so cute and letting me sleep a little longer!

So Big!

2011-09-16T10:07:00.004-06:00

This little girl is changing so fast. Just this week she's figured out how to get into a sitting position and pull herself up to stand on something. Luckily I was in the room the first time she did this in the crib {at least I hope it was the first time} and we lowered the mattress that night so we don't have any more falls around here. And don't you just love her pigtails? So grown up!

I Love to See the Temple

2011-09-14T15:44:00.006-06:00

Monday night we drove into Salt Lake and walked around Temple Square. It is one of the most beautiful and calming places I think I've ever been. I love being there. It was fun remembering all of the spots where we took pictures on our wedding day and now to be in the same places 5 years later with our daughter. It was Addie's first time seeing everything {last time she was still in my belly} so needless to say we took lots and lots of pictures. We were also lucky enough to have the most stunning sunset. Isn't fall just the best time of the year? I think I like being outside more in the fall than in the summer. It makes me want to go to a football game and rake leaves. I digress, sorry. Anyway, the temple was beautiful as always and we will for sure be going back for lights in a few months. Some of the trees already had their lights put up. Now that's being prepared! Enjoy the picture overload.

l

7 month photos

2011-09-01T15:06:00.010-06:00

Here are some cuter pictures for Addie's 7 month birthday. I am in LOVE with her eyes. SO big, bright, and beautiful!

Addie's second tooth came in this week. It is so strange seeing her toothy smile now. I miss my gummy baby! You know the saying "don't bite the hand that feeds you?" Yeah. About that, ouch!!

Sianora Summer!

2011-09-01T14:52:00.010-06:00

We've been saying all summer how we need to take advantage of my Grandma's pool in Centerville. With only 1 week left before it closes for Labor Day, we finally went after Ryan got home from work. Addison loved it and now I regret not going more often. Next summer for sure!!

Wrinkly feet.

Love her curly hair. It always straightens out when its dry, but I wonder if I put gel in it...

Now September is here and summer really is over. There are lots of regrets and should haves, but overall we still had fun. Goal for next summer: water ski!! It will be done, even if we have to rent a boat. I haven't been since 2009 and Ryan only went a few times last year. We miss it, a lot! I am sooo excited for Fall and can't wait to wear warm sweaters, decorate the house, watch college football, and see the leaves change colors. Bring it on!

7 months

2011-08-29T00:58:00.008-06:00

Addie turned seven months on Friday. I was in between night shifts so I didn't have a chance to do any cute pictures, but here are some from the past few days. Addie just keeps getting more fun by the day. She laughs all the time, especially when we dance really funny. It makes for some good times. Addie's tooth is getting bigger and bigger and, it seems like, sharper and sharper. This past month she's started pushing up onto her hands and knees. She falls forward to get what she wants, but I know soon she'll be crawling all over the place and my "easy" days of being a mom are over. So much for sleeping while she's playing on the floor after night shifts! That sounds bad, but I know she's safe and I'm literally a foot away from her. Don't judge until you stay up for 24 hours. Addie has started getting clingy and cries if a stranger holds her. She loves her jumper still, thank goodness, because sometimes its the only thing that will distract her for me to get some cleaning or cooking done. She says "mama" when she's upset and crying. I know its probably just her making sounds, but she does it ALL the time, and I'm not going to lie, I LOVE it. I hate to admit this but this month she had her first "accident". Addie fell off the bed and I was worried about her collar bone being broken so I took her in to get it checked out. She was jumping and laughing on my lap at the doctor's and made me feel really dumb that I had brought her in. Luckily the x-ray was fine. Feel free to judge me here. I called my mom after and asked if she had ever let any of us fall off the bed, and she assured me that we ALL had. I still feel like I deserve the worst mom ever award though. I'm just praying it was the first and LAST time that will happen. Addie still sleeps great, 10-11 hours all night. She rarely wakes up before 8- she truly is my daughter! I am so NOT a morning person. She loves eating and her favorite is banana with oatmeal and peanut butter. She'll gobble it right up. She also has started liking the baby food crackers and cheese puffs and loves feeding them to herself. It is so weird to me that she is a little person sometimes. Even though I am sort of dreading her becoming mobile, I can't wait for her to start crawling. I love watching her do new things. I'm one proud mama, who can blame me?

Sneeze caught on camera. She always smiles after she sneezes. Love it.

Love you bubas!

As of Late

2011-08-22T11:12:00.013-06:00

I can't believe that summer is winding down already. The neighborhood kids went off to school this morning and I can definitely tell. I'd love to say that our summer went out with a bang, but I'd be lying. We've just been doing our usual around here. That is to say, though, that Addie has sprouted her first tooth and the second isn't far behind. You know what that means, a grumpy baby, Tylenol, and staying up late. Way too late for old timers like us. Thank goodness she hasn't woken up in the middle of the night though. And she'll usually sleep in the next day. Bless you, baby!

You can't see it that well, but its on the right (her left). If you don't believe me, stick your finger in her mouth and you will.

"Who, me? I'm never grumpy!"

Addie is trying her best to crawl, but still doesn't have it down yet. No worries though, because she can roll like it's nobody's business. She is in here with me as I'm writing this up and she's reached 3 of the 4 walls in the office, and I'm sure she'll get to the last one by the time I'm done.

Learning to crawl is VERY hard work.

We went up Little Cottonwood Canyon yesterday for a drive. It was beautiful. I'm pretty sure I've never been up there and I've lived in Utah my whole life. Pathetic. Don't worry, we'll be back again.

We went to my parent's for dinner after the drive. Addie had to give out her kisses since she's so good at them. Boy, she looks pasty compared to my abnormally tan dad.

We've been stealing veggies from their garden, and as you can see, they aren't lacking. I think they are feeding their plants miracle grow everyday or something because they are all huge! The corn field isn't theirs, its just fun to look at.

Hope everyone else had a more eventful ending to the summer than we did!

Stink Bug

2011-08-09T11:00:00.003-06:00

Ryan started taking pictures of Addie in the morning when he got up. I started noticing a theme.

Haha. It looks so uncomfortable, but if I try putting her on her back, she rolls right back over. My favorite is her cute little feet crossed under her bum at the top. Silly girl.

"How's Nursing?"

2011-08-09T10:42:00.004-06:00

"Hi Lisa, how are you?"
"Good"
"Good. How's nursing?"
....
Wow, that's personal. Why would he want to know or even care?
...
...

...

Oh, he meant my job!
"It's good, I'm still working at the hospital."

...Man that was awkward.

I used to get asked before having Addie "Are you still nursing?" or "How's nursing?" Even back then it would take a second before I realized they were asking me about my job.

Since having Addie though, the few times I've been asked this question {and it's ALWAYS by men, ironically}, my mind automatically goes to breastfeeding and I take like 5 seconds to respond.

I've never heard anyone ask my dad "How's air traffic controlling?" or Ryan "How's paralegaling?" Next time fellas, just ask "how's work" and maybe I won't look so stupid or accidentally spill my guts about the joys and woes of what I consider "nursing".

6 month numbers

2011-08-02T16:31:00.003-06:00

Weight: 16 pounds (51st %)
Height: 26 1/4 inches (70th %)
Head: 41.4cm (21st %)

At least her head has grown!
The dang shots gave her fevers the day we went camping.
Dr. Reese said her bottom left tooth is close to coming through.
No wonder we've had a grumpy baby lately!

Powell Family Reunion

2011-08-02T15:58:00.012-06:00

Last weekend we ventured out for our first camping trip with Adder. Ryan's mom's family reunion is in the mountains by Burley and they have been going there over 50 years. Addie had fun, and did good for the most part. The first night involved a few bouts of crying (sorry again for the 2am wake-up call). The second night I was more prepared and just started out with her in our bed and it went much smoother. It was fun seeing everyone and relaxing in the pretty mountains. Enjoy the pictures!

Dimples!

Just chillin'.

Loving on mom.

Super Babe!

Hanging out in the tent during a rain storm.

Hike around the lake. Excuse the pit shot.

Bright-eyed beauty.

6 months

2011-07-26T11:51:00.008-06:00

Oh, my sweet baby, how are you already 6 months old? Half of a YEAR. That's just nuts! We are absolutely loving Addie at this stage. She's been so much fun. She can sit up on her own. She can roll around on the floor to get around the room. YIKES! She still like eating solids, for the most part. She is a spitter. Watch out, if she's in the mood, she can spray you good! When I'm getting ready to feed her she does a grunting noise that starts out as a laugh but quickly turns to a cry of outrage if I'm not going fast enough. In the mornings she is on her stomach facing the door ready for us to come get her. She's smart, that girl! And did I mention cute? Her hair still has the strawberry blonde tint, but I swear some days it's way blonde. Sometimes I think she is singing along with me or the radio. She still sleeps through the night, and last week actually slept in to 8:30-9:45 most days. I'll take that any day! Except that it threw off naps, so maybe not. She LOVES my hair. When I'm trying to get her to sleep, I let her play with my hair and her eyes close within seconds. If my hairs up and out of reach, she's just as happy to play with HER hair. She must like the feel of it I guess. She's usually all smiles and so fun to be around. Can you tell I think she's the best thing ever? Here are pictures from today, her sixth month birthday. Yes, I bought that outfit myself (it say's "My mommy is the best"), and yes, I DO like the old lady mumu-esque flower pattern on the pants.

Sabotaging the "studio".

Sick of pictures, grabbing the camera.

My personal favorite. Hands in true flailing motion (this girlie is a wiggle worm!!) doing her "spits". Addie, I want the news, not the weather! She can seriously do this for like an hour. Just ask the people sitting by us at the Bees Game. I'm crazy for this girl! Just do me a favor, and stop growing up so fast.

One, Two, Three Strikes You're Out!

2011-07-20T10:18:00.004-06:00

Last night Addie experienced her first ball game. I think its safe to say she enjoyed herself!

Late Night Musings

2011-07-13T01:36:00.005-06:00

So, you would expect that after no posts for 2+ weeks that we have been up to something really fun and there would be a great post about our adventures. Sorry to disappoint, but we haven't been doing anything fun or out of the ordinary around here. So here's a post about random things to fill the void.

-Addie started sitting up. She's not to the point where I can walk away because she usually tries to straighten out really fast and falls backwards, but she's getting there. Where has my little baby gone?

-For those of you dying to know {because I'm sure some have lost sleep over it}, this is what our new car looks like. No, that's not a picture of OUR car, but its white like that. We love it.

-What's the deal with man capris (or manpris as they are apparently called)? I do NOT understand them. Sorry if I offend anyone, I just really don't get them.
-How can you spend 6 hours on a project, finish it, and it still doesn't look like you did any work? I hate that. If I'm going to spend a whole Saturday painting new exterior doors and the porch ceiling, I want it to show. And by the way, can you still call doors new if they were installed over 2 years ago? Ya, I didn't think so. Our bad!

-Addie got called a boy for the first time twice in one day. Granted she was wearing blue and I didn't have a bow in her hair, but people, please notice the PINK heart and buttons on said blue clothing, and the all PINK car seat she's sitting in.

-Sometimes I take naps with Addison and end up being awake all night. Case in point, right now it is 1:52am. I'm wide awake. Curse those afternoon tired spells. How can you resist cuddling with a baby in a comfy bed?

-Last year I think we went to maybe 2 BBQ's all summer. Just in the past 2 weeks we've been to at least 5. This summer rocks. Thanks for all the invites everyone!

-At a BBQ for the Elder's Quorum Presidency someone made a comment that there is not a single attractive worker at any cemetery {the guy saying this is a mortician}. Last night we watched Charlie St. Cloud. I'm not a crazy Zac Efron fan, but I'm not saying he's ugly either. Ironically his character worked in a cemetery. -I say this in the most non-pedophile way possible. Baby bums are the cutest. I tickled Addie's today and it made her giggle. She's the best.

-How can you do the same exact thing and some days feel like you "get" to do it and other days you "have" to do it. Let's just say I'm grateful for the days I feel like I "get" to, otherwise I'd be pulling my hair out by the time Ryan gets home from work. On the days I'm feeling like I "have" to, I frequently meet Ryan AT the door to hand Addie off and say "Your turn!"
*Disclaimer: I don't feel like I have to BE a mom, just that I have to DO the mom things.

Sorry about the less than exciting ramblings. My goal this week will be to do something fun and bring the camera with us!

Five Months

2011-06-27T09:26:00.003-06:00

Little Miss Addison turned 5 months old yesterday. She has been so much fun this past month. She is so much more interactive that I can't believe how boring she was as a newborn. Good thing I didn't know it at the time, right? She likes to jabber and has a really cute little voice. She has started laughing for no reason, and it is so adorable. She has the sweetest disposition and is still our little mellow baby (for most of the time at least). She now loves carrots, apples, and peaches. She loves eating and always seems to want what we are eating too. She can roll over (from back to stomach) in a blink of an eye. We're working on stomach to back. She is so close to sitting on her own. She sucks on her fingers almost all the time she is awake. I give her toys but she just ends up sucking on her fingers. I sure hope she's not teething yet, but I guess we'll just have to see. She is very alert and focuses on things around her. She still loves looking at lights and always is looking at the ceiling when we go somewhere new to check them out. There was a really cool wagon wheel light at the cabin last weekend that she loved. Just today she's started jumping in her little bouncer (pictures above) and her cute little feet look like she is doing an Irish jig. She still usually sleeps through the night, and still loves taking naps with me. I'm working on naps in the crib right now. Wish me luck. We are sure in love with this little girl. Does every parent think their baby is the cutest, because I'm sure mine is! Love you Adders!

Dempsey Weekend

2011-06-26T21:24:00.026-06:00

We were so lucky to be invited to Ryan's sister Ranie's in-law's cabin this last weekend {that was a mouth full}. It is east of Lava Hot Springs in Idaho and is called Dempsey. It is absolutely beautiful and was so much fun. They own almost 10,000 acres that is totally private so we were the only ones there all weekend. So much space to explore! It was such an amazing weekend full of food, four wheelers, family, and fun. Prepare for picture overload!

The cabin we stayed in. I thought we'd be roughing it, but this cabin was loaded, so nice!

The view from the cabin.

Thanks to the wet spring, everything was so green.

Friday morning we went on a four wheeler ride and a fun hike. Addie loved the ride and the hike, and fell asleep during both.

Snoozing on dad.

Three fingers, I think so! She LOVES sucking on her fingers, but I'd never seen her do it like this. The more the better, I guess.

Family four wheeler ride after Collette and Russell got there. We went to a pretty creek and waded in it.

Another family picture.

Everyone playing in the water.

Collette, Ryan, and Ranie, the three siblings.

Coke running in the river after one of her son's shoes. Oh, what a mother does for her kids!

Sleeping again.

Saturday we went on another ride to another creek. Here is the caravan (and Russell).

Best picture ever, right?

Saturday night Ryan, Addison and I went for a quick hike. It really was one of the prettiest places I've ever been to.

And here is one of the prettiest faces!

That night we had a mini birthday party. Addie sporting her party hat.

The birthday kiddos, Tyler and Ellie.

The first fire Addie has seen. She loved it! She is one focused baby and just stared at it for so long.

Our family on the tractor. Addie was not a happy camper here, so all considering, its a good picture.

All 8 grandkids. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get a good picture of them all, so here was my best one. Left to right: Russell and Collette's Dallin, Ellie, and Bowen holding Aiden, our Addison, and Jim and Ranie's Branden, Bella, and Tyler.

Totally pooped out on the drive home (in our NEW car!!) She slept almost the whole time, and when she woke up she was MAD, so we sang funny songs to her for the last 20 minutes to stop her from crying. We are now in love with Dempsey and are so glad we could spend some time with Ryan's family. We missed you Cindy and Doug!

Weekend Fiasco

2011-06-20T15:19:00.005-06:00

This past weekend has been a terrible, no good, awful one. Okay, I'm probably exaggerating. But only a little. So on Saturday I had a great day planned out. Free donuts, new suits (2 of them free), etc etc. Here's what happened. We dropped our car off at the dealership for new breaks at 8 am. We decided last week to sell our car and get a new one, but the breaks were terrible so we hesitantly took it in to get fixed knowing WE wouldn't be able to get any benefit from the money spent. We took it in early to get it done early, even made an appointment. At 11, car still isn't done, so we decide to go run errands. We go to DI to buy an ugly tie for free donuts from Krispy Kreme for Father's Day. $2 later for an ugly tie, we're on our way to Layton. Ryan saw a commercial for Macy's that if you bought 1 suit, you got 2 free. We got there and they had no selection so we looked for other things on sale, but only found a belt. Big let down when expecting 2 free suits. Then we decided to have a treat and go to Orange Julius. We went to the food court, saw that is was next to DQ, and Ryan saw something he's been telling me about for YEARS. The blizzard of the month was Brownie Batter, and he was super duper excited about it. He got one, and I got a smoothie from OJ. Ryan dropped my smoothie all over him and then on the floor where it covered his feet and splashed onto mine. The bathrooms didn't have paper towels, just a hand dryer. Boo. Insert sticky feet and stained shorts (for Ryan- chocolate included from his must have Blizzard, that to be honest, wasn't so great). On to Krispy Kreme we went. They were out of the original glazed donuts, but (as the sales guy happily said) we could come back at 6. We don't live in Layton. We had to be back to the dealership in Bountiful by 4:45 to pick up the car that took 7 (SEVEN) hours to get fixed. Ridiculously long if you ask me. I was depressed about not getting the donuts I was craving and hadn't tasted in years. Ryan was mad about his sticky feet and shorts. After a quick stop at my parent's to wish my dad a happy father's day (I had to work on Sunday) we picked up the car. We had to pay $xxx for a repair that should have been done when we had replaced the breaks 1.5 years ago but since it had been over a year we had to pay for it again. Lame. Sunday morning we show our car to someone after posting it on KSL. They want it. We go down a little on the price from where we wanted, but have a deposit check and plans to transfer car and money on Monday. Sunday night we realize the car we wanted to buy, which sparked the whole sell a car thing anyway, was sold. Last night was spent with huge amounts of sellers remorse. We had sold our perfectly fine car that was paid off for a little less than we had wanted to, and now we were back at square one with looking for a car. I suggested (only half seriously) for Ryan to tell the guy that I wrecked our other car so we couldn't sell this one. After working 6 hours, being sent home at 1am, I was up until 4am looking on my phone for other possible options. Nothing quite as good as the original car we had spotted, but some that would do. My hopes went up that we'd find something soon. All day today me and Ryan have been on the phone talking about cars we're looking at online and comparing and making plans to go test drive. Ryan even got a call from the owner of the car we originally wanted saying it only might be sold and he'd let us know if we had a chance at buying it. We had faxed our title and bill of sale to our buyers bank and were planning on meeting at 5:30 to sell our car. Just now at 3:30 Ryan told me that the guy is wondering if he doesn't buy our car can he get his deposit back. WHAT!?!! Latest call- he's going to meet Ryan at work to look at it again and MAYBE will buy it tonight. I've already spent today getting excited about a new car and being okay with selling ours. At this point I just want to throw the towel in and not do anything. For anyone who is still reading this entirely too long post about a crummy weekend, I'm sorry. I had to vent. Next post will be much better. Pictures of a fun relaxing weekend in the mountains to come!

{ F I V E }

2011-06-15T09:04:00.008-06:00

Ryan and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary last weekend. Five years!?! I still feel like I graduated high school last year, how can we have been married for five years already? Thinking back we have accomplished and done a lot. We each received our Associates degrees, Ryan got his Bachelor's, we bought a house, went to Mexico 3 times and many other vacations, and had a BABY!

Our anniversary was actually on Thursday, and I was supposed to work but got called off (yeah!), so we just went out to dinner. Texas Roadhouse. Neither of our favorites, and we sat by loud teenagers so we had fun listening to their conversations thinking "we're old". We also had rain gutters installed on our house. Last year on our anniversary we bought a toilet. That makes us sound so lame!

On Friday after Ryan went to work for a few hours we packed up and drove to exotic Park City. We stopped at the outlet mall. My present was letting me buy new clothes, exactly what I wanted/needed. I had a coupon for an extra 30% off at Gap, so I got a ton of clothes for a killer deal! Then we headed to the hotel (thanks Groupon!) and walked to dinner. Cafe Trang. Heard it was good, we weren't impressed. So much for good food for celebrating, right? Then we went back to the hotel and went SWIMMING! Yes, we brought Addie on our anniversary staycation. We kind of like her (ok, we're smitten) and wanted to bring her, plus I wanted to take her swimming!

Cutest swimsuit ever!!

Right after we got in. She never cried, but I'm not sure if she loved it.

Saturday morning we went to Park City Lodge and walked around. I offered to let Ryan do the zip line, coaster, or slide while I stayed with Addie, but he said no.
So we went back to the car. Then we drove through Main Street. We're not big window shoppers, plus having Addie in a big stroller we decided not to get out and walk around.
I'm glad we went even though we didn't do much. I'm also really glad that I'm married to Ryan. He's the best. Ever. He always knows how to make me laugh. He's a really hard worker. And best of all, he's a great husband and dad. 5 years down, eternity to go!

Roly Poly

2011-06-07T12:49:00.008-06:00

Little miss Addison is now an accomplished roller. Here is one of her many successes that started yesterday afternoon.

Something I learned really quick: rolling isn't always the greatest when it makes her frustrated that she gets stuck on her stomach, but she won't stop rolling when I lay her on her back. And the fun begins!

Spoon Fed

2011-06-03T10:53:00.007-06:00

Addie had her first "real food" last week. We tried sweet potatoes. She of course made a mess, so here's a cute bath picture first.

Little Shrek!

Here she is all cute and innocent before we forced gross food in her mouth.

"Wait a minute, what is this?"

"I don't think I like this!"

"I wonder if I spit it out, Mom will stop shoving it in my mouth?"

"Nope! At least I tried."

After shot of her spitting it out while I'm trying to put more in. It back fired and got all over her face! Ryan is under the impression that she didn't like it because even as an adult, HE doesn't like sweet potatoes either, so why would she? I guess we'll try something different next time.

Sad baby with a small noggin

2011-05-27T14:47:00.003-06:00

Poor Addie with bandaids from her shots.

First of all: shots suck! I'd rather get 100 shots than see her scream like that. Ryan laughed at me when I told him I gave her Tylenol BEFORE we went.

Height: 25 1/4 inches (85th percentile)
Weight: 14 lbs 12 oz (75th percentile)
Head: 39 cm (6th percentile)

Dr. Reese doesn't seem concerned about her tiny head size, but I can't help but worry. I think I'll measure it myself though because the MA did it super fast.

Bring on the baby food! We get to start her on orange and red veggies anytime now. Messy face pictures to come!

{Four}

2011-05-26T11:46:00.004-06:00

Will I ever stop being amazed at how big my baby is getting? At 4 months old this little lady is definitely letting her personality show. Ryan said the other day that she is STUBBORN (wonder where she gets that.....)! If she doesn't want to eat, she will NOT eat- to the point that she will keep her lips closed so I can't even try. She likes us a lot (at least I think so) and doesn't want to sleep sometimes. I have to put a blanket over her head when she's eating or trying to sleep so she'll stop looking around. She will only laugh when she's really in the mood- she makes you really earn it. I'm sure she thinks I'm crazy for trying to make her laugh all the time. She is starting to get scared of strangers. My visiting teachers were here this week and after a few minutes of being held by one of them, her big sad face (need to get a picture, its so cute) came and she started screaming, then stopped immediately when I took her back. Stinker! She also must be getting a six pack because she is ALWAYS trying to sit up. This past week I put her hair up in a "pony" for the first time. I was in love, so cute! She's our little Cindy Lou Who.
And of course, the best part is after the elastic comes out. Addie is also our little scooter-patooter. This was a few days ago when I went in to her room in the morning. The blanket on the right of the crib is a little pad thing she sleeps on. I'm sure if she had more room, she would have been a lot further away, but instead she got her self stuck in the corner.
Another view.
I guess the days of leaving her on our bed are over. We have a mobile baby!

Tomorrow is the dreaded day of shots at the doctor's. I'll have to show Ry how to give Tylenol before I go to work this weekend :(. I'll post her numbers tomorrow, so check back soon!

LAUGH like there's no tomorrow

2011-05-20T14:56:00.002-06:00

Since the end of the world is tomorrow, thought I'd post something to make you smile first.
She sounds like a squeaker toy. I could eat her she's so cute!

Motherhood

2011-05-11T13:08:00.003-06:00

I know I'm late in posting something for Mother's Day, but I think work, sleeping, and being a mom is as good excuse as any! For the past few weeks I've thought about how being a mother has changed me, even though its only been less than 4 months. It seemed the more I thought about it, each blessing had a not so happy counterpart.

I love that Addie is learning to go to sleep on her own.
I miss rocking and singing her to get her to sleep when she does.

I love breastfeeding and cuddling with Addison during "num-nums".
I HATE pumping while at work.

I love having days with nothing else to do but play with Addie.
I hate having days with nothing else to do but play with Addie.

I love the feeling that I know why she is crying and am able to make it stop almost instantly.
I hate not knowing why she's crying and feel like I can't do anything to calm her.

I love getting her dressed up for church and going out.
I don't like blowouts right before walking out the door, or at a restaurant, or at grandma's house...

I love giving Addie baths and watching her kick and wiggle in delight.
I sometimes think "at least one of us got clean today."

I love that she falls asleep so easily with me for naps.
I wish she liked taking long naps in her crib better so I could get things done.

I love making her smile and laugh.
I feel horrible when I make her cry (sucking boogies, clipping nails...)

I am still loving being a mom and feel like I'm finally getting into a workable routine. I thank Heavenly Father every night for how happy Addison makes me and how much joy she brings into mine and Ryan's lives. There 's no denying that being a mom is hard work, I've never done anything harder. But I've never been so happy either.

Cousins

2011-05-04T16:38:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago I had my sister in law watch Addie during a dentist appointment. She took some cute pictures of Addison and her adorable daughter. She's going to have fun growing up with her cousins. I know a lot of my fond memories of childhood included my cousins. She's already had cousins say they were going to give her their toys when she gets bigger. Spoiled girl!

Thanks for keeping her entertained for me! I'm sure Addie enjoyed looking at anything other than my boring old face.

{Sorry there's not a more recent update. We're having a sick week and I'm too lazy to take new pictures and upload them.}

3 months old!

2011-04-26T13:33:00.007-06:00

I am AMAZED that Addison is already 3 months old. Where did my little newborn go? She is getting so big, and I'm loving every second of it!

Addie LOVES her hands and fingers, and pretty much anytime she's awake without her binky, her hands are in her mouth. She started talking to us more this month, and she especially loves gurgling her spit in the back of her mouth. She also started rubbing her eyes when she's getting tired. So cute, except for when she pokes her eye and starts crying. She is SO CLOSE to rolling. If I just tuck her arm under, she flips in a second. We're working on it every day. Her hair is growing and growing and growing. I don't know what to do with it! But I love it. I'm tempted to try putting a pony in it on top, its that long. She kicks like she's running a race or something. She tries to sit up if she's propped up at all, and if we grab her hands, she can pull herself up to standing (with a little help from us, of course). Speaking of standing, I think she prefers it over sitting. She's in love with daddy, and I'm pretty sure she has so much fun with him she doesn't even know I'm gone when I'm at work. She is a smiley girl and started giving everyone smiles, not just mom and dad. She's a pretty good sleeper and will stay asleep from 10:30 to 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning. She loves taking her naps with mom, or on mom if I'm not tired. Bath time is still one of her favorite things and as soon as we put her in, she splashes like crazy. She has long monkey toes that love to grip anything they touch, even if its just her other foot.

Oh, how I love this little girl!

Here's our mini photo shoot for her 3 month birthday! Ryan's reaction to the headband: "poor girl, take that thing off". Haha, no way! I love dressing up my baby girl!
I love her hand resting on her pot belly.

And for Ryan's sake, one without the headband.

Happy 3 months Addison, we love you so much!

Lately

2011-04-22T14:54:00.003-06:00

So I've realized that being a mom and working just 24 hours a week is time consuming. For one night shift, it takes 2 days of sleeping (the day of and the day after) to be able to function. No time for blogging! So here's some things we've been up to.

Hanging out with friends {can't figure out why the picture is sideways, its normal in my picture folder!} They're getting so big. And side note-its really hard to craft with babies. It takes like 3 times as long with all of the interruptions. Like you said Les, we'll get done with their quiet books when they're 2.
Tummy time! She does okay for the first few minutes...
And then she gets frustrated. She's so close to rolling over though {I guess that rolling over at 6 weeks was a fluke, because she hasn't done it since.}
Crazy bed head! She's our little mini Conan, red hair and all.
Once her hair is crazy like this, there's no way to fix it until her next bath. She's like me in that way, put my hair in a pony tail for 5 minutes and I have a permanent kink until I wash it.
Have a great Easter Weekend everyone! I'll be enjoying my day at work while Ryan and Addie hang out with Ryan's parents.

Working Mama

2011-04-11T15:58:00.002-06:00

I am an official working mom as of Friday night at 7pm. I was dreading going back to work the entire maternity leave (who doesn't, I know.) Tears were definitely shed the day of and on the drive up to the hospital. But once I got to work, it almost felt like I had never left and I was picking up right where I left off two and a half months ago. My second shift (last night) I cried again a little as I was kissing Addison goodbye and Ryan laughed at me. I think he thought I'd cry the first time, get over it, be used to leaving her, and then be fine. He'll learn soon enough that many goodbye kisses will be accompanied with a few tears for a while. The best part about coming home in the mornings though is definitely seeing this face smiling at me. Oh, and getting to cuddle with her in bed while I get a few hours of sleep. I feel so lucky to have a job where I can be gone only 2 nights a week and Addie gets to hang out with dad and be asleep the majority of the time I'm not there. I doubt she even notices I'm not home, but I like to think she does and that this smile is her saying "welcome back mom, I missed you!"

Runnin' Around

2011-04-07T17:13:00.003-06:00

Remember last week when it actually felt like Spring? {It's snowing right now...} We took Addie for a ride in our jogging stroller. It was kind of chilly because of the wind, but the sun was out and it was so nice to get out in the fresh air. Addie didn't like it so much when we started jogging, so I'm hoping she'll warm up to it soon. Her hats and headbands are all too big for her (see previous post), but this one fits the best right now. So cute!
I don't think Ryan knew he was in this picture, but he's still cute too.
Now we'll probably have to wait 2 weeks before we get nice enough weather again to go running again. Crazy Spring weather!

Weighing In

2011-03-29T11:22:00.003-06:00

Addie's appointment went well, until the shots of course. Funny how doing something good for your child makes you feel like such a bad mom. She slurped down some Tylenol and is sleeping now. Poor baby! Here's the numbers:

Height: 22.75 inches (62nd percentile)
Weight: 11 lbs 8 oz (66th percentile)
Head: 37.7 cms (20th percentile)

Her head is tiny! The doctor said its normal though, especially if one of the parents head is small. Ryan's head is small too, so I'm not worried. It doesn't (at least to me) look small for her body. And that's probably why she's so good at holding her head up, there's hardly anything to hold up! I think she's perfect, can you tell? Now I'm going to go and have an extra cuddly day with my baby.

Saving Mula

2011-03-28T14:06:00.003-06:00

I spent $2.09 out of pocket on this trip to Rite Aid. And I have $9 to spend on my next purchase! Unfortunately, I went to Target next and stopped in the baby section, and you can probably guess what happened. At least one of my shopping trips today was cheap!

P.S. I love baby clothes! I only bought one outfit today, but I'm a sucker for anything mini, especially dresses!

Look at me, I'm 2 months!

2011-03-28T13:36:00.003-06:00

Addison turned 2 months old on Saturday. She celebrated by sleeping until 6:30. Thanks baby girl! Addison is growing so much everyday. She tries sitting up and lifting her head when she's laying down. We hardly ever hold her head up anymore, she has such good neck control. She LOVES eating her hands, all the time. She never spits up, I bet she's spit up less than 15 times her whole life. She sleeps in after her morning feed, which will be so needed when I go back to work next week. Here's some photos from Saturday. Sorry the smiley ones are all blurry, but they're still cute.

Adderpants is getting her immunizations tomorrow, wish her (and me) luck! I'm excited to see how much she's grown in 2 months. Check back tomorrow to find out!

Bath Time Take 2

2011-03-24T13:30:00.004-06:00

Addie still loves her baths. I can't believe how big she's getting! She's already 2 months old on Saturday.

Her hair gets curly when its wet, but as soon as we brush it, the curl goes away. Look at those beautiful blue eyes!
Addie LOVES the changing table and smiles like crazy when we set her down on it.
My smiley baby.

GET ME OUTTA HERE!

2011-03-18T13:01:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Ryan and I planned on going to Lowe's after he got home from work to buy a dryer. I planned out my day, took a shower, and even blow dried and straightened my hair (rare occurrence lately). I planned out Addie's feeds so that we could go right when Ryan got home so that I wouldn't have to worry about a screaming hungry baby at the store. We got in the car, backed halfway out of the driveway, and I said "Oh Ryan, we forgot the gift card, it's downstairs, can you get it"? So he parked the car, then I remembered that the gift card won't have the money on it until the 18th (today). (It was a tax refund promo thingy we used when we bought our washer). Anyway, Ryan started to pull the car back into the garage, and I said "NO! I got ready today. I need to get out of the house. We HAVE to go SOMEWHERE"! He laughed, then said asked if I wanted to go for a ride. Yes. Yes I did. On our drive around the temple, I talked him into going to Costco to buy apple juice. Yes, just apple juice. Any excuse for a longer break from my house! Oh, and we also bought an outfit for Addie and some beef (actually pork) jerky for Ryan. Good haul! And my effort in getting ready wasn't wasted.

Bumbo

2011-03-16T20:03:00.000-06:00

She's adorable. That's all!

Living Room Envy

2011-03-15T14:43:00.003-06:00

I wish I could blame Addie for being up from 3am to 6am this morning, but I can't. Well, maybe for the first hour. After feeding her I was laying in bed with my head running 1,000 miles an hour, and mostly about our house. I totally refinished our front room in my head, and it turned out fabulous! Today I was perusing online and I pretty much found my DREAM living room spot on at this website. I am having to stop myself from going upstairs with our hammer and starting the demolition right now. All I'd need to do is: rip up the carpet, refinish the hardwood floors underneath, replace all floor and door moldings, add crown molding, trim the big window, tear out the ugly fireplace mantel and build a new one, paint, and decorate. Sigh.

Beautiful! So clean and fresh. I am kind of obsessed with the paint color. Dad, if you're ever bored (yeah, right), I've got plenty to keep you busy!

When I grow up...

2011-03-11T16:33:00.004-07:00

Today I escaped from my four {boring} walls at home, loaded up Addie in the car and drove to my parent's house. My sister and her hubs dropped off their daughters at my parent's so they can have an Anniversary Weekend together. Happy Anniversary, by the way. My 4 year old niece put life into perspective for me. My mom and I were teasing her about asking her mom for another little sister or brother. My sister has apparently nipped that one in the bud because she was adamant about not having any more siblings, and was quite happy about it. She then proceeded to tell us that she didn't want a younger brother because she was going to "grow up, meet a boy, be a mom, and change (her) face". Oh, how simple life seems when your a little girl. Funny how I've done all those things she dreams about. Except for change my face. Not sure what that one meant. Make up maybe? Well, maybe then I have done them all. I guess, according to Bo, my life is going pretty great. I agree Bo!

Milestone

2011-03-08T13:05:00.002-07:00

Addie just rolled over!! I decided to do some tummy time with her and within 1 minute she rolled flat onto her back. She's only 6 weeks!?! I put her on her back again to see if she'd do it again, but she started crying. We'll try again tomorrow. Way to go Addie!

24

2011-03-08T12:12:00.003-07:00

Yesterday I turned the big 2-4. I told my mom on the phone that birthdays aren't what they used to be. The day started out with a coupon trip to Rite Aid. Fun right? I didn't have plans for the rest of the day, so I was more than happy when my sister and her two cuties stopped by. Look at what they brought! How perfect on what turned out to be such a snowy day. I have spring in my house now, so I just won't look outside.

When Ryan came home he gave me my gift. It's a massage at this salon. HEAVEN! I need to call and book it ASAP because it is much needed. After a yummy Rumbi Grill dinner at home, we finally finished the series 24. Appropriate on my 24th birthday, right? We have watched all 8 seasons, and I have to say we sort of like Jack Bauer. He's the bomb. I was honestly sad to say "goodbye" to him last night.
What a great day, and hopefully this next year will be just as good!

Blessed Babe

2011-03-08T12:03:00.003-07:00

Addison was given a beautiful blessing on Sunday by Ryan. She was promised so many wonderful blessings in her life. I've never been very "churchy" on my blog, but I can't help but say now that I'm so glad we are members of the church. Sunday was such a special day for us, and we are so grateful we were able to share it with so many family and friends. We couldn't believe how many people we had there supporting our family. This little girl sure is loved!
My grandma made this dress for me when I was blessed. I've been saving it for my daughter the last 24 years!

Not my newborn anymore

2011-03-03T16:01:00.002-07:00

It's hard to notice changes when you see someone everyday. I put Addie in this newborn outfit today and realized she's growing like a weed! The tights' crotch is down to her knees and the dress barely reaches her bum (hard to tell in the picture because she's pulling her knees up). I thought I'd be sad seeing her grow up (I kind of am), but I LOVE watching her figure out new things. She's been smiling at us like crazy, and I think she already has a fake cry to just get our attention. She stretches for a good minute when waking up from a nap and her hands always go up by her face. Poor Addie, I'm sorry mom made you wear this too small outfit- it's just too cute to only wear twice!

For mom's sake, could you try to grow up just a little bit slower?

One Month

2011-02-27T20:36:00.003-07:00

I'm a day late, but Addison is one month old! This has been the best month of my life. Yes, I've learned to sleep in 2-3 hour increments, I never get dressed, and it's a good week if I shower more than twice. I'd be lying if I said it has been easy. But, I can't believe how happy this little girl makes me! She's started smiling at us this past week or so, we think she has laughed once or twice, she sleeps really well- just not for very long (it's okay, we're working on that one), she loves getting her bath, she loves to be held and hang out with mom and dad, her neck is very strong and she likes to look around, and she started sleeping in her own room 2 nights ago. Such a big girl! It seems like everyday she is doing, learning, or figuring out something new. I don't really notice that she's growing, but she has already outgrown some of her outfits and newborn diapers.

This little face makes all the poop, late nights, early mornings, poop, skipped meals because I just forget, poop, and being stuck in the house for days in a row all worth it. SO worth it! Happy One Month, Adders- we love you!

Newborn Photos

2011-02-20T21:23:00.004-07:00

6 day old baby + 80 degree studio + sleepy baby= adorable! Enjoy!

Photographs taken by loulouphotography.com

Still Learning

2011-02-17T13:27:00.004-07:00

You would think that being a nurse at a children's hospital would give me a leg up on being a mom, right? In some ways it has. I already had the diaper changing thing down at least, and I can swaddle her really tight. But taking care of a baby all day everyday is way different than a 12 hour shift at work. Feeding her is different, bathing her is different (usually we just sponge bathe babies at work because of surgical sites), and I have to stop myself from checking pulses and cap refill when she's naked. My pediatrician told me to start Addison on vitamins {recommended for any breastfed baby- they need more vitamin D}. I've given medicine to babies hundreds of times. I've even given multivitamins, but I can only remember giving them through feeding tubes. Addie absolutely hates them. I read on a site that they taste good and babies like them. So NOT true! She gives me a sad face and spits most of it out. And then she has vitamin breath all day. Yuck. Sometimes I shake her because I think she's dead. Babies at work are always on the monitor so when they are sleeping you can see that they are still breathing and alive from the monitor. I'm sure Addie really loves it when she's startled from a deep sleep by her paranoid mom. Sorry babe and thanks for being patient with me!

Besties!!

2011-02-16T15:33:00.004-07:00

One of my oldest and best friends, Leslie, had her beautiful baby girl Izzie exactly 2 weeks before Addie was born. We've been planning their forced friendship for the past nine months and last Friday they finally met for the first time! Izzie was 1 pound bigger than Addie at birth, plus being 2 weeks older made Addie look tiny!

Addison {2 weeks} and Izzie {1 month}

Not sure what they were looking at.

Izzie trying to wake up Addie.

So excited for these girls to grow up together!

Couponing

2011-02-16T15:08:00.003-07:00

I know no one wants to hear about me saving money, and you just want pictures of Addison. Sorry! I went to a coupon class a month ago with friends from work and now I've been couponing for a few weeks. {Side note- its hard to try to do something new when you're also trying to figure out how to be a mom!} So today I went to Smith's and did pretty good. I already unloaded everything, so no picture of what I bought, but here's the run down:

2 big bags of Huggies baby wipes,
4 boxes of General Mills cereal,
4 Gatorades,
2 Betty Crocker brownie mixes,
2 boxes Orville Redenbacher popcorn,
4 cans Campbells Chunky soup,
3 cans Chef Boyardee ravioli,
2 boxes Pop Tarts,
2 cans Grands Biscuits,
3 bottles Ragu,
and 2 5-pack boxes of Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese.

Spent $39, saved $35+. Just 3 weeks ago I didn't have anything in my food storage, and now the shelves are starting to fill up! I also went to Rite Aid and spent $30 but now I have $20 towards my next purchase. Saving money is addicting! I hope I keep getting better at it and save more next time!

2 week stats

2011-02-10T13:02:00.004-07:00

Yesterday miss Addison and I went to her Pediatrician for her 2 week check-up. She's right on track!

Weight: 8 pounds 3 ounces (46th percentile)
Height: 20 1/4 inches (50th percentile)
Head circumference: 35cm (27th percentile)

Thank you baby for having a small head like your daddy. I'm sure that helped me in having an easier delivery! Addie has a very strong neck and loves looking around. She just started trying to stand up on my lap when I'm holding her. She is a great eater and still loves her baths. She has a dimple on her right cheek, and is starting to rub off her beautiful hair. She still is a mellow baby, but she can scream really well if she's not getting what she wants (food). We love our baby girl!

Jeggings debut

2011-02-08T12:56:00.003-07:00

Even though they are 0-3 months and a little big, I couldn't help but dress Addie up today in her jeggings.

I think she's sick of me taking pictures already.

So cute!

Seeing Yellow

2011-02-07T12:25:00.005-07:00

My daughter is awesome.
One of her talents is her exploding,
projectile poop.
Yesterday she demonstrated for dad
while he changed her diaper.
We got his clothes and the changing pads cleaned and
luckily they didn't stain with the wonderful
yellow stuff.
(Thank you Oxi-Clean).
The curtain, well we washed that and the
hem opened (Ikea curtains=ironed on hem)
so that's my project for the day.
But, once again, no stain.
My carpet wasn't so lucky.
I think I'll have Ryan go to the store today
and pick up some pet stain remover for carpet.

I love being a mom!
I promise, no sarcasm here.

Bath Time!

2011-01-31T12:03:00.003-07:00

We gave Addie her first bath last night. She loved it, especially when we washed her hair. I can't believe how long her hair is, especially in the back. I love how blonde it is too! LOVE HER!

Also an update on the bili lights. Yesterday her level was back down to where it was at the hospital, so we left her on the lights, but didn't have to be as strict about it. Then this morning we had her levels rechecked again, and they are stable, so we had the home health company come pick up the lights this morning. I was not sad at all to see those go! It's hard taking care of a baby who has to lay in an uncomfortable looking bed with lights on her belly. I also won't be sad to be done waking up every morning at 7 to feed her, get her ready, and load her up in the car to go to the lab. She is doing great and I am even more in love with her!

Introducing....

2011-01-29T15:01:00.009-07:00

Addison Eliza Manning
Born on 1/26/11 at 6:31pm
7 pounds 3 ounces
20 inches long

That's right, Addie's here! Wednesday was my due date and my 40 week appointment. My blood pressure was slightly elevated (139/88) so my Dr. decided to induce me just in case my blood pressure would rise in the next week. My appointment was at 8:30, so I ran home and met Ryan there {he had already left for work} and packed up for the hospital. Scary and exciting knowing you're going to have your baby that day! We got to the hospital by 10 and got admitted.
Here I am before getting hooked up to everything. They started pitocin at 11am. I was GBS positive so I needed 2 doses of penicillin before they would break my water. At 4pm after my second dose the nurse checked me and I was still at 3 centimeters, where I had been that morning at the Dr. My doctor was going to come in around 5 and break my water, so we were just hanging out watching The Office all day. Ironically, as soon as I got to the hospital, my BP went back to normal. Oh well, too late now! After the nurse checked me at 4pm, my water broke on its own and I started having contractions every 2 minutes. Ouch!!! Luckily I had already asked for my epidural to be started before my water was broken, so he was coming at 4:40. After 30 minutes of intense contractions, heaven came. Loved that epidural! As soon as it was in, I was back to talking and joking around. The nurse checked me at 5pm and I was at 7cms. I had dilated 4 centimeters in an hour without pain meds. Guess all I needed was my water to break to get things moving! My doctor came, checked me at 5:30 and I was 9.5, so her and my nurse left to get things ready for delivery. I couldn't believe that I was already ready to go! I started pushing at 6:10 and had Addie at 6:31. I pushed around 10 times and then she was born and they put her on my belly. I loved hearing her cry! I got to do skin to skin with her and warm her up. She was so calm. It was really a great experience (once the epidural was in) and everything went great!
Addie getting weighed and cleaned up. She didn't even cry after her 2 shots. She still is amazing us with her mellow attitude.

Addie's first bath in the nursery with daddy.

Long blonde hair! I am sooo glad she has long hair. I was sure I was going to have a bald baby. Her hair looks a different color every day, so I'm excited to see what it looks like after her next bath.
First family photo. The second day in the hospital was pretty boring. We loved having visitors to pass the time! I'm hoping that all the fluid I got during labor will go away soon, I'm all puffy!
Can you tell we had a girl? PINK everything! We left Friday morning at 10am and were excited to get back to our comfy bed.
Addie and Ryan taking a nap. Love these two to death!
Saturday morning after getting up for a lab appointment. Addie's bilirubin level was on the edge of being high at discharge, so we got it rechecked today. The Pediatrician called me a few hours ago and said it was even higher, so an hour later we had bili lights delivered, and here she is hanging out in them. Breaks my heart! Like I said earlier though, she's mellow and is doing great laying there practically naked. We have to check it again tomorrow at the hospital because its Sunday, and then we'll figure out how long she has to be on them.
I still just look at her and am amazed I am a mom, that she is mine, and can't believe how beautiful she is. I love being a mom {Ryan might not think so thanks to the lovely hormones making me cry all the time} and taking care of her. I could just stare at her all day! We have both fallen in love and are head over heels for our daughter. We are convinced we have the most perfect baby in the world. We are so truly blessed and I am so happy. Life is wonderful!

9 months!

2011-01-24T09:25:00.002-07:00

39 weeks

This is so embarrassing. When I uploaded this picture, I was sure it had somehow become stretched, because there is no way I'm that big. Guess I was wrong! This was a few days ago before my LAST shift at work. Also, the blanket on the right side of the crib is the one I talked about a while ago that I made. I finally finished it last week!

If you hadn't noticed, I'm still here and baby-less. I was sure I'd go into labor over the weekend. The last 3 nights I've started having contractions (at least I think they're contractions) but they never last longer than a few hours or get closer together. I've tried almost everything and am pretty sure that there is no solution to starting labor early. I said ALMOST everything. No I didn't try the castor oil. Yet. The next post better have baby pictures on it!!

Endless Pregnancy Ranting...

2011-01-19T16:55:00.002-07:00

Look at my side bar. Yep, 7 more days. SEVEN! That's not very long, but it seems like 4 years when I think about being pregnant for that much longer. One of my best friends had her baby a week ago and I guess it made me think it was my turn too, even though she was due 2 weeks ahead of me. Good news from the doctor today though. She thinks I'll have Baby Girl within the week. Things are progressing down there (I'll spare you the details. You're welcome.), and one of the best things is that she thinks my baby will be around 7 lbs. Yay! I was worried about giving birth to a chunk-a-munk. Let's be honest though, I'm just plain worried about giving birth, even if she was 2 lbs. I've witnessed a few births before in nursing school and kind of know what to expect, I just don't know what it will be like for me. I'm scared. I so want to be done but every time I have a contraction I get scared and don't want it to be "time" yet because I don't feel ready. We are physically ready for her to come, car seat installed, laundry washed, bags packed, etc., but I still can't imagine giving birth and being a mom. My second to last shift got canceled tonight, so I'm hoping Baby Girl takes that as a sign to just come tonight. Wishful thinking? Last week I asked Ryan if it was bad to pray that she comes early and he told me to pray for patience instead. At this point I think it's more likely that she'll come early!

Stylin' Babe to Be

2011-01-10T11:48:00.004-07:00

I had my last baby shower on Saturday with my family. 5 baby showers. I was spoiled, huh? It was so much fun and we got a lot of great things{again}! One of my favorites from the day would have to be these adorable jeggings. Not so sure I could pull them off, but you better believe Baby Girl can! Can't wait to squeeze her squishy bum and legs into them!

19 Days...more or less!

2011-01-07T15:39:00.002-07:00

I went to the doctor on Wednesday and she said Baby Girl could come anytime. I don't think she meant I was actually ready to have the baby that day, but I'm at least progressing and hopefully will have her sooner than later. I can't believe that I'm nine months pregnant. I swore a few weeks ago I couldn't stretch any more, and then yesterday I was looking in the mirror and realized, it happened. She dropped too, so now my belly pokes out funny and low. Not such a cute baby bump anymore. I spent 2 days washing all of the baby's things, and got a diaper bag ready to take to the hospital. I feel like I'm playing house. I don't even know what to put in the diaper bag. I'm sure I'll learn by error when I seriously need something and don't have it. That's how my life goes. I still haven't packed MY bag for the hospital. I don't know why I keep procrastinating, but I can't bring myself to do it. Maybe tomorrow I can.... I have six shifts left before I go on maternity leave. I can't believe the end is here! What a fast/slow/long/tiring/exciting/nerve-racking nine months it has been. In no time at all our lives will be forever completely changed, and we cannot wait for that day to come!

Christmas

2010-12-28T16:12:00.004-07:00

We had a very lovely Christmas this year! We headed up to Burley on Thursday to stay with Ryan's family for the weekend. Friday my mother-in-law threw a baby shower for me. It was great and we had a lot of people come. I once again got extremely spoiled. Thanks everyone for coming!
Friday night we had a progressive dinner and went to the aunt's houses for yummy food. Saturday morning was fun watching our nephews and niece open their presents from Santa. Ryan surprised me BIG TIME and gave me this. I was very confused at first.
Then I saw this. A Nook!
And of course an old man. You may not know that Ryan has a thing for old men. Not like that. He just thinks they are cool.
So pretty much he out-gifted me. I thought we had a budget. I got him a shirt. A shirt that was on sale. Lame, right? We also got each other cute baby outfits for Baby Girl. Ryan's says "I love my daddy". Cute, huh? We spent the rest of the weekend being lazy, eating food, and playing games.

We can't believe it is the end of another year already. We are so excited for whats coming for us this next year, and hopefully in just a few more weeks! Here's to hoping she comes early!

Promised Pictures

2010-12-15T16:55:00.006-07:00

I swear I've been promising pictures for a few months, so here's a picture overload. The first is my baby bump. I've had a few requests for some belly pictures. This is me today at 34 weeks, only 6 to go! A lot of people tell me I'm small for how far I am, but I am measuring right on, so no complaints here. I feel HUGE though!

Now for the basement. This is the small bedroom/office before the furniture was in.
And after. You can see we have a lot of baby stuff we don't know where to put yet.
Family room before furniture/doors.
Family room after. We need decorations!
Second bedroom before doors/furniture.
After with our bed in it. We got a new one upstairs for us!
Bathroom. We are in the process of installing the toilet and finishing the sink/shower right now, so I'll get another picture when that's all finished.
Here is our nursery. I painted it the because I hated the peach color the walls used to be. I wanted it to be gender neutral (the paint) so we don't have to paint it again if we have a boy next.
I love the crib and the chair. So comfy! The bedding/curtains are from my Sis-in-law. Thanks again Coke, we love it! I need to take a close up of it. Oops!

My Better Half

2010-12-06T10:20:00.006-07:00

Today is a great day.
My awesome husband turns 28. Man he's old!
I scored big time when I got him to fall in love with me, because I swear I'm the luckiest girl out there.

Ryan is cool.
Like he likes to jump off of things cool.

He also rocks at water skiing. And snow skiing.
And being a good husband.

We are lucky and enjoy the same things. Like Lake Powell.

Go to Lake Powell if you want a guy to like you back.
It worked for me.

He was cool when I met him and had long hair.
I'm glad he doesn't now, but I still liked it at the time.
He's hot.

He is sweet and thoughtful and suggested we go on a cruise when I graduated nursing school. He's rad like that.

He is also very good looking. I hope our baby takes after him.

Speaking of baby. How great is he that he gave me the best present ever?
He's going to be a cool dad. My daughter is going to be one lucky girl too.

Happy Birthday Ryan!
Thanks for being my better half,
I love you!

Pregnancy Facts from Lisa

2010-12-03T14:19:00.003-07:00

Sorry about another picture-less post. Here's a few random facts/rants about my pregnancy.

-Charlie horses suck, especially when they wake you up.
-My husband put on my socks and shoes yesterday.
-The "Night shift bloat" and a big pregnant belly do not mix.
-Baby girl has started to kick my ribs. And it hurts.
-Holding babies at work the last two nights makes me REALLY want mine to get here.
-My back always hurts. No matter what.
-I already feel like a parent. When I watch shows (like Grey's) where a parent has something bad happen to their child, I cry.
-Sometimes when I walk by the nursery I go in and just stare at everything and imagine what it'll look like with my baby in it.
-I haven't had a baby dream in a long time.
-It makes me giddy when Ryan says cute things about our baby and how he is excited for her to come.
-My lungs and all other vital organs feel like they are in the top 3 inches of my chest. I can't breath!
-My baby moves when I sing.
-Bending over feels like a yoga move. Whenever I have to pick something up, first I analyze how important it is and if I really need to pick it up now or wait for Ryan to do it.
-Ryan is a really good husband. He rubs my back without asking, and does tons of things for me without complaining. I hope it lasts after she comes!
-I sometimes find things in what is left of my belly-button, and I have no idea how they got there.
-Heartburn. Need I say more?
-I'm obsessed with watching A Baby Story on TLC.
-The closer I get to the delivery, the more scared I am to go through with it.
-I'm so pro-epidural that I'm scared something will happen to make me not be able to get one.
-I really hope my baby is between 7 and 8 lbs.
-I was really scared I would gain tons (and tons) of weight during pregnancy and look like a blob. I feel like a blob, but am pleasantly surprised that I have only gained a few+ pounds. We'll see what the next 8 weeks do for that though. Bring on the Christmas sweets!
-I feel totally justified sleeping in on my days off for as long as I want. Sad that chapter of my life is pretty much over.
-I'm working full time up to the the week before my due date. I'm secretly hoping it will send me into early labor!
-I know Jan. 26 will be here before I know it, but it still seems like it will take a year to get here.

I'm so excited for this baby to come! Pregnancy really hasn't been bad, so don't take me too seriously. Less than 8 weeks and counting!

Feeling a little ambitious...

2010-11-30T18:23:00.003-07:00

I went shopping today. Not clothes for me, not clothes or supplies for the baby {per say}, but for fabric. Yep, I'm dumb enough to try to make a blanket now. I'll probably just do a rag blanket since I've made a few before. I picked up some adorable fabric from Brook's in Bountiful. I'm excited to start, but know that once I do I'll be dragging my feet after cutting hundreds of little squares. Don't worry, I'll post pictures once I finish the blanket. Here's to having something to do on my days off.

Thanksgiving was great. We were lucky and were able to have 2 dinners. Ryan's parents spent the weekend in Bountiful with our aunt and uncle, so we ate dinner there, then headed out to my parents a few hours later for another delicious meal. We also spent Saturday standing out in the cold at the BYU vs. U game. Go UTES! {Even if it was a lucky win....}. It was absolutely freezing, but we jumped up and down enough to keep somewhat warm. I may have caused a few contractions during the game with all of the jumping, but no worries, we're all still here!

The nursery is basically set up. I'm waiting for my glider to be delivered {thanks mom and dad for the early Christmas gift!}, then I'll take some pictures and post those too. Yeah, basically I'm too lazy to walk down the stairs to get the camera to do it now. Stairs have started to become a challenge, so has putting on socks, getting up from chairs, and breathing while doing basically ANYTHING. We have 8 weeks to get our butts in gear and get ready for this little girl to come change our lives forever!

My list of things that must go:

2010-11-16T12:12:00.002-07:00

1- Sleep schedule's after night shifts. After 2 nights last weekend, I'm still up all night and sleeping all day even though I really try not to. Good thing I got canceled for my shift today, otherwise I would have only had 2 hours of sleep. I guess I'm just getting myself ready for being up all night in a few months. Unfortunately, I won't be able to sleep in to make up for it!

2- Maternity tops. I do not want to wear a circus tent. Enough said.

3- Manly decorating. Lets just say we need to get a new bedspread/set, and the ones I LOVE, Ryan says are too "girly". I see nothing wrong with a couple having a feminine bedspread. I won't question Ryan's manliness because he sleeps with a floral print blanket that has a little pink on it. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll get my way in the end...

4- Heartburn. So bad it woke me up in the middle of the night I had to scarf down some tums and sit up for 30 minutes.

Work Shower

2010-11-03T19:19:00.003-06:00

My awesome friend Nicole threw a baby shower for me with my friends from work. It was so much fun, and weird at the same time to be having a shower for me. Our baby girl is going to be spoiled! I got some great things.

I only got the camera out long enough to snatch a few quick shots. We played a fun game with melted chocolate candy in diapers and we had to sniff it to guess which candy it was. I'll have to steal those pictures from Keri! The food was great, the gifts were awesome, and the company was even better. Thanks girls for everything!

Breathing Easy

2010-10-26T12:43:00.002-06:00

I had another ultrasound today. Normally, you only have one ultrasound when you're pregnant, but I was lucky and got two. 8 weeks ago today we went to LDS hospital to have our {what we thought} only ultrasound and find out the sex of the baby. We were thrilled when the lady said it was a little girl. Then later during the ultrasound she asked if we had done the screening test. We hadn't. Then the she left to get the doctor to take a look. Ryan asked me why she was wondering about the screening test. I said it was for no reason, even though I had a knot growing in my stomach already about it. When the doctor came in she took a quick look at everything, then stopped when she was at the baby's brain. She started explaining what the choroid plexus is for. I know enough from working in a hospital that when a doctor starts explaining what part of the body is for or does, that something is wrong with that part of the body. She said that my precious baby girl had cysts in her choroid plexus. Alone, this is something that usually goes away on its own and doesn't cause problems. Then she explained that having choroid plexus cysts, or CPC, is a marker for Trisomy 18. She told us if we looked it up we'd read horrible things. She said because besides the CPC the baby looked great, chances are our baby was fine. She recommended a repeat ultrasound in 8 weeks and to have the screening tests done. The cysts, if isolated, should go away on their own by the 28th week. That was the worst day of my life. Hands down.

She was right. We came home and read about CPC and Trisomy 18 and I was devastated. Was my baby going to be stillborn like 50% of babies with Trisomy 18? Or was she not going to make it to her 1st birthday like the majority of those babies who aren't stillborn? We spent a sleepless night with a lot of crying on my part. The next day I went to my OB, who tried to reassure me my baby would be fine, and had my blood drawn to screen for my chance of having a baby with Trisomy 18. Blood drawn, I had to wait for a day and a half until she called me with the results. Normal. As in less that 1 in 10,000 chance of having a baby with Trisomy 18. I was relieved, but I've had the thought constantly in the back of my mind for the last 8 weeks that the cysts were still there, bigger, or that they would find something concerning in the ultrasound.

This morning we were both really nervous, even though we were convincing each other that she is fine and the cysts were gone. It's what we'd been praying for every day for the last 8 weeks. The tech asked me if we knew why they were doing a repeat ultrasound. I said yes, and then within 2 minutes of her poking around my belly she told us the cysts were gone. That was the best news I have heard in a long time. A weight was instantly taken off my shoulders and I took a deep breathe of relief. I said a quick thank-you prayer while we got to see the rest of my 2 pound baby who is still sitting face down with her legs tucked under, and still too stubborn to let us see her profile. We did get a front view of her face though and found out she already has chubby cheeks. Chubby cheeks that I'm hoping to be kissing in 3 months from today. Today was a great day!

Dark Ages

2010-10-20T10:50:00.002-06:00

We lived in the dark ages over the weekend. We canceled our Comcast for our internet and cable {kept jacking up prices with crappy service anyway} and returned our equipment on Saturday. Bad day to not have tv or internet, with all those good college football games going on. {Go BSU!} We got our internet back yesterday, but over the weekend, ALL we had were our cell phones with internet. {Don't worry, I'm trying to be sarcastic.} It really was a more quiet, peaceful weekend. Ya, we still watched movies and stuff, but it was different. I am a very accomplished multi-tasker and you can see me multiple times a week on the laptop while watching tv for background noise. Yesterday morning before the internet was back, I actually read the Ensign for a while. Then I read some pregnancy books. Go figure. Man, I don't know how anybody lived 10+ years ago when we didn't have all of this entertainment at our fingertips. I'm kind of jealous of them. Now I feel like I have NOTHING to do unless I'm connected to multiple pieces of technology 24/7. Maybe another week without TV will do us good. I better enjoy it and be more productive!

A Zoo at the Zoo

2010-10-04T15:38:00.003-06:00

Ryan's sisters and parents were down in Utah for the weekend, so we took advantage of the great weather and headed up to the zoo. 6 adults + 5 kids + 2 babies = crazy fun! It was amazing how long it took to get from point a to point b with so many people, how hot it was in October, and how easy and fast it was to loose a kid in a crowd!

Here is my almost 6 month prego belly, and my sweet niece Bella.

The huge and beautiful tiger who put on a good show for the crowd.

Ranie, Bella, and Brandon on the Carousel.

The baby elephant Zuri and her mom.

Ellie, Aiden, Collette, and Dallin. This was the first time we met little Aiden, who is the best baby ever!

We stink at taking pictures, so I'm surprised we have as many as we do. We loved seeing you all and we're excited we'll be seeing you again soon!

Summer's Ending

2010-10-04T15:32:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago we decided last minute to go up Mueller Park Canyon and roast some hotdogs and Starbursts as an end of summer hurrah. It was beautiful, perfect weather, and the food was good (as good as hotdogs can be). One downfall was the chair behind Ryan that was covered in baby spiders and a spider web when we opened it. Yikes! Goodbye summer, we'll miss you!

2010-10-01T12:28:00.002-06:00

I just woke up from a night shift. I had a crazy dream that I was 9 months pregnant and in labor, but the baby just wouldn't come out. Kind of (really) frustrating. The hospital even sent me home because I was taking so long. I'm hoping it was not some kind of sign.

We are so excited to see all of Ryan's family tonight!
Here's to a great conference weekend,
hope you enjoy yours!

Carpet, What?!

2010-09-16T11:09:00.002-06:00

So last night we went to RC Willey to look at entertainment centers. No luck, so we kept wandering around. We walked by the flooring section and Ryan said we should look at carpet. An hour later we are leaving after having an estimate put together and two carpet samples we had narrowed down from about 10. Unexpected, but now I'm excited. We're hoping that within a month our basement will have carpet! Then we can move the couches downstairs instead of sitting in our office/dining room/garage. Yes, its in all three places. Then we can clear out the office and start working on the nursery! Pictures to come...

Kicking and Countdowns

2010-09-07T14:58:00.003-06:00

I think the best thing in the world right now is feeling my cute baby girl kick. Every time she does it I have to tell Ryan, just so he knows too. I know in a month or two it will be old news and probably somewhat annoying, but for now every time I'm sitting or laying down I'm waiting to feel that wonderful tapping. Ryan's felt her, but usually isn't patient enough to keep his hand on my belly long enough to feel her more often.

Tomorrow happens to be my half way mark. Woo hoo to making it to 20 weeks! It's gone by fast, but January still seems like FOREVER away. I'm getting ridiculously excited. I scored HUGE last week when I went "shopping" at my sister's house and took pretty much every single baby item they owned. Good news for her- more storage! Good news fore me- TONS of free stuff I needed. Bad news for me- no storage for it all. It seriously filled up our front room when I brought it all home. That was the motivation we needed to start working on the basement again, which meant our Labor Day weekend was spent painting. Then hopefully we can fit everything in its place instead of stuffed into random corners. Thanks Laura!

Surprise....

2010-08-31T17:09:00.003-06:00

I didn't realize how bad I wanted a girl until we heard the ultrasound tech say it. Yay!! She was stubborn, and we're already calling her our frog because of how she was laying and kicking inside. Love her to death! Let the shopping for all things pink begin!

Check one off the list

2010-08-30T11:41:00.003-06:00

We bought a crib. I'm a little nervous because we ordered it online and have never actually seen it. I also got the matching changing table, and wanted the dresser but Ryan put his foot down and said no. I have a feeling he'll be saying that a lot with the purchases we need to make. I'm not very rational when it comes to baby things. I want it and I want it all. And the way overpriced stuff. I have to say we did pretty good with the crib because when I started looking I liked the cribs that were at least twice as much as the one was that we ended up buying. I'm sure I'll learn eventually. We still have a long way to go before we get everything we need. 26 more hours until we know if we're having a boy or a girl!!

The Final Countdown

2010-08-23T15:35:00.002-06:00

Ok, so maybe that song has been stuck in my head. It's a lot funnier in my head too because I picture Gob (Job) Bluth dancing and doing magic tricks in my head. Anyone want to borrow Arrested Development??

Anyways, back to the counting. Things have been flying around my head these last few days. Last week we did the FINAL demolition of the basement project. The top of the stairs had a (very) narrow doorway that is now sitting in the Bountiful Dump. First coat of tape and mud is on as of the morning. First coat, but last corner of the project requiring the wet sticky stuff. Our 2 year project is finally coming to a close as we need to paint a few rooms, finish the stairwell, and pick out the carpet. Couch is already (I mean still) sitting and waiting in the garage. Toilet is resting right next to the couches, waiting on some painting before being installed. And we're getting an estimate for some rain gutters later today. That was one unexpected requirement for the basement to get finished. How do they relate? Flooding, or more like a slight leak, we experienced back in June after days of heavy rain fall. No rain gutters. No where but down for the water to go = installing rain gutters on a 50 year old house. Why it wasn't done before now, I'll never know. We're getting so close it's driving me nuts!!

Another totally unrelated counting I've been doing is down. Only 8 days left until we find out what this cute little baby is! I'm at a total loss as to what it is. I was certain it was a boy until last week, and now I have no idea either way. Only time will tell! I definitely felt the baby kick today. I love that feeling. Stay tuned to see what Baby Manning will be!

DONE!

2010-08-10T12:36:00.004-06:00

Ryan has been officially done with school since Thursday at 8pm. This weekend was great being able to hang out without thinking there is something else to do {besides the basement}. We even had a date night last night. On a Monday! We haven't done that in ages. It was spontaneous and fun. Returning something of Ryan's for a different size turned into dinner in the food court and a movie. The Other Guys. It was....not what I was expecting. Not as funny as I had hoped. Oh well. At least we spent time together on a weeknight! Today I was talking to Ryan and he asked what we were doing tonight. Love it! I can seriously get used to this!

In pregnancy news, I'm pretty sure I've felt the baby move a few times. I can't tell yet, but I convince myself it happened. After it happens I try to recreate the circumstances that made it happen. Like after a sneeze when I felt it, I clenched my stomach muscles for a few minutes trying to make it happen again. Didn't work, I only looked stupid.

In other news, welcome to the world little Aiden!! We have a new nephew and we are so excited to hopefully see him soon! Congratulations Collette and Russell!!

A New Low

2010-08-06T11:08:00.002-06:00

Yesterday may have been the lowest, hardest, and worst day of my pregnancy so far. I debated whether or not to even blog about it, but if I can't laugh about it now, I'll only cry {and I did enough crying yesterday}. So there I was, driving to work at 6:30am, feeling great. As I pulled into the parking lot at work I started feeling queasy. I hadn't felt nauseated before, and now all of a sudden I was GOING TO PUKE! That's how morning sickness has been for me. Nothing, and then all of a sudden, BAM, throwing up. So back to the story. I am driving through the parking lot, thinking, okay, just hold it in for 1 minute and I'll be fine. I can't park on the first floor (in hindsight, I should have), so I kept driving, and as I turned onto the second floor, the flood gates burst and there I was, driving, throwing up on myself and all over my car, all the while looking for a place to pullover/park. Finally I parked, emptied my stomach all the way outside the car. Then I sat there, covered from head to toe (literally) in my throw-up. Supposed to work in 10 minutes. Awesome. So I called the Charge nurse, explained my dilemma, "called in sick", and drove my sad, sorry self back home. Worst drive home of my life. And I cried the whole way. When I walked in, Ryan said "Did you show up when you weren't supposed to again?" {something I've done recently, okay maybe even twice}. He didn't have glasses on or contacts in so he couldn't see what I looked like. Then I went back out and cleaned the car. He came out to see what was going on because I still hadn't told him. He thought I had peed my pants. Awesome. Then I showered, threw the towels and scrubs in the wash, and went to bed, still feeling sick. I'm sure everyone has one of those days in pregnancy. I'm just hoping that was my one and only. Go ahead, laugh with me. I promise I'm not looking for pity. Just documenting my "fun" experiences during pregnancy.

148 and going strong

2010-08-02T17:23:00.003-06:00

We heard our baby's heartbeat today. It was amazing. I am still in the "really, that's inside of me?!" phase. Now just 4 weeks and until we have the Big One. You know, the ultrasound where we find out if we're having a boy or a girl. The more I think we're having a boy, the more I want one. We actually had a serious conversation about baby names yesterday. Usually after talking about one or two names Ryan starts goofing around and suggesting names that no child should ever have to suffer with. We both agree on a few boy names, but are struggling more with girls names. We'll see in a month which group we'll be narrowing down!

You've gotta be careful when you've got good love...

2010-08-01T22:19:00.004-06:00

Just a little something to get me even more excited for next week. My current favorite Jack song. Enjoy! {And don't get too jealous!}

14 weeks!

2010-07-28T20:18:00.002-06:00

I'm 14 weeks today. I know it's not a big milestone or anything, but whenever I reach a new week, I get so excited. 6 more weeks and I'm halfway done and we'll know what we're having! Pretty sure it's a boy, but we'll see. My doctor told me that 14 weeks is usually the magic week where I should start feeling better. Maybe my body thought it would be funny then to make me puke the last night of my 13th week. I didn't find it amusing. Neither did Ryan {who wouldn't kiss me goodnight, even though I brushed my teeth}. Anyways, on to other news...

We got back from Powell last night. It was awesome. Unfortunately, I only used the camcorder and didn't take very many pictures, so I need to try to get them on the computer and upload some on here. I resisted the very {VERY} strong temptation to waterski and took a back seat and watched Ryan and everyone else do it. I at least got to swim every day, lay out, read, play games, win a few of them, and eat pretty much all day long. We were sad to come home early but I have to admit it was nice falling asleep after a shower in my comfy bed without a full moon glaring on me all night. So, pictures to come!

Slow Motion

2010-07-18T16:42:00.003-06:00

Why is it that when the light at the end of the tunnel is so close, it seems impossible to get there? Ryan has 3 weeks left of school. 3 weeks! Well, 18 days to be exact. But it is d r a g g i n g o n . . . . . . ........... I know that he's feeling it worse than I am, but still. Good thing is our next couple of weeks are going to be so busy that before we know it, he'll be finished with his last final and we'll be living it up in the Uintas for my family "reunion".

We leave for heaven on earth this week. I was going to go alone, but being the bad wife that I am, convinced Ry to miss work and 1 class (week before finals!) to come with me. By the way, I'm talking about LAKE POWELL! Even though I can't water ski, I'm still way excited to go. I'm just hoping I'll be done with my early morning potty breaks by then. That would be annoying trudging through the sand from our tent to the houseboat every morning! Sorry, too much information.

When we get back, I'll be working like crazy, and by the time I'm done with my shifts, Ryan will be done with his last final and we leave the next morning to Washington Lake. I'm just praying it goes as fast (except the Lake Powell part) as it sounds.

It's true, we are....

2010-07-07T15:39:00.005-06:00

...having a baby!!!

Now that I've had my first OB appointment, I'm ready to tell the world.
Okay, more like the 5 people that read this, who probably already know anyway.

Baby Manning is due January 26, 2011.

I'm 11 weeks today.

Yes, we were planning on it, but were surprised at how fast it happened.

I've had morning sickness for a month now, but I've never thrown up more than twice in a day.

Luckily, my awesome OB gave me an Rx for Zofran without even having to ask! Better believe I filled that sucker up before coming home today.

We are so excited and nervous and happy and scared and.... all of the emotions that come with

having a first baby.

I want a girl, but think its a boy. Ryan isn't sure what he wants and says he'll be happy with whatever we get. Typical laid back Ryan, love that kid!

Today was one of the happiest days of my life. Besides being disappointed at not having a doppler done and not hearing the heart beat today, it was amazing!

I was nervous all morning, and couldn't get the thought of "TWINS" out of my head.

I even asked my doctor as soon as she put the ultrasound on if there were more than one.

Luckily there's just one.

Seeing our baby on the screen was absolutely amazing.

That thing is inside of me.

It's a baby. My baby. Our baby!

My doctor said it was waving hello. It was so cute. I kept trying to sit up to see it better, so I think I may have caused this picture to be a little blurry, but right before she took it,

I saw the perfect little head, and the perfect little hand moving.

I'm no sonographer, but I'm pretty sure that bright white spot in the middle is the heart.

I've been praying everyday for 4 chambers in that little heart.

That's what work does to me.

It was fun seeing Ryan in that setting. My favorite was after I asked the doctor some questions and she left to let me get undressed, Ryan asked "What's an episiotomy?"

It was fun answering that one.

We truly are excited beyond belief and feel so blessed to have the chance to be parents. Here's to hoping the next 6 months fly by

(and that the Zofran won't be necessary for too much longer!)