Rumsey Island Grill

Life is good!

2012-01-27T18:43:00.011-07:00

This week has been filled with happy, exciting days with my little kiddos. I don't really know what changed, but suddenly I feel a little more in control and I have found myself laughing and enjoying most of each day instead of feeling on the edge a lot of the time. It could be because we've been working on potty training (only 2.5 accidents so far- hurray!) so I've put other projects, to do lists, etc on hold during the day so I could focus just on my Lyla girl. Or it could be because I discovered the blog of my friend's sister-in-law who has 3 boys under the age of 3 so I'm sure life is insane, and yet post after post is filled with gratitude for her life and complete joy in the responsibilities of caring for sweet little ones. I've been reading lots of her posts this week and I think her optimism and amazing attitude has rubbed off on me. It's so true that our thoughts and attitude can have a huge impact on how we feel.

Anyway, Lyla has seemed to be happier and slightly easier to work with because of the extra attention I've given her and our days have been relatively smooth. Trevor, Lyla and I have spent hours on the couch, laughing and tickling and then snuggling when we're all worn out. We've jumped on the bed over and over (don't worry- I don't jump. I just bounce trevor up and sing songs while Lyla does the major jumping) and then gotten under the covers where we pretend to snore, all according to Lyla's instruction of course. We've twirled and waltzed to every princess song ever made. We've cooked and made messes and worked on pieces of art. We've read books and played the piano and cleaned the house. There have still been plenty of hard, stressful moments and i still have a difficult time keeping my patience have hours of whining, but the overall memory from the week is joy, not exhaustion like in the past. I'm feeling such gratitude for my life and for how lucky I am to spend every day with the two sweetest kids in the world!

Back to potty training, Lyla has been showing signs of being ready so I had Paul pick up some princess panties a week ago. She was so excited to bring them home and show them to me which I took as another sign that she was ready. When we opened them she quickly put them on her head and i realized she had no idea what they were for. We've had a lot to learn this week but she's done really well. We'll see how it continues. Lyla loves to play in the sink and of course always gets drenched. One time I took off her clothes and told her to go find some dry ones, and she came back wrapped in a hand towel. Silly girl!

Last Sunday we had a hard time keeping both bows, the sweater, and both boots on. I don't think all of them were ever on her at the same time. But I guess when you're this cute you can get away with anything...

Lyla can be so sweet to Trevor. Here she was reading to him from her favorite princess book and showing him all of her favorites! She could be entertained by this book for hours.

My handsome little guy. He loves to suck on his hand and Lyla always laughs and says "Trevor eating fingers!" I'm pretty sure he has my talent of being able to stick his whole fist in his mouth.

Trevor's huge smile brightens my day! Whenever he sees us he lights up with this big grin and starts to giggle. I love knowing that I mean so much to my little guy, that he completely depends on me for all of his needs. I love just holding him and looking into his eyes. He helps me relax and his calmness is contageous.

So happy and sweet!

My favorite part of the outfit is the shoes!! My darling friend Michelle has loaned me all of her baby boy clothes which has been a lifesaver, and all of hers are much cuter than I would have gotten! I seriously am in love with these shoes even though they never stay on for more than 2 seconds.

Paul got some similar shoes for Christmas.

Trevor loves lying in his little activity center, but I think Lyla loves it even more! Her favorite is to lie in there with him which can be scary...

Little miss independent...there is no way to control this wild child! :)

Jared & Allison's Wedding

2012-01-20T19:57:00.022-07:00

My brother Jared got married to darling Allison Sanford right after Christmas!! It was fun to go down to Arizona for the wedding and reception and to see the two lovebirds. They are so happy together and we are excited to have another sister! She is so sweet and already fits right in! :)

It was so nice and warm in Arizona which was a nice break. The sealing was in the Mesa temple

There was a reception in Tucson the night after the wedding. They served a full dinner and then had a dance. The girls, Lyla & Kaitlyn had a blast dancing and twirling in their pretty red dresses. Since we've been home, Lyla begs to wear her dress everyday and says she wants to go to Jared's wedding again.

I had to steal a picture with my little stud!

My mom put on an amazing open house at my parent's home in Orem. They served Kneaders cinnamon french toast which was a hit! I was extremely excited when there were some left overs and we were able to bring 4 big ziplocs home to keep in our freezer. Since i'm trying to stay away from chocolate as much as I can, these have made great treats when I need some sugar! They also had a photo booth to take everyone's picture as they came in. Then one copy of the pictures would go in the sign-in book so Jared & Allison will be able to see a picture of everyone who came. I thought it was such a great idea! We had a little too much fun with it...

Christmas fun!

2012-01-18T08:51:00.022-07:00

We had a great Christmas and enjoyed spending a whole week with Paul after so many busy months at work! These pictures aren't really in order:

My sweet little angel was the angel for our nativity reinactment. She took her role very seriously!

Somehow she knew just what to do. Such a sweetie

We went ice skating with my family for Christmas Eve- Lyla was excited but wasn't such a fan once she got out there.

I had fun watching from the side with Trevor because there was no way my broken toe was going to fit inside an ice skate.

Santa came and brought books for the kids- and this is as close as Lyla would get to him! She loves talking about him but is too scared to ever sit on his lap.

The kids loved making a gingerbread house and somehow we even kept them from eating too much candy.

Cassidy helped the cousins put on a muscial for us- so cute.

Lyla and Kaitlyn both love berries

Nana, Papa and Cassidy took Lyla, Jackson, and Kaitlyn to the mall one night to play. Then they bought ice cream and Lyla was in heaven. I'm pretty sure she took advantage of being with Nana & Papa by eating tons since I rarely ever give her any.

Grandma & Grandpa Rumsey gave Lyla a pink Mariners shirt which she is so proud of!

Grandma also made a darling Mariners hat for Trevor. It's been perfect since it's so cold!

This was Lyla's super excited face after she opened a present with all of the Tangled presents.

Christmas Eve dinner:

We were very sad not to be able to go to Washington with the Rumseys this year, but we had a nice Christmas. It was nice to go to church on Christmas day and to feel the spirit of the season so strongly.

Family Pictures

2011-12-22T20:44:00.004-07:00

We got some new family pictures recently:

I don't think we've gotten our picture taken together since our wedding

2011-12-22T13:19:00.002-07:00

I made a mistake recently- I was feeling overwhelmed by life and often seemed to lose my patience with Lyla, so I started praying for patience and the ability to handle everything in my life. Sure enough, the last week has been all about teaching me that my life really isn't that hard and that I can do hard things!

Paul has been working very long days as well as Saturdays and we often go for days where Lyla only sees him for a few minutes. It's been really hard to handle everything at home alone especially since it's so cold that we're stuck inside all of the time. Then at the peak of my overwhelmed feelings Paul had to leave for two days for work. The first night he was gone I caught my toe on the couch and possibly broke it. I've been hobbling around ever since and most shoes still don't fit. That was very frustrating to me because it means not exercising everyday and not being able to run in Arizona next week which I’ve been so excited to do. Anyway, it was so disappointing on top of painful with each step I tried to take. Then on Friday Lyla got a nasty cold and shared it with Trevor and me. Colds always make Lyla extremely touchy and difficult, and then on Tuesday morning she started throwing up. I've decided that there isn't anything worse than holding your child as they gag and choke and throw up over and over. It went on every few minutes for 36 hours and was completely awful! She was often crying and begging me for food that I couldn't give her. Anyway, when I woke up this morning and she seemed to be feeling a bit better, it made me so grateful for my relatively easy life and that I don't have to deal with these things every day.

Lately I've really been trying to have a positive attitude about things- like being grateful that my kids sleep through most of the night instead of frustrated when they both wake up twice. I don't know why I've felt so weighed down by life and the little challenges that come up so often. People understand for the first month or so after a new baby, but I'm sure everyone is wondering when I'm going to toughen up and just learn to handle life since it’s going on three months since Trevor was born. I absolutely love being a mom but every day is a struggle and I've spent a lot of time trying to understand why it has to be so hard on a daily basis on top of the pregnancy, delivery, and other sacrifices we make to have a family. I have moments of perspective when I feel so grateful for this stage of life and feel determined to stop wishing this period of life away. But then during the day I get so overwhelmed and frustrated. I found this website (thank you pinterest) and have been very touched by some of the quotes.
http://ldsnana-askmormon.hubpages.com/hub/Motherhood---Inspirational-Quotes-By-LDS-Leaders-MormonWomen

I especially love this one from President Monson:

"My dear sisters, do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle."

I know that this is exactly what I need to do in order to have the ability to handle my life. This morning I was also reading Elder Cook's conference talk and these parts really stood out to me:

"We are unaware of hosts of blessings that we receive from day to day. It is extremely important that we have a spirit of gratitude in our hearts... There are many kinds of challenges. Some give us necessary experiences. Adverse results in this mortal life are not evidence of lack of faith or of an imperfection in our Father in Heaven’s overall plan. The refiner’s fire is real, and qualities of character and righteousness that are forged in the furnace of affliction perfect and purify us and prepare us to meet God."

I'm definitely feeling inspired and motivated to have a good attitude about my life. Now if only I can remember all of this in the months and years ahead...

Lyla's Stats

2011-12-15T20:42:00.009-07:00

We had an exciting visit to the doctor last week for Lyla's two year old check. She screamed and flailed every time the doctor came near, and watching her freak out and struggle as she got a shot pretty much broke my heart. Here are her current stats:

Height: 33 inches - 27th percentile
Weight: 26.6 pounds - 65th percentile
Head: 49 cm - 90th percentile

She loves putting her arm around Trevor and has only scratched, bitten, pinched, hit him in the head with a toy camera, etc a few times. We're trying hard to get her to understand how to be nice before she does something to really hurt him.

Lyla suddenly stopped her paranoia of wearing bows and decided she wanted to wear every bow she owns at one time!! She has let me put her hair in pigtails a few times which I've been so excited about. She also insisted on putting lots of bows in her new best friend Belle's hair.

Lyla loves to read books and the other day she asked me to lay down on the couch and read to her. she put her arm around me and it was the perfect moment with my sweet little girl. It helped me remember that despite her many tantrums and whining and constant demands she is my little angel and I love her so much!

Lyla's birthday videos

2011-12-06T12:29:00.005-07:00

Here are some videos of our fun celebration with Lyla.

Trevor - 2 month update

2011-12-05T21:51:00.007-07:00

Our little man is now ten weeks old! I can't belive how fast the time has gone and how much I love holding my sweet little boy. He loves to smile and is such a good natured baby most of the time. Here are his current stats:

Height: 23" - 54th percentile
Weight: 12 lbs 2 oz - 41st percentile
Head: 40 cm - 85th percentile

My hair is a bit crazy...but it's one of the few pictures I've gotten with him so I had to stick it in.

Getting ready for church

Aunt Alyssa loves cuddling with him too

Cuddling with daddy

Trevor seems to be slowly getting into a sleeping/eating schedule and hopefully in the next few months we'll get it down even more. We moved him into his room when we got back from Thanksgiving and he's been sleeping well there. As long as i catch him right when he gets tired, he usually goes down really easily after Lyla and I sing all verses of I Am a Child of God twice while rocking him. I haven't had any chocolate or dairy for the last two weeks which has seemed to get rid of a lot of the gas that was bugging Trevor before. It's definitely been a big sacrifice to cut out most of my favorite foods- but it's nice to feel more rested and not so desperately exhausted like I was a few weeks ago. I love my sweet boy and would gladly sacrifice even more if it would help him feel more comfortable.

Lyla turned 2!

2011-12-02T21:14:00.027-07:00

Monday was my sweet little girl's second birthday! I can't believe I've already had two years with my little sweetheart. We had a very fun celebration and she even let me put her hair in a clip for most of the time which is a very rare occurance. She helped me make the cake and she was so excited all day to eat it.

Trevor slept through most of the party so he missed the family shot.

Lyla got a Belle doll from her good friend Allie and she has been carrying it around since then. Lyla tucks her in to bed next to her, feeds her, holds Belle while she swings, etc. We gave Lyla a Tangled tower that turns into chairs and a table. She was so excited with her princess gifts!

Here are several pictures from the last few months.

Lyla was so excited to wake up to see our Christmas tree and loved putting ornaments on. Every morning the first thing she does is help me turn the lights on.

I love her big smile! Lyla and I have so much fun together every day and I love her energy.

Grandma Rumsey made Lyla a Rapunzel blanket for her birthday which has become her favorite! She positions it just right each night as she settles in her crib to sleep. Paul's mom stayed with us for a week last month and we loved the time with her. She was so helpful and I loved chatting and hanging out with her everyday.

Nana gave Lyla a Snow White costume which she loves to dance in and squeeky pink shoes which she has a blast hopping around in and making lots of noise. We get lots of funny looks when she wears them in public...

Paul and his mom put this swing up in our basement and we use it for hours every day! Lyla swings as long as I let her and seems to completely relax in the swing.

My little superstar

Lyla loves to play with her friends and is starting to understand the concept of playing dressups.
Lyla loves to have Trevor sit next to her on the couch. Sometimes she'll even put her arm around him and hold him close.

Lyla with her buddy Alyssa

this is Lyla's focused face- she always looks like she's really mad when she's concentrating on something like eating or watching a movie.

Trevor's Blessing

2011-11-14T06:59:00.015-07:00

My sweet little baby was blessed yesterday, November 13th. Grandma Rumsey gave us the outfit that Paul was blessed in so we were excited to use that. She also made the bowtie and bought some little white shoes. Our handsome little boy loved being held by all of the family members who came.
My handsome men. I'm so grateful for a husband who holds and honors the priesthood and who is able to bless our children. I know that he'll do a great job teaching Trevor all he needs to know about holding the priesthood and i can't wait to see the young man that Trevor grows into.
We were blessed to have the support of so many family members for the weekend. We really appreciated all of the sacrifices they made to join us.

My parents- (Nana and Papa)

Paul's mom and brother Ben. Paul's dad was planning on coming but his flight was delayed because of weather and he wasn't able to get here in time. We really missed him and can't wait to introduce him to his first grandson in the future!

Group shot at the church:

My sister Jeanne came with her family along with Josh & Alisha, Jared, and Cassidy. We missed Alyssa who was in Boise for a ballet performance.

Paul's aunt Brenda & her family:

Paul's aunt Areta & family:

Lyla loved having so many people around to play with, especially her cousins. She was excited to have Nana paint her fingernails and toenails and she shows us several times a day.

Lyla loves hugs- she gave Kaitlyn a hug as they were leaving and didn't want to let go.

It was a great weekend and we were so grateful that all went well! The weather was freezing and windy but wasn't hard to travel in which was nice.

2011-11-01T20:50:00.014-06:00

We took some pictures of little Trevor when he was just 1 week- now he seems so big compared to this picture!

It was a wrestling match filled with lots of tears from both mommy and daughter, but we did succeed in getting a few sweet shots of Lyla and Trevor together. Luckily my mom was there helping- she definitely saved the day! My sweet little angel girl...the only thing that's keeping her there is the fruit snack in her hand.

He's so sweet and mellow

Lyla is usually very sweet with Trevor and she loves to kiss his head.

Lyla has quite the fascination with Tangled right now so Paul carved a Rapunzel pumpkin for her. She loved it and had to go check on it several times a day. She loves the songs from the movie and as she's going to sleep usually sings "I've got a dream" to herself. When i say "I love you" to her, she says "I love you more." The only thing I don't like about her new obsession is that she whines and cries and begs to watch the movie basically all day. I'm not a huge fan of her watching tv very often so I usually say no which results in tantrum after tantrum. I'm getting a bit worn out from it all so hopefully we can get her to move on to something else soon...

Lyla dressed up as Sleeping Beauty for Halloween and this was the very disheveled result. I had to bribe her with fruit snacks to get the costume on, and the bow and slippers only lasted for the picture. We took her trick or treating at Paul's work for their big Halloween party. She was pretty intimidated the whole time but warmed up a little when she saw all of the candy. My family came for a long weekend and we had fun making caramel apples. Lyla loved this activity!

I loved spending time with my darling sisters!

We went to Yellowstone for a night and stayed at the old Faithful Lodge. It was an awful night with both kids getting up many times, but it was fun to spend the day there. Paul had never been there, so it was fun to show him and Lyla all of the geysers. Lyla's new favorite words are now geysers and buffalo, and she frequently begs to watch videos of them.

2011-10-28T07:38:00.004-06:00

As I fed this sweet little boy in the early morning hours, I was feeling exhausted and worn down from a challenging week with Lyla and week 4 of getting no more than 2-3 hours of sleep at a time. I started reading my friend's blog and discovered her recent experience of carrying a little boy to 41 weeks and then realizing he had stopped moving. Something had gone wrong and she had to go through all of the pains of labor only to hold her lifeless little boy. I cried as I imagined how this must feel, and I haven't been able to stop crying since then. Holding my sweet little Trevor and feeling so much love for him makes me wonder how it's possible for someone to get through such a challenging situation. My heart breaks for women who have had miscarriages or lost children later in life. I feel extremely grateful that at least at this point, I have not been given this trial in life- I'm not sure that I would be able to recover and move on from that. I know so many strong women who have experienced this trial and they are such great examples to me of faith and perseverance. I'm so grateful for the Atonement of our Savior which can help us get through these devastating experiences.

Two of my all time favorite quotes are:

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God...and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we came here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father & Mother in Heaven." ---Orson Whitney

"Adversity can increase faith or instead can cause the troubling roots of bitterness to spring up in one's life, and we cannot be both faith-filled and stressfree. Therefore, how can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, "Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made thee what thou art! Then let me come and dwell with thee and fully share thy joy." ---Neal A. Maxwell

I know that we are given trials for a reason. I'm trying each day to become more like my Father & Mother in heaven, and I know that this requires experiencing many hard things in life in order to gain the experience that they have. I'm so grateful that we have been given the tools to get through these hard times- especially the knowledge that we can always turn to our Savior for the comfort and understanding that we need because he truly understands all that we feel. Today I am feeling so grateful for the miracle of life, and for my precious little family. I know that the little trials that seem so hard to me are really insignificant because I really have been blessed with all I could ever want. I have moments when I feel tired of being a mom and want a little break, or when my sweet little toddler frustrates me so much that I want to scream, but today I've been reminded that I need to love every second that I get to spend with them. I'm so lucky to be their mom!!

Two weeks old

2011-10-15T12:31:00.007-06:00

I can't believe my little angel boy is already two weeks old! He's definitely been more awake during the last week so the nights have been a little harder, but he still sleeps for much of the day and night so I can't complain! He had his two week check-up yesterday and his stats are:

Weight: 7 lbs 9 oz (25%)
Height: 20 1/4 inches (50%)

Trevor is growing well and is a healthy little baby! I just love to snuggle with him and watch his sweet face. Lyla has a hard time with the large amount of time that I have to spend feeding him, but other than that she is so sweet to him and loves to hug, kiss, burp, and dress him.

He's in his cute little fall outfit that we are borrowing from his cousin Jackson:

Apparently Trevor was hungry- he tried to eat Paul's thumb:

Grandma Rumsey sent some fun gifts like a soccer ball that Lyla quickly claimed, some cute shoes, an adidas sweat suit, and the most darling blanket ever! It has cute monkeys on it and must have been so much work!

The first week

2011-10-07T21:42:00.014-06:00

Here are some pictures of the first week of Trevor's life. He is such a little angel- he sleeps all day and all night- I actually have to wake him up at night to feed him which is such a nice change from Lyla as a baby! Lyla has had a hard adjustment and I'm pretty sure i wouldn't have survived this week without my mom being here helping. She has been amazing- cooking dinner, filling the freezer, playing with Lyla, and just talking me through the hard moments. I'm scared to have her leave tomorrow but luckily Paul will be able to take a few half days next week which will help a lot!

Daddy holding Trevor in the hospital:
Nana hugging sweet Trevor:

I had to document one of the few times Trevor has cried:

He's already a BYU fan!

I had to throw in some cute pictures of Lyla to remind me of the angel she can be...and give me hope that she will return to her normal sweet self soon!

My mom gave Lyla this darling Halloween shirt and headband:

Life is good and i'm so grateful for my little family!

The details...

2011-10-02T08:11:00.005-06:00

So, for anyone who is interested here is the fun birth story. I have to say that if all of my deliveries could be guaranteed to go as smoothly as this one did I would probably consider having 12 kids or so, but I know that it will probably not be so smooth and fast again!

Each week for the last four weeks I've been one centimeter further along so on my last appointment on Thursday I was already dilated to a 5 and 70% effaced. My doctor had been planning to strip my membranes on Thursday which I was pretty sure would bring on labor because my body felt so ready, but when I showed up she refused to do it because she was leaving town for the weekend and didn't want me going into labor when she was gone (we sure showed her! :) I was pretty disappointed because I had finally mentally prepared myself to probably have a baby in the next day or so and because I wanted to give my body a chance to go into labor naturally instead of being induced which was scheduled for Monday. Plus, an induction would mean that Paul would have to take a full day off of work and I wanted him to have the 2 vacation days that we can spare to help me at home after my mom leaves.

I became determined to do anything in my power to encourage Baby Trevor to join us- I walked a lot, went up and down stairs, did squats, washed the car, swept the garage, planted trees, cleaned a lot, and chased Lyla around. Who knows if any of that really helped but I woke up early Saturday morning and knew things were going to progress. I woke up at 12:30 feeling something going on but was able to keep sleeping until 1:30 when the contractions started. I kept trying to rest until 2:45 when I took a shower. Paul woke up and we started getting things together. The contractions were 3-6 minutes apart and lasting for about 40 seconds. They weren’t too strong yet so I kept cleaning and straightening- delaying out departure for the hospital cuz I was getting nervous! We finally called our sweet neighbor who got there around 3:30 and we headed right out. We arrived at the hospital around 3:45 and I was dilated to a 6 and 100% effaced. I was wanting to try to avoid an epidural at least as long as I could since I had already progressed so far. The contractions were getting stronger and I decided a hot bath sounded nice and it really helped so much with the pain! I got out after 10 minutes because the doctor stopped by after seeing another patient. He wanted to break my water and I was already a 7 by then which gave me hope! After he broke my water, I had to stay hooked to the monitors for about 15 minutes and then went back to the tub which was appreciated since the contractions were really strong and hard to get through. Paul was such a great support and kept giving me pep talks and helping me find helpful thoughts to focus on. After less than 5 minutes, I suddenly felt the awful need to push and started freaking out. Paul and the nurse quickly got me back to the bed and started getting everything ready. The pushing feeling was not my favorite- it was so intense and painful. The doctor was quickly suiting up along with Paul who got to catch the baby. After about 10 very challenging minutes of pushing and screaming, Trevor was born at 5:10 and was completely healthy. I was exhausted but so relieved that it had gone fast. He weighed 7 lbs 1 ounce and was 20 inches long.

I was especially grateful that I didn't have an epidural after the delivery because I was able to move around and shower and didn't feel groggy. I'm not sure that I would be able to do it again if I knew the labor would take longer, but I'm glad it worked out this time. It was a nice day of relaxing and it’s been so fun to see Lyla interacting with Trevor. She already loves him and is so sweet to him! Paul is staying at home with her so it’s a little lonely here at times, but it's been nice to rest as much as possible since the constant hit-by-a-train feeling is already starting. I just have to keep reminding myself that even with Lyla who was a bit challenging in the first months, the time passed quickly and soon enough she learned to sleep better through the night and I started feeling human again. I'm so grateful that everything went well and that now we can get to know our sweet little baby!

The Stork stopped by our place with a package!!

2011-10-01T20:32:00.007-06:00

Ready for this big change...

2011-09-27T19:35:00.004-06:00

39 weeks --- dilated to a 4 as of last Thursday --- bags are packed --- playing the waiting gameThis little boy better make his appearance soon or our freezer is going to overflow. I've been spending my time making meals to freeze so I don't have to cook for the next few months- and both of our freezers are packed. Paul just shakes his head whenever he looks inside.

For the last few weeks my doctor has said she wouldn't be surprised if I went into labor any time, so I've been in a constant state of nervous anticipation. Although I'm worried about what lies ahead, I'm feeling more ready for it all. We'll see how it all goes!

The project that has kept me busy over the last 6 months:

2011-09-09T14:05:00.018-06:00

I decided that before life gets too busy to work on projects, I wanted to make another quietbook. I spent months looking at different templates online in order to determine what pages I wanted to work on. Here is the finished product at this point, although I used eyelets and rings to hold the book together so I can add more pages when I want. I made two covers because the pages are so thick that they fit better in two books. These pictures don't have the best lighting, but I was too lazy to retake them:

I got the idea for this matching sports page from my friend Kelsey:

Dress Mr. & Mrs. Potato head:

The extra clothes and accessaries can go in the basket or be clipped on the clothes pins:

Tie the ballet shoe or the tennis shoe:

Matching colors on a color pallet. I thought the paint brushes would be fun to use to "paint" on the colors. Also, the spinning color wheel will hopefully be fun:

I love the road page. I found erasers in the shape of a bus, truck, and helicopter and Lyla loves playing with them!!

Counting page with petals that come off and can be put in the green pocket:

Build a hamburger page with velcro mustard & ketchup, and fries that come out.

Classic barn page. The doors open and inside are these finger puppets:

The seasons page: snap on leaves for fall, flowers for summer, leave bare for winter.

Mailbox page with envelopes for missionaries & grandparents. Also a pocket to hold coloring paper and markers, crayons, etc.

Shapes page- balloons held by the monkey, which is an iron-on applique from Joann's:

Button on ice cream scoops, or they can go in the ice cream truck:

Tic tac toe game, the pieces can go in the pocket on the next page- good zipper practice:

I used the really thick felt for most of the pages which I think will hold up much better than the normal felt. I also discovered wonder under and it became my new best friend. It's so easy to use and so useful in many different projects! Most of my ideas I got from these two websites:

http://servingpinklemonade.blogspot.com/2011/01/quiet-book.html

http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2010/09/quiet-book-makes-its-debut.html

It's been a fun project but I'm excited to be done. Now I just want to make a church quietbook someday...we'll see if that ever happens! :)

Payne family camping trip

2011-08-29T17:19:00.008-06:00

We had a fun camping trip with my Mom's side of the family. We went to the Heber campground for a night and were grateful for good weather most of the time. The only part I got pictures of was going around the little lake on a paddle boat. Amazingly Lyla actually let us put a life vest on her. She usually fits and screams! Such a sweet picture of Lyla with Paul:

Love how well my life vest fits over my belly! :)

Group shot:

St George Skiing Trip

2011-08-24T16:36:00.011-06:00

Lyla and I went down to St George for a quick family trip last week and had a blast! We went out on the boat a few times while the others did wake boarding and skiing. Lyla loved playing with her cousins and just riding in the boat. Whenever the engine started she would stand in between my legs like this: she even fell asleep in that position one time.

Her other favorite place to be was with her head on my belly. Not sure what she's going to do when it's not a big pillow for her anymore! (Don't judge me by this gross picture of me!) Kaitlyn also enjoyed snuggling with her mommy while we rode.

Lyla eventually warmed up enough to get in the water which felt great since it was so hot!

We also went for a very slow ride on the tube with Alyssa.

Cassidy took lyla swimming in the pool at my parent's house- although i guess we forgot to put on her swim diaper and swim suit. They are planning on building a pool at some point which will be nice, but until then it's fun to have this one to cool off in. I was really feeling the heat this visit because of the pregnancy. One night the air conditioner wasn't working upstairs and it was miserable!! Definitely makes me grateful for modern technology.

Lyla loves running around in a towel.

After the St George trip, we had lunch together to celebrate Jeanne & my mom's birthday. We always love some girl time!

34 weeks

2011-08-24T16:16:00.002-06:00

I've been so bad at taking pictures during this pregnancy, probably because the time is flying by! I thought I would add a few to document how big I'm getting. This isn't the best picture but this was at 31 weeks:
And this is now at 34 weeks:

I can't believe how soon we'll be meeting our little boy! I'm so excited but also nervous about the next few months and how well I'll be able to handle a newborn the second time around. I'm pretty sure I've forgotten everything I learned with Lyla so I feel like we're doing it all for the first time. I'm worried about keeping Lyla entertained during the first few weeks and months. I don't handle lack of sleep very well and now i won't be able to nap when the baby sleeps, other than during Lyla's short nap time. I'm very grateful that my mom is going to come stay for a week and welcome any other visitors who want to come play with my energetic toddler!! :) Also I'd love any tips on getting through those weeks of sleepless nights and still being able to function enough to keep a toddler happy. I'm just praying that it's still warm enough to play outside until November, but i know that isn't extremely likely. It will be an exciting adventure and I know it will all work out well!

Fun videos of Lyla

2011-08-13T21:18:00.003-06:00

Alyssa helped me to capture some of the fun things Lyla loves doing. She loves to do the actions for Eensy Weensy spider:

Popcorn popping:

Here are several random videos of her doing cute things:

She loves to dance so we've captured many moments of her crazy moves:

Wheels on the bus:

Alyssa's visit

2011-08-13T20:52:00.007-06:00

Alyssa spent almost a week with us and we loved every minute!! Lyla had so much fun playing with her and she cried when Alyssa got on the shuttle to go home. We went for walks, played outside, cooked, watched movies, danced, and talked. I love being with Alyssa and am so grateful that we are so close. I can't believe she is starting college in a few weeks- when did she grow up??

We went to the zoo one day so Lyla could show off her favorite animals. Lyla and I actually got a picture together when she is actually smiling! It's been difficult to take many pictures lately because any time we get our camera out, Lyla starts doing everything she can to get it from us and there's no chance of her smiling or doing anything else cute.

Here's a shot of my growing belly...

These are Lyla's 18 month pictures. She's changing by the day and learning so much. She loves talking and tries to repeat everything we say, although it doesn't always come out right. She can be a great little helper by putting clothes in the dirty clothes, getting her diapers out, throwing trash in the garbage, helping me cook, combing my hair, picking up her toys, etc. The tantrums have continued and her new favorite thing to do when she gets frustrated is to dive face first to the ground. We've had some challenging shopping trips when she is screaming and kicking in the middle of the checkout stand and I'm trying to hold her and calm her down which is getting harder as I get bigger. She still insists on being carried more than she should so hopefully we can change this habit in the next two months. Some days lately have been extremely hard for me because her behavior wears me out, but overall I love spending so much time with such a sweet little munchkin!

Lyla's Amazing new car!

2011-08-12T21:23:00.009-06:00

Grandma Rumsey sent a big surprise to Lyla this week- a new little tikes cozy coupe!! She absolutely loves this car and wakes up in the morning asking for it. She couldn't wait for Paul to put it together and she tried driving it without the wheels or the top. I love summer and being able to spend most of the day outside playing with my sweet girl. She can be such an angel when she wants to be and we have a blast together.

Time in Utah and other updates

2011-07-13T20:41:00.017-06:00

I can't believe my sweet little Alyssa is done with high school! It was fun to be there when she graduated and to spend some time with her. I love hanging out with my amazing sister!

Cassidy came to visit for a few days and we had a great time! Lyla especially loved playing with her at the park.

One Sunday morning when it was time to get ready for church, we asked Lyla to go in her room and get her dress. Instead she picked out what she wanted to wear- some pjs and a pair of pants. After laughing Paul put them on her like this:

We've been spending a lot of time outside working on our yard, and Lyla loves to pitch in. She always finds gloves to wear, needs a shovel in each hand, and then uses her plastic golf clubs to dig in the ground. Such a sweet little helper!

My friend Brittany took these pictures of Lyla swinging. It was fun to have the Allreds stay with us for a few days and to get to know their cute little boy.

My favorite monkey pajamas on my angel girl! When we were in Utah a few weeks ago, we had some friends over to my parent's house to swim. It was fun to catch up with everyone!

My mischievous little girl snuck up behind me...

and tried to push me in the pool! Such a funny little girl.

Lyla is already 19 months old and is learning new words every day. She loves to do the actions to lots of nursery rhymes like ring around the rosies, wheels on the bus, popcorn popping, pat-a-cake, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, etc. A few weeks ago she started folding her arms during prayers all by herself and loves seeing pictures of Jesus. She is definitely a mommy's girl and is very clingy- especially in public. We have entered the tantrum stage and her favorite activity when she gets upset is to bang her head against the wall as hard as she can. This week she actually ate something besides fruit, toast, and pbj sandwiches. She has been loving a pasta dish I made and I'm crossing my fingers that she continues to try new things!

Trip to Marysville!

2011-07-13T20:25:00.006-06:00

We had a very fun visit with Paul's family in Marysville over July 4th! We were able to go to the temple with Jared for his first time which we loved. The Seattle temple is so beautiful and it was fun to be there. Lyla loved getting to know her grandparents and uncles a little better.

Uncle Justin won a special place in her heart by taking her on wagon rides and blowing bubbles for her to pop.

We already miss being there and can't wait for our next visit!

Amazing trip to paradise!

2011-06-07T21:46:00.028-06:00

We met Paul's family in Kauai for an incredible week of relaxation. It was such a perfect trip and we loved spending time with family and seeing that beautiful area of the world. We left Lyla with my parents which was really hard to be away from her for that long, but it was nice to travel without all of the baby supplies and without stressing over naps, her food, the time change, etc.

I had so much fun spending time with Paul's mom, Sue! We had lots of girl time while the guys did their guy things, and I especially loved running together in the mornings. She was nice enough to go at my slow pace! :) She worked so hard to make sure the trip was fun for everyone.

We did a snuba tour which was fun! It was cool to go a little deeper than snorkling and to see all of the pretty fish.

The grounds at our resort were so pretty! I loved just walking around and looking at the beautiful plants.

There were lots of unique trees and the guys enjoyed climbing some of them.

The quest to pick a coconut occupied much of the guys' time, and they finally succeeded!

There was a cave by tunnels beach that was fun to walk in

It was so hard to leave such a beautiful place! The only part that made us ok with leaving was seeing our little sweetheart again!

It's a boy!

2011-05-19T19:52:00.002-06:00

We found out today that we will be welcoming a little boy into our family in October!! We're extremely excited and welcome any tips- I've gotten so used to pink that I'm not sure I'll know what to do with a boy! Everything looks really good and the due date is still set at October 6th.

Here is a picture of me at 20 weeks: This pregnancy is flying by- I can't believe it's half way over! I'm feeling pretty good other than tired and sore. I've been able to keep running up until now, but I think I'll only be able to keep it up for a few more weeks before it's just too much. We have several things to do before the baby arrives so hopefully we can finish it all!

My growing girl

2011-05-18T07:21:00.010-06:00

My sweet little girl is growing so fast! She can be such a mischievous stinker or such a snugly sweetheart. She loves to pull the laundry basket around the house and fill it with her treasures like nailpolish, books, scrapbook paper, dvds, or anything else she can find. She empties all of the clothes out of her dresser at least 3 times a day and carries them out to me with a proud smile as if to say look how much I'm helping you mom! Sneaking in a shower can be tricky because as soon as Lyla notices I'm gone and hears the water, she comes running in and throws whatever she can find in the shower with me. So far we've had slippers, clothes, my cell phone, watch, ipod headphones, deodorant, nail polish, and Lyla's doll all join me in the shower.

We've loved the warm days we've had lately and every chance she gets Lyla loves to ride her little car around our driveway.

A few weeks ago, Lyla suddenly noticed babies. She loves to see babies at the store or at church and she'll put her finger to her lips and say "Shhhh!". She loves her dolls and is such a good mommy to them. She even insisted on holding them while she rode her bike yesterday.

It was difficult to steer but she found a way. I just hope she keeps loving babies so she doesn't get too jealous of the new baby in a few months...

She's my little princess and I love her so much!

Best Birthday Surprise ever!

2011-05-17T19:39:00.013-06:00

The morning of my birthday started out well with a call from my family and a sweet b-day song from Paul and Lyla. I was in the middle of blow-drying my hair when Paul called and said the weed guy was knocking at the door and I needed to go answer it. I opened it and saw this:

My cute mom and sister Jeanne had driven all the way up to spend the day together and even to have a sleepover!!

I was so extremely surprised and excited to see them! My hair is a little crazy because it was up in a clip while I straightened it.

Lyla immediately grabbed Nana and kept her busy showing off her toys and looking at books. Nana brought a book that she and grandpa had recorded their voices on. Lyla was scared at first but now she loves it! It's "Guess How Much I Love You" and Lyla loves playing with the bunnies that go along with it.

My sweet Mom took us all to dinner at a Thai restaurant which was so yummy!

Paul surprised me with the complete series of Alias which I was so excited for! Now I can watch my friend Sydney whenever I want! :) He also gave me some pretty jewelry which Lyla quickly adopted as her own and she's been wearing it around the house ever since.

My amazing sister went to a huge effort to leave her two older children and to keep her baby happy for 4 hours in the car. I also really appreciated Kevin keeping things under control at home so that she could come. It was such a unique time to just relax and talk without being completely overwhelmed with children running around! :)

My mom bought me my favorite ice cream cake from Dairy Queen! (By the way- let's just pretend I turned 25 like the candles show...)

The next morning we went for a nice long walk together and then ate german pancakes before they had to take off.

Baby Madison loved hanging out on the table.

It was such a fun 24 hours and meant so much to me that they would go to such effort for me!

17 months & Grandma's funeral

2011-05-02T13:23:00.012-06:00

These are pictures we took when Lyla was 15 months. She is such a fun, happy girl and loves to go outside and ride her little bike even when it's only 30 degrees! We're still struggling to get her to eat more than toast and crackers, but we find ways to sneak in vegetables and protein.

My sweet Grandma passed away on April 16th when she was 93 years old. Although it was very hard to see her go, we are all excited for the reunions she's been having with loved ones and for her freedom from the earthly pains she suffered. Here is my family at the funeral although lyla was missing:

All of her grandchildren were there other than my brother Tyson who is on a mission.

The day before the funeral we had some fun Easter celebrations as a family. I'll have to post more pictures later when I get them from my mom. My sweet little girl:

She wasn't extremely interested in picking up the eggs but enjoyed being there with her cousins.

My new motto:

2011-04-19T21:35:00.003-06:00

In Sunday school a few weeks ago the teacher said this little phrase that I think I'm going to adopt as my personal motto:

This life isn't the reward, it's the test

Sometimes I get so frustrated with daily life, the hard things I go through, and how tired I get. I guess I sometimes feel that life should be all happy and easy, but I need to remember that this is the time I am learning and being tested to see how I will handle different situations. I need to be better at facing stressful situations with faith and optimism instead of becoming a grumpy, negative person. We'll see how I can do at this as I get big and uncomfortable through the hot summer and then start the sleepless nights again with a sweet little newborn baby! :)

Updates

2011-04-08T13:31:00.022-06:00

Here are some random pictures from the last several months- not really in any order.

We had a fun family play date at the mall when Lyla and I visited Utah in March. The kids loved going down the slide together!

Especially after a nap, Lyla just loves to sit while we rub her back and neck. She'll sit there not moving a muscle for up to 20 minutes some times. It's the only time she isn't running all over the house!

Happy girl!

Our family Valentine picture Since I looked gothic in the first picture, i made Paul take one that showed my pink skirt so you can tell I was festive that day.

We had a nice relaxing Valentine's weekend and the best part was the amazing breakfast Paul made! We bought an ebleskiver pan for our joint present and he made some with blueberry jam, some with strawberry, some with apple, and some plain. He also found really good blueberries and strawberries (my favorite but I rarely splurge on them time summer) to go with the flavered ebleskivers. So yummy! I was so excited to eat that I didn't take a picture til we were done.

Lyla has played with our neighbor, Chandler, several times although sometimes they fight more than they play. Here she is settled on a bean bag with all of the toys she is claiming (all of which belong to him of course)

She sees him start to come toward her:

Then she pushes him away. She's a feisty little thing, and she always surprises me with how strong she is!

In the end though they did have fun together.

Anytime I leave the refridgerator open for a minute, Lyla runs over and starts reaching for everything.

Apparently she found something yummy to taste... And you gotta love her tights. We're still wearing them all the time since she refuses to wear socks.

"Look Mom! I got it all by myself. Can I eat it?"

Lyla went with Paul to a BYU basketball game. They had fun together although she looks a little crazy in this picture...

Playing in a bouncy house- or actually sitting there and watching all of the kids climb past her.

Playing with her uncle Jared Hmm...is she trying to tell us something...? I guess we'll find out in a few weeks if she's right!

If it's a boy, should we name him Jimmer???

2011-03-27T20:23:00.006-06:00

It's a legitimate question, but before I dive into some sports talk I'd better get down to the real news before Tiffany decides to delete this post :) So we're having our second baby! Right now the due date is October 6th and it will still be another 7 weeks before our Ultrasound will try to determine the gender. We're both so excited, and if Lyla understood when we told her, then she would have been excited too!

In much less exciting news, I've decided that I can become a fan of the NBA again. Since the Seattle Sonics Owner betrayed the city of Seattle (really the whole state of Washington) by taking the team to Oklahoma City, I banned the NBA from ever being watched in our home. I've decided that I will follow Jimmer Fredette and become a fan of whatever team drafts him (of course this excludes the team who shall not be named...). And for all of you doubters out there who think he won't be a contributer in the NBA.....Fredette about it.

How could you not love this happy, jam-covered face?

2011-03-24T12:23:00.002-06:00

Dinosaur Play Mat

2011-03-24T09:27:00.004-06:00

I found this darling easy craft online and decided to make it even though it's not the most girly thing ever.

It's a dinosaur play mat that kids can take in the car or to church with little dinosaur figures to play on. The instructions and some better pictures are here:

http://servingpinklemonade.blogspot.com/2010/06/dinosaur-play-mat.html

It was so incredibly easy- the hardest part was going out to buy wonder under because I didn't have any but the actual process of making it took about an hour. I'm thinking of making a few different scenes like a jungle scene or ocean scene but I'm not sure if I'm creative enough to do it on my own... if anyone is interested in sharing ideas for that let me know!! :)

First Steps!!

2011-03-13T19:08:00.003-06:00

You never quite realize how much your child has grown until you see them next to other kids that are younger. We just got back from Utah last weekend where we got to spend time with family, especially the new addition to the Grossarth's! Madison is so cute, and we forgot how tiny babies are when they first arrive!

One of our favorite things about Lyla is her inquisitive personality. She loves exploring and figuring out how things work. Sometimes it means that she's getting into things she shouldn't, but how can you stay mad at such a cute face??? For Christmas we got Rock Band, and for Valentine's day we brought it out to play/sing some love songs. Afterwards we just played around for a bit and Lyla decided to join in on the fun with Mommy!

A few weeks ago Lyla surprised us by taking her first few steps! Paul had taken her out of church because she was getting a little fussy, and when he set her down in an empty classroom she began walking over to one of the chairs! When we got home we quickly set up one of her favorite toys ("Sweet Talkin' Pup" from Hallmark) on the couch and set her loose. She was a little wobbly, but we were so excited! She's gotten a lot better since then, but still prefers to crawl. Right now that's the fastest mode of transportation besides Mommy and Daddy's arms :-)

My husband the hair dresser

2011-02-07T11:06:00.005-07:00

I've been complaining for months about my gross dark hair which hasn't been cut or colored since before we moved (meaning almost a year- that's so awful)! Finally Paul had heard enough so he asked me how brave I felt. Then he suggested that we go to Walmart to get hair dye and then he would do the highlights. I was a little worried at first but he did a great job and it's so nice to feel like me again! I don't have a good before picture, but just imagine me with dark hair that always looks greasy and ugly- this is so much better!!

Paul also trimmed the back of Lyla's hair while I held her so she no longer has a mullet! Melaleuca better watch out- if they don't treat Paul well he may just leave to open his own salon. :)

Our early morning:

2011-02-07T10:10:00.008-07:00

This is what we were doing this morning at 5: Ok, I guess it's hard to tell but we were wrapped up in blankets watching the super bowl. We didn't want to watch it on Sunday so Paul recorded it and we got up early to finish it before Paul had to go to work.

Don't we look lovely so early in the morning? :) I can't believe I used to get up that early or even earlier for work. My body has gone downhill in the last year- I definitely couldn't handle that anymore!

This picture was from a few months ago but I just found it. We went to Red Robin to celebrate Paul's b-day. Lyla started out in a high chair but before we could even order, she threw a fit until she ended up on our laps for the rest of the meal.

I just love my sweet little squirt! She is growing so fast and constantly changing. She can stand well on her own but hasn't yet had the desire to learn to walk. She loves to either cruise around the house with her speed crawl or she begs me to carry her everywhere until my back aches. She's a picky eater so I hide vegetables in her cereal and find creative ways to get her to get a little protein. It's also really hard to get her to drink milk now that she's switched to cow's milk. Her favorite activity is to sit on my lap in the rocker while I read to her and then if I get tired she turns through the pages of the books over and over. Her favorite time of day is when daddy comes home- she starts clapping her hands and gets a huge grin and screams with joy. So fun!

We took family pictures when Lyla turned 1:
This one's kinda crazy, but I especially love Lyla's eyes. So pretty!

My baby knows how to shimmy!!

2011-01-23T15:24:00.005-07:00

Every Valentine's day, my mom gives us little stuffed animals from Hallmark that either sing or say funny things. Lyla loves to play with all four that we have gotten over the years. She sits and hugs them for hours and then has me hug them all. Her favorite is El Toro of Love- a funny red bull- and every time he starts talking, she does this little dance:

She is so hilarious- she's constantly making us laugh with her huge smiles and babbling and little tricks that she learns. She has so much energy, and I love hanging out with her!

Christmas & Wedding

2011-01-21T11:14:00.020-07:00

I've been lazy lately and just haven't felt like blogging, but I guess I better post some pictures before it gets too far from Christmas. We had a great 2 1/2 week visit to Utah over Christmas and enjoyed joining in with my family's hectic lifestyle! :) We got there just in time to help with the last minute preparation before my brother Josh's wedding on December 21st. The wedding was in the Manti temple which was absolutely beautiful, especially with the 18 inches of snow that fell the night before the big day! Unfortunately the snow prevented some people from making it to the sealing, but luckily we all stayed in a little bed & breakfast the night before so we all made it. They are such a great couple- I know that they will be so happy together. I'm very excited to get to know Alisha more and to have her in our family!

Josh was so sweet and sang a song to Alisha at the wedding luncheon.

We had a pedicure so that we would have pretty glitter toes for the wedding! Of course no one saw them because it's winter, but we knew that they looked great! :)

After the wedding, we all relaxed a bit and got ready for Christmas. We had a little visit from Santa but Lyla was not extremely excited about that!

I especially loved the red lacy skirts that my mom got to go with Lyla and Kaitlyn's p.j.s.

A sleepy Lyla on Christmas morning

Clapping yay for her new toys after she finally woke up enough to care.

Grandma Rumsey gave her a band set- she loves to shake the rattle and the bell.

After Christmas, we were excited to escape the snow and freezing weather and go to California! It was nice and warm in Palm Desert and we loved the resort we stayed in. It was so nice to wear shorts again and to swim for hours everyday! Grandma stole Lyla for some bonding time:
I want to go back there- this winter has already been way too long! We had a great time being together and relaxing all week.

Playtime videos

2010-12-13T11:58:00.002-07:00

Lyla loves to dance to the music that her toys play.

Paul started juggling the other night and Lyla loved it! She giggled and laughed and was entertained for so long!

Birthday Videos

2010-12-12T21:08:00.003-07:00

We were so excited for Lyla to get her first real taste of chocolate on her birthday, so we made her a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. We were thinking she would just dive right in and love it, but it didn't go quite as planned...

Since she didn't seem to like the feel of frosting on her fingers, we tried another piece of cake without any frosting...

when that didn't work, we resorted to what we knew could never fail with her:

Here are videos of Lyla opening her presents and then playing with her puzzles. They are kinda long so don't feel pressure to watch them all!

2010-12-11T16:19:00.003-07:00

My amazing friend Kjerstin sent Lyla the cutest gift ever! She made an apron, chef's hat, and two oven mitts that all match an apron Kjerstin made for me recently! They are so darling- pink and brown which of course I love, and Lyla already loves playing with them. I'm slowly making her some felt food (all with lots of help from Kjerstin who is the expert) and this gift goes perfectly!
We had to try our aprons on of course! And Lyla actually left the hat on for at least 10 seconds which is a record. Thank you Kjerst- I absolutely love the set and can't wait for you to come back up and play with us!!

One year birthday!!

2010-12-11T09:39:00.007-07:00

I can't believe my baby is already one year old! We celebrated her birthday last sunday- just the three of us! Here she is sitting with all of her presents, and trying to take her hat off...

I thought this was a darling picture of her giggling- and showing her teeth. She has two on the bottom and two on top, but they are both on the right side so it looks off-centered. She's getting close to having the other two top ones come in though!

We got one good picture of her in the cute dress and hat that my mom gave her, and the next second the hat came off.

We forgot to take pictures of what was inside the presents, but Paul's going to try posting videos of her unwrapping them. She loves her puzzles from the Rumsey grandparents and the tractor we gave her! We also gave her a little laptop since she is constantly trying to play with ours.

We made a chocolate brownie for her cake...we'll tell you more about that fun experience when we post the videos.

All ready to dive in! (gotta love the big belly) And this is as close as we got to her wearing her birthday crown.

It was fun to celebrate with her and to think of the last year. She has changed so much and it's so much fun to play with her and to see her fun personality. Her favorite thing right now is to press all of the buttons on my phone and then to hold it up to her ear and talk to dad. She hangs up on grandma at least 5 times daily because anytime I'm on the phone, she takes over and quickly finds the end button. She pulls herself up on everything but hasn't really stood by herself or walked yet. I'm thinking we really need to get over the phobia of shoes before she walks or it will be a problem any time we go outside... and she actually seems to be getting worse in this area instead of better. She gets hysterical if we try to put them on her, and she even cries & screams when we have shoes on and tries to pull them off. Even the feet of her pj's have started bugging her so we have to hide them with a blanket when she's awake. She is so sweet though and I love her little hugs, and the way she pats my shoulder or back when I hold her. I'm excited for the next year and all it holds for her!

My sister is the most amazing dancer in the world!!!

2010-12-07T19:34:00.006-07:00

My amazing, gorgeous, graceful, sweet sister was chosen to be the sterling scholar for dance from her high school!! She has worked so hard for years and spends at least three hours, 5-6 days a week dancing. She endures blisters, broken toenails, bruises, lack of sleep, and many other painful things to be the best dancer posible. She came to Idaho Falls and performed the Nutcracker with a group up here and I loved watching her performance!! I also can't wait to see her dance next weekend down in Utah.

This is her dressed for Snow in the nutcracker:

Looking tan in Legend of Timpanogos:

Waltz in the nutcracker:

Arabian in the nutcracker (one of my favorites:)

And the maid. This year she's in lots of parts, one of them being a parent at the party. I'm excited because that means she's on stage for a long time, in a pretty dress and ringlets.

Ok, I'm done bragging. I'm so excited for her that I just couldn't help myself!

Birthday fun and an active girl!

2010-12-01T12:17:00.016-07:00

Lyla is growing so quickly and developing quite the personality! She definitely rules the family even though she can't talk yet. She is very stubborn when she wants something and will point and grunt until I figure it out, and if I'm too slow she'll wiggle out of my arms and take off crawling to find what she wants.

Apparently she's going to be quite the musician- she loves playing the piano and will stand on her tiptoes in order to reach the keys. She also loves dancing- she loves her toys that play music and she rocks back and forth and waves her arms while they play. Her favorite song is Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble. At least 15 times a day she points to our cd player until I turn it on, and then she keeps pointing until I get to the song. Then we dance around the house while it plays and she loves it!! Before it even ends, she points for me to turn it on again- definitely helps me get my exercise in!

She also loves playing a little keyboard that we bought on craigslist.

I love her focused face. Sometimes she'll even stick her tongue out of the side of her mouth as she concentrates.

I've wanted to start playing the piano more often, but Lyla never lets me. This is how it always goes:

I sit down to play when she's distracted with something else but she immediately crawls over to me and begs to get up.

I let her beg for a minute so she turns to daddy with her little puppy-dog tears which he can't resist...

So she ends up on my lap and I'm frustrated for just a second...

until i remember how cute she is and then I let her take over the keys. As long as she takes piano lessons without complaining, I'll forgive her for never giving me a chance to play anymore. :)

We celebrated Paul's birthday a few weeks ago. He woke up sick on the morning of the big day, but he found enough energy to act happy and open a few presents.

I made a chocolate swirl cheesecake which was too much work and didn't taste very good, but Paul said he liked it. Lyla helped him blow out the candles and tried to grab a handfull of cake when we weren't looking...

I can't believe we'll be celebrating Lyla's 1st birthday this weekend- she's growing up way too fast! So, I need some advice on a few random things. Let me know if you have any good ideas about:

1) Activities to do with Lyla all winter when we can't go outside. She gets so bored and I run out of things to do with her at this age...

2) How to get her to drink milk or eat anything other than crackers and peaches.

3) How do you deal with the mess of a baby learning to eat? I'm by no means a neat freak but I feel like there is constantly food all over the floor now and it's driving me crazy! And I haven't even let Lyla feed herself with a spoon or fork yet so I'm sure it will only get worse.

4)Is there a good way to print off my blog posts to use in a scrapbook? I'm not good at scrapbooking and I need to find an easy way to keep on top of it all

Halloween

2010-11-04T10:20:00.011-06:00

We had a great time celebrating Lyla's first halloween! She and I both dressed in orange and black for several days before the official day- I inherited my mom's love of dressing for each holiday! Paul's work had a fun party and his department picked the theme of charlie and the chocolate factory. They asked Paul to be Willy Wonka and he had a great time! He spent a lot of time decorating and it looked great- they even had a glass elevator!

Lyla was a cute little bumble bee and amazingly she stayed in most of her costume during the party!

At least for today, running is better than chocolate!

2010-10-28T22:12:00.002-06:00

After five days of being stuck inside because of the cold, this afternoon was sunny and 55 degrees so I was able to run again! Even though it had been less than a week since my last outdoor run, it felt so good to get out in the sun and to move. I couldn't get enough so I kept running and running, and when I was too tired we started walking, and when we were bored we called a neighbor to join us. Running is such an important part of my life- I feel so strong and happy and free when i'm out there and such a feeling of accomplishment after I'm done. I'm grateful for a healthy body and for the warm, pretty summer months when I can go outside every day. Winter always helps me to appreciate the perfect days even more. Hopefully the thought of another running season will get me thru the next several months...

Shoes & bows

2010-10-27T21:41:00.007-06:00

Lyla has decided that she hates wearing shoes or socks which is going to make the freezing winter so much fun... She also can't handle having a bow or headband on her head. Paul held her hands in this picture to keep her from ripping it off. I'm not bitter at all that I spend hours making cute bows for her to wear and they only stay on for 2 seconds :)

Does anyone have any tricks for keeping either socks and shoes on her feet, or bows/hats on her head? I'm thinking we'll need to figure both of these out before we can go outside during the next few months.

BYU Game!

2010-10-27T20:45:00.003-06:00

We went to the BYU vs San Diego game a few weeks ago and had a great time! My parents were nice enough to watch Lyla and it was so much fun to be in Provo and to watch an exciting game. The weather was perfect and I felt homesick as I watched the sea of blue fans and remembered the many fun years spent there, and as I looked at the gorgeous mountains outside the stadium. Idaho has been nice so far but there are still so many things about Utah that I miss. I'm sure that with time it will feel more like home here in Idaho...

Josh and his darling fiance- Alisha sat in front of us. Such a cute couple!

Paul's brother Jared came with us which made it very fun!

Guess who's crawling???!!!

2010-09-17T20:20:00.003-06:00

Dear Teething...

2010-09-03T09:09:00.003-06:00

Oh unwelcomed guest, why must you stay so long? Isn't 2 1/2 months enough time to do your job and leave us in peace? In the beginning it was exciting to think of the fun we would have introducing new foods, but right now my half-asleep brain is trying to remember what benefits teeth even have. 1:00 am can be such a dreadful time, as can 2 am and 3 am and 4 am... I spend so many nights angry at you for hurting my little girl- my bloodshot eyes watch her struggle and my exhausted arms can barely hold her as she screams and wiggles in pain. Is there any end in sight to this current predicament we find ourselves in?

- A desperate mom

Updates

2010-09-01T22:04:00.016-06:00

Cute picture of Lyla with Paul. She's been pretty stranger shy lately and usually has to be held by me all the time, but sometimes she just wants to be close to daddy. Last night she woke up because her teething is bugging her and she just wanted Paul to hold her. Every time he tried to hand her to me to feed her she would scream and scream and reach for him! I was a little worried but it was pretty cute too. We're so excited that the Grossarths have moved to Orem!! Lyla and Kaitlyn are starting to enjoy playing together.

I know I already wrote about Tyson leaving on his mission, but I just found a few more pics of the day he left. He's in Guatemala now and doing so well!

Lyla and I went to Lake Powell with my family while Paul was at a conference in Salt Lake. Lyla did so well the whole time and seemed to really like riding in the boat. Every time the engine got loud from going fast, she would fall right to sleep and take a nice little nap. She and I got on the intertube behind the boat for a few minutes- can't you tell how much she liked her lifevest? :) Apparently this one isn't the best design...

The weather was so nice and the water was perfect!

Summer isn't summer until we swim in my parents pool!! I really miss living near them and swimming 5-6 days a week. Lyla loves playing in the warm water.

Grandpa thought it would be fun to take Lyla down the slide.

I guess she isn't a huge fan yet... maybe by next summer she'll like it better.

Paul's mom and brother Justin came to visit us for a few days. We had a great time together- this is at the driving range.

They all hit for awhile and then Paul had me try a few. As I walked up to get ready, Lyla just started laughing and laughing. I was a little offended that even my little girl knows how bad i am at golfing! :) After that though she would crack up every time anyone hit a ball- I guess she liked the noise. We tried to record it but only got her to laugh once:

Summer Fun

2010-08-08T16:20:00.025-06:00

The summer has been a good one for us- the only problem is how fast it's going!! We visited Utah a few weeks ago for my brother Tyson's last weekend before his mission. He's going to Guatemala and although I was very sad to say goodbye to him, he's doing so well in the MTC and he'll be a great missionary. He has such a positive attitude and is so excited to share the gospel with others because he knows how true it is and has felt the happiness it brings in his life.

While we were down there we hiked to the Timp caves with my family. It's a hike i've always wanted to do and we had fun together despite the heat and the steep trail. Lyla was such a good hiker and Paul was a good sport to carry her the whole way!! The caves were so interesting and a nice place to cool down!!

For our last family night together Tyson wanted to go bowling. We all used bumpers except for Jared and Ty- and they still got the highest scores! :) Lyla was a trooper even though she stayed up past 10 that night! (Don't tell daddy...)
The day before Ty left we drove to Salt Lake and did a session. Alyssa and Cass were so sweet to watch Lyla. It was so perfect to be inside the beautiful temple with my mom and brothers and to feel so much love for them. I'm so grateful for my family and for the amazing plan which will allow us to be together forever!
We also watched the Joseph Smith movie. What a perfect thing to do right before leaving on a mission- after seeing the sacrifices of Joseph and the saints Tyson said that a two year mission seems like the least he can do to build the church. I definitely need to find more ways to do my part as well!
Here are some random pics of Lyla- Alyssa had fun taking pictures of her with big glasses on. She kept trying to rip them off so it was a game to try to snap a picture before they came off.

Little missy has become so active and full of energy. She's not quite crawling yet but is getting close. She's been kinda fussy lately about only wanting to be held, and usually it has to be by me. She then crawls all over me and doesn't stop moving- little monkey! most days after playing with her for awhile I end up like this because she wears me out!

Paul and I decided to make an apple pie for our new neighbors. It was my first time so he did most of the work but it was fun to cook together! We've gotten several new neighbors this summer and they are in the process of building a house next door. It will be fun once someone moves in, but right now it's annoying because the big machines frequently wake Lyla up from naps or keep her up at night. A few times they've even worked until 10 at night and I've come close to marching over there with a screaming baby to ask them to stop!

Sweet angel...Allison gave me the best onesie that finally fits Lyla- it says "when I grow up I want to be a tax accountant like mommy." I actually hope she doesn't decide to do that, but I love having her wear it.

One day Paul was playing with Lyla and she kept just staring up at him- so precious!
We took Alyssa to EFY in Logan and we all had to try the Aggie ice cream while we were there- so yummy!

My mom and Cassidy then came to stay which us for a few days which was so fun! We walked around the falls and took some pictures. Then we painted our toe nails- even Lyla's!
We went to the Idaho Falls museum and enjoyed dressing up there.

Playing in a teepee

It was so much fun to have them stay with us and I miss them already! Luckily we have a few more summer plans for the next few months! :)

2010-07-18T18:03:00.003-06:00

We've been trying to post videos of Lyla forever, but our blog hasn't been cooperating with us. Now we finally got some up! the funniest thing about Lyla is that she knows when you're recording her or taking a picture of her. As soon as she figures it out, she'll stop what she's doing and put on a stone cold face while staring at the camera. It's hilarious, but it's been so hard to get good videos of her. You'll see some where we had to hide the video camera from her, and you'll also see some where she catches on to our little secret :-) The best part is listening to her cute little laugh! I love it! Enjoy!

This is one of me playing a little game of Peek-a-boo! with Lyla

This one has Tiffany hiding the camera while playing with animal puppets.

One of Lyla's favorite games to play is Superwoman!

We've found that Lyla loves eating fruit (What?! Just like her Mom? Anybody surprised...?), but she is not a fan of peas....

Quiet Book

2010-07-12T14:18:00.010-06:00

I've been trying to find projects to fill my time during Lyla's afternoon nap so that I don't get too lonely and depressed. :) My latest project was a fun little quietbook for Lyla to use in church when she's a little older. I found a free pattern online and used all of my fabric scraps. Here are the pages:

I know the sewing isn't great but it does the job, right? Anyone have a good idea for more projects I can keep busy with? I'm always looking for easy but productive crafts to work on.

Here are a few sweet pictures of Lyla.

Green is my new favorite color...

2010-07-07T13:43:00.011-06:00

I've realized how much I hate dirt. Especially Idaho dirt. It gets tracked all over the house, turns to clay-mud after every rain and then covers your shoes, it's constantly in our eyes since it's always windy here, and it's ugly! Since moving in, we've been busy working on our yard- starting with the patio in the back. Paul worked hard while I was out of town doing all of this:

And here is the finished product!! Kinda hard to see in the bright sun but we've loved it so far- someday we may even have a BBQ grill out there!

Our next project was to tackle the front yard. It started like this:

Paul's brother Justin visited and helped us to level the ground and get the hundreds of rocks out

After lots of work the front looked like this: And finally like this:

Oh grass is just so wonderful! Green is such a bright, warm, pretty color and I love seeing it all around our house. We haven't done the back yet but for now we're taking a break from the hard work and enjoying what we've gotten done so far. Our great neighbors have helped a lot along the way which we greatly appreciated!

Updates

2010-07-06T14:26:00.017-06:00

I'm so bad at posting lately so I'm just going to add lots of random pictures we've taken lately. Lyla is growing so fast- she's already 7 months!! She's such a cute chubby little girl and we have so much fun together!! She can sit up now and loves to sit and play with her fun toys! She's so happy most of the time and she loves to be tickled- she just giggles and laughs. We're still working on sleeping through the night but she's gotten very good at falling asleep on her own when she's tired.

Lyla and I were having a pink day together- which happens quite frequently! :)
When Lyla wakes up from a nap, she starts babbling in her crib and when we open the door she pokes up head up as far as she can reach.

Loves grabbing her feet!

We went camping with my family for a weekend- Cassidy loved pushing Lyla in the hammock.

We had a quiet but relaxing 4th of July. We cleaned our cars, mowed the lawn, ran a few errands and then walked around some vendors that were set up by the river.

On the actual fourth we went to church in our patriotic colors and then cooked hamburgers on our George Foreman- the closest we could come to a BBQ!

I just melt when I see Lyla's sweet smile!

Playing with daddy

Fun in Wisconsin

2010-06-08T23:01:00.014-06:00

My mom and I visited Jeanne and her cute family in Wisconsin. The three of us had a blast together- chasing the three kiddos around and eating yummy food and going on mom's long walks in the 90 degree, 85% humidity weather! By the end of each day we were all so exhausted that we got a little crazy...

Our last night we had a sleepover in the front room- so fun!

Kaitlyn and Lyla had fun- they played together by touching each other's faces so we had to be careful to protect eyes from being poked... They looked so cute in their matchinig yellow outfits.

Jackson loved getting all of us in his train. He would yell "all aboard", stamp our tickets, and then drive the train. Such a cute energetic boy!

Lyla's started pulling her feet to her mouth to suck on her shoes or feet.

She recently started sitting by herself! She loves to sit and play with her toys- especially balls. She's such a fun happy baby and we have so much fun together. Such a darling, mischievous little face!!

"No matter our talents...we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before."

2010-05-14T16:44:00.004-06:00

Since I'm not the most talented person when it comes to making pretty things, I have to celebrate any time something actually works out. I've been wanting to put up valances on the windows by the kitchen sink so I decided to be brave and to make them myself. I made Paul ok the fabric cuz I was too scared to choose it alone. I found a picture online that I liked and after making a few changes of my own- this is what I came up with:

Not the best pictures but you get the idea. I'm sure it's a surprise to all that I picked brown and pink fabric :) I know these really aren't very difficult to make, but now it feels more like home when I'm in the kitchen and I love the reminder that I can "create something of beauty" as President Uchtdorf taught us.

It's time for a long break from decisions and stress...

2010-05-07T16:53:00.007-06:00

We officially live in Idaho now! We're almost all settled in (pictures will come eventually) and we've enjoyed two weeks in our new home. When I stop to think about all that has gone on in our lives lately it all seems like such a blur. In a year and four months Paul and I got married, had Lyla, took maternity leave, Paul did 2 internships then finished 3 semesters of school and graduated, we decided to move to Idaho Falls, I stopped working, we bought a house, and Paul started working full time. I don't want to make another decision for months- no wonder I'm always stressed and on edge!! Anyway, life is going well and we're excited for summer- if the weather ever decides to warm up! Here's the outside of our house on moving day. Don't mind my red eyes in these pictures- it was extremely hard to say goodbye to my family and to watch them drive away.

Little cutie

2010-04-14T22:43:00.001-06:00

My good friend Brittany took some darling pictures of Lyla. Here are our favorites:

She's become such a fun, happy girl and I love being with her so much!!

March Madness

2010-03-26T15:23:00.004-06:00

Like most, my bracket suffered miserably after the unexpected loss of Kansas...but luckily, 3 of my four brackets are currently still in the running for first place! I've been able to watch quite a few of the games so far, and there have been some really great games that went right down to the line. I realized the other day how much I really enjoy sports (a shocker- I know). But it made me really hope that at least one of my kids can enjoy sports the way I do. Amazingly enough, it seems my prayers have already been answered. Lyla was having a rough day, so I was trying to find some way to distract her. In a last ditch attempt I set her on a pillow facing the tv. Get a load of this picture!

When I went to take a picture of her from the front she gave me this "don't interrupt me" look. "I'm watching the game Dad! Stop distracting me!" Too cute!

Usually when we put her down for "tummy time" she barely makes it 3 minutes before she drops her head to the ground and starts crying. This time she went over ten minutes just watching the game! There may be hope for her yet :-)

Spit-up queen!

2010-03-25T09:25:00.004-06:00

Ok, I need some suggestions. Lyla is officially the queen of spitting up and I need ideas on how to deal with the mess. I guess it's because she has reflux that after each feeding she spits up so much that I wonder how she's getting enough to be growing as fast as she is. It's not unusual to completely drench two burp cloths in 2 minutes. Yesterday I was going to a cooking class with my mom so I made the mistake of wearing nice clothes. I successfully finished feeding and burping Lyla and thought I was out of the danger zone because I was about to get her in her carseat and there hadn't been an incident yet. Suddenly it all came up...drenching her cute new outfit that I had been protecting, completely soaking my pants down to my knee, and covering the nursing pad cover that I had washed and put back on 20 minutes earlier. Most days I feel that I'm a walking burp cloth, and I'm sure people wonder about the smell that surrounds me.

Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions for us? I've thought about wearing around plastic rain shields all of the time...

Lyla does make up for all of the spit-up in being cute. We were trying on her dress for an upcoming family picture and we couldn't resist some pictures of her darling yellow bow and silver slippers.

We're Homeowners!!!

2010-03-16T08:06:00.004-06:00

This past weekend, Tiffany and I drove up to Idaho Falls to close on our brand new home! We took up Tiff's parent's van and trailer so that we could make the move some what easier, and it was so fun to see the house all finished. It was a fun and exciting process as we were able to choose the carpet, tile floors, cabinets, countertops, and fixtures. So, now it really feels like OUR place :-) Here are a bunch of pictures so you can get an idea of what it looks like.

Here's a closer look at the kitchen

This is the overall kitchen

This is what you would see if you walk through the entryway and look to your right

This is the Master Bath

This is the Master Bedroom

This is what the bathrooms look like

This is a view of the living room from the kitchen

And finally, the outside view

Catch up

2010-03-08T20:59:00.013-07:00

I'm so bad at posting- so this is going to be a random post to catch up on what has been going on. Paul dressed up as Faux Paw at Mountain View HS for a family event. He did a great job and everyone loved watching him!

We took more pictures of Lyla in her blessing dress a few weeks after the blessing when she was feeling a bit happier.

Valentine's day was a fun day but we're terrible at taking pictures so Paul and I didn't get one together. I did get one with Lyla and her cute festive outfit. We went to eat at Tucanos since Paul had never been there- so yummy!! We also went to Love Concert that Alyssa sang in. Lyla tried to sing along during most of the songs so we spent most of the time standing with her in the back or outside to keep everyone from hearing her cries. I love huge bows!

As usual, I couldn't decide between the pictures because they are all so darling so you get to see

all of them.

Lyla has started to like bathtime a little more than she used to. We couldn't resist some cute pictures of her.

We saved the top layer of our wedding cake but then forgot to eat it at our one year anniversary...so we celebrated a few months later. The cake was amazingly good for being so old.

We thought it would be fun to get a cheesy picture of us cutting the cake- just like at our reception.
Life is always busy but always fun!

2010-02-24T09:21:00.003-07:00

Okay- so for some reason the video keeps going down and people have complained that they couldn't watch it....Let's try this again!

Senior-itis

2010-02-18T21:07:00.005-07:00

In less that 15 hours I will be taking my 4th exam in the past 9 days...I'm sure you're asking yourselves why I'm blogging right now instead of studying. Well, this is my little break so I don't go insane. My senior year of high school I never really felt like my study habits took a hit, but in reality I didn't really have much for study habits. Well, I thought that my final semester wouldn't be affected either, but I was terribly wrong. The semester isn't even half over and I'm dying! Thank goodness we have Lyla to brighten up our lives and make me smile :-) Whenever I start losing focus I just pull up my favorite picture of her smiling in her blue and brown dress (Tiff posted this photo a few days ago on our blog). Even better still, now I'll have a video to watch! Don't laugh too much at my voice as I'm trying to get her to talk. She's so sweet! Trust me, it'll brighten your day too!!

2010-02-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

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Lyla's Blessing

2010-02-05T11:01:00.013-07:00

Lyla was blessed on January 24th and it was such a special day!! We were a bit frantic trying to get to our 9:00 am meeting, but once we got there the day went well. She was pretty fussy all day but luckily didn't cry during her blessing (she did sneeze into the microphone which was cute.) We tried hard to get pictures of her but they didn't turn out too well since she was screaming in most of them. This is the best one we have just of her...I think we'll have to put her back in her dress soon to try one more time. She wore my blessing dress which meant a lot to me- she looked absolutely darling!!

Paul did a great job with the blessing.

We had so many friends and family members who supported us on the special day. My family helped a lot in putting on a meal for all of the family who came.

Paul's parents came all the way from Washington which was so sweet!! It was a lot of fun to spend the weekend with them.

The whole group

Some of our great friends came as well.

We did a four generation picture with my amazing mom and grandma. Do you love Lyla's screaming face? She was so worked up!!

Here are a few random pictures- I thought I should add a picture of Lyla sleeping peacefully after all of the crying shots above. She's such a little angel!

I know some people think it's ridiculous, but I love putting big bows on her!! She's just so adorable!

Her laughing/smiling face is my favorite!! Her happy time is usually in the morning, especially right after she eats. We love smiling at each other and cooing back and forth- having a fun conversation even though I can't understand what she says to me. :)

Valentine's Decor

2010-01-20T23:36:00.004-07:00

Ok, this is my attempt to keep up with the amazing, talented, crafty people who are always making cute things and writing posts about them. Just kidding- I did feel pretty proud though to find time to do something other than feedings and diaper changes! I've been wanting to find some cute valentine's decorations without spending a ton of $$. I found these little glitter cut outs and with ideas from Paul and my mom, this is the end result. I love being festive for each holiday!

Here are more darling pictures of Lyla (unbiased opinion as always). I love her little smile!! And of course her pink and brown dress is one of my favorites...

Little sweetheart

She's found her hands and loves licking them when she's not sucking on her binky. Paul and I sit and laugh as she does it- so cute! Babies are great!! I guess I should hurry and get to bed though so I still feel that way when she's hungry in 2-3 hours... :)

My baby's growing up!!

2010-01-04T21:09:00.007-07:00

Lyla is already 5 weeks old!! The time has gone so fast and she's already changing and growing way too fast!!! She's started smiling a lot and "talking" more often. Here are a few pictures of her in the last few weeks.

We had a great visit with Paul's family in Marysville, WA and it was hard to come back to reality. I enjoyed relaxing with his family and getting to know them better during the time we were there. They were so helpful with Lyla and even watched her a few times while Paul and I ran errands. We took her to the movie theater and amazingly she didn't cry until the last 30 seconds of the movie- hurray!!

Paul is the oldest of four boys- so there is a bit of competition between them all in everything that is done. I had one interesting thought as we were bowling one day. Coordination has never been one of my strengths which makes me slightly out of place with the talented Rumseys. I was struggling and in the first game got the low score of 46 (which pathetically isn't the lowest score I've ever gotten in bowling). They were upset if they knocked nine pins over and had 1 remaining, but I was excited each time I even knocked one pin over! I felt slightly dumb and not at all talented throughout the two games we played, but I tried to keep telling myself that I do have other strengths- just not anything that requires coordination! I've always struggled not to compare myself to others because it leaves me feeling discouraged and down, but it's hard to get out of that habit. My new goal is to learn to measure success against my own improvement instead of feeling like a failure if I can't do as well in something as someone else.

Christmas Pictures

2009-12-22T23:02:00.007-07:00

Here are a few pictures of what we've been doing lately. It's been fun to hang out so much with Paul after his finals ended and with my family. We've done lots of fun Christmas things together. Cassidy and Lyla had their picture taken with Santa.

Kinda random, but I thought Lyla was so adorable wrapped up in her little towel after bathtime!

Lyla's a bit hungry- can you tell? :) She just makes me laugh when she is looking to eat because her mouth is open so wide and she moves her head all over like crazy trying to find some milk!!

Family picture- Lyla wasn't very happy at this point but she was wearing an adorable Christmas dress!

It's been 2 1/2 weeks since our precious girl joined our family and we're continuing to adjust to all of the changes that have taken place. The newest change is that my doctor told me yesterday that I need to change my diet because she thinks that something I'm eating is making Lyla really fussy. For two weeks I'm not allowed to eat dairy, citrus, chocolate, whole grains, eggs, corn, or tomatoes. Those of you who know me well know that this list pretty much covers my entire diet! And no chocolate over the holidays? How is that even possible?? I need some creative ideas on how to handle this- any good suggestions of yummy things I can still eat? At this point I'm planning on living on water and white bread- I guess it could be the perfect way to get back to my pre-pregnancy body...

Cousins!

2009-12-16T10:38:00.012-07:00

The day Lyla and I came home from the hospital, we spent some time with the Grossarth cousins before they had to leave!! Cute little Kaitlyn kept reaching out to Lyla and trying to console her. She didn't take her eyes off her the whole time we were together!

I can't believe how much babies change in 5 months!! Kaitlyn is so big compared to Lyla!!

Fun pic of the girls!! Lyla was tired of all of the attention and the bright flashes by this point!I can already tell that Kaitlyn will be a great older cousin! They are going to be best friends!

Grandma with the cute girls.

Grandma was brave enough to hold all three grandchildren. It was pretty hilarious trying to keep them all happy at the same time- Jackson was good as long as we constantly handed him marshmallows.

Jeanne and the kids left the next day and it was such a hard goodbye for me!! We had so much fun over Thanksgiving and then hanging out the week before Lyla was born. I almost feel like Jackson and Kaitlyn are my own kids and I could barely handle kissing them goodbye. I've felt so close to Jeanne as she's helped me through this transition to being a mom and I cried for days after she was gone. Definitely not a good idea to mix crazy post-pregnancy emotions with the normal depression of saying goodbye!! Can't wait until the next visit from my favorite family!

Rumsey Island Grill

Life is good!

Jared & Allison's Wedding

Christmas fun!

Family Pictures

Lyla's Stats

Other Lyla videos

Lyla's birthday videos

Trevor - 2 month update

Lyla turned 2!

Trevor's Blessing

Two weeks old

The first week

The details...

The Stork stopped by our place with a package!!

Ready for this big change...

The project that has kept me busy over the last 6 months:

Payne family camping trip

St George Skiing Trip

34 weeks

Fun videos of Lyla

Alyssa's visit

Lyla's Amazing new car!

Time in Utah and other updates

Trip to Marysville!

Amazing trip to paradise!

It's a boy!

My growing girl

Best Birthday Surprise ever!

17 months & Grandma's funeral

My new motto:

Updates

If it's a boy, should we name him Jimmer???

How could you not love this happy, jam-covered face?

Dinosaur Play Mat

First Steps!!

My husband the hair dresser

Our early morning:

My baby knows how to shimmy!!

Christmas & Wedding

Playtime videos

Birthday Videos

One year birthday!!

My sister is the most amazing dancer in the world!!!

Birthday fun and an active girl!

Halloween

At least for today, running is better than chocolate!

Shoes & bows

BYU Game!

Guess who's crawling???!!!

Dear Teething...

Updates

Summer Fun

Quiet Book

Green is my new favorite color...

Updates

Fun in Wisconsin

"No matter our talents...we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before."

It's time for a long break from decisions and stress...

Little cutie

March Madness

Spit-up queen!

We're Homeowners!!!

Catch up

Senior-itis

Lyla's Blessing

Valentine's Decor

My baby's growing up!!

Christmas Pictures

Cousins!