Life

Usually I only post if I have pictures to add but right now I just thought I would document life. I am about 34 weeks and so done with being pregnant. Still no name picked out, no nursery set up and practically nothing has been bought. But I am still ready for him to come, like now.

Emma is as sassy as ever and I can't help but laugh every time she says "my gosh". She loves to kiss my belly and say "baby brudder". Buster has actually warmed up to her and they play together all day long while I lay around like a large pregnant lady should. right?

And one last little thing to note. Having a puppy to potty train is way easier than a toddler. Emma is practically potty trained but today she peed MAJOR in the front room and all the way down the hall to the bathroom. SERIOUSLY? Oh and she refuses to wear underwear that aren't spongebob. Silly little girl.

I will eventually get around to a Chrismas post and the lovely adventure we had on the greyhound bus to Kansas. Haha. That's a joke.

Off to make some much needed chocolate chip cookies. You should too. We all deserve it.

Holidays!!!

Things are festive around here. We have all our shopping done and are anticipating our trip to see my family next week! I just wish we could have an inch or two of snow before we leave for Kansas on Tuesday morning. It just makes it feel more like Christmas. And a white Christmas in Kansas is like a 1 in 10 chance.


We wern't going to have a Christmas tree since we don't stay home during break but I REALLY wanted one. Thanks to an awesome mother-in- law we have this wonderful tree : )

I LOVE pintrest and had a fun time making these stockings and advent calendar!

Walmart was the place to get Santa pictures this year. Emma was excited to see Santa but nervous to sit on his lap!

Early Chirstmas

Emma got her Christmas gift early this year...not that she really gets the Christmas gift thing anyways. Here is the newest member of our family, Buster. He is a 3 month old pug/chiuaua that we have had our eye on for a couple weeks. He is the best little puppy ever and we are so glad to have him in our home(which is saying a lot for me...I am NOT an animal person). He loves to be held and snuggle. He is actually quite scared of Emma because she is still learning to be soft, but she is OBSESSED with him. The potty training thing has been a breeze (cross you fingers) and we have had no accidents in the house yet. Wish we could say the same for Emma. ha.

Chopped

welp, i did it and so far i have no regrets.

First Snow!!

Last night was our first snow that stuck! Trevor had to work all day so Em and I went out for some fun in the snow! We built Emma's first snowman ever and she loved it.

I am glad it waited to snow until now. Perfect timing right after Halloween.

Halloween

Here is Miss Snow White. We had a simple Halloween. First we went to the mall to trick or treat at all the stores. What a genius idea for the little kiddos. Less walking and no cold! Then we spent the rest of the evening passing out candy to trick or treaters. It was fun to live in a place for the first time where we actually get kids coming over!

Pumpkin patch

Went to Swore Farm here in Pocatello today and had a great time picking out a couple pumpkins! Emma was sportin' her Boise State cheerleading outfit for game day. What a cutie.

p.s. we are LOVING the fall weather :)

Preschool

While I am student teaching Emma gets to go to preschool! It is basically a daycare/ preschool and right across the main street from our house! She has her own little 2 year old classroom with a cute little teacher. She gets to take her lunch and a backpack with her blanket for nap time. She just looked so old and cute this morning I couldn't help but take the traditional "first day of school" pictures!

She has been obsessed with this lunch box from the moment she laid eyes on it at the store a few weeks ago!

Had to add a little cuteness to her plain backpack.

When I took her into her classroom she left me and never looked back. I couldn't even get her attention to say goodbye! I know she had the best day ever because she threw a complete all out fit about leaving and Trevor had to carry her out. Quite the opposite of how I thought she would react. That's my girl- stubborn, independent, and outgoing. Hopefully she will actually miss me when it comes to real school.

New phases of life.

We are all moved in and loving our new place but lacking motivation to get completely unpacked. We have moved WAY too many times in 3 years and I think we are allowed to be burnt out for a while.

This is the scene around our house lately. I think little buns in undies are the cutest thing EVER. Emma LOVES (that's an understatement) her new spongebob undies and has been wearing them for a couple weeks now. She is slowly getting the hang of it and my lack of consistency is probably the biggest problem. How do you potty train and run errands? I still havn't figured that one out so for now the solution is pull ups. I am proud of the progress and hope that her new daycare/ preschool will really help get her trained when she starts in a few weeks.

As for new news...I'm pregnant and.....

We are SOOOOO excited and can't wait for the new addition in February!

summer fun

summer is making its way to idaho! any warm, free afternoon we have is spent at the splash park. emma is starting to venture off on her own and make new friends, unless trev is with us...then she won't let him leave her side. she still isn't sure about actually going down the slides on her own and for now is just sticking to all the fountains.
lately when I tell emma to "say cheese" she does it while sticking her elbow/ arm in this silly way(pictured below). it cracks me up. i can't get her to ever look at me when taking picture and it drives me crazy!
emma is very independent and set in her ways. we are going to start the potty training in a month and i am hoping that i can keep myself together through it! i am going to try the 3 day potty training program...not that i actually believe that is possible but I am hoping that it cuts down on how long it takes her. some friends have recommended it and i already purchased and read the ebook! a huge perk about it is that there is an online help desk when you buy the book. you can submit specific questions and get a personal response from the lady who wrote the book! i'm pretty sure she could be potty training now but i have got to get through this semester first!

Speaking of school, next week is my last week teaching summer school and then I will only have classes on monday's and wednesday's! i have major senioritis and the worm weather doesn't help. 1 month until i graduate!
and another countdown.......7 days until my bday! : ) it is a pretty big deal around here.

Spring!

Spring is here! We have had a mixture of sunny days followed by rainy days. I don't mind the rain and it it nice to actually have spring weather...not too hot and not too cold. Emma and I have been taking advantage o the warm days that have been mixed in!


Emma's first ice cream cone!

We got some sidewalk chalk!

It was 70* and Em was finally able to ride her little bike for real!
...it doesn't work so well inside on carpet.


p.s. phone pictures are bad quality, SORRY!

moms day

This was the hardest, most rewarding day of my life. Thinking about this day helps me remember how much I just wanted her to come. I just wanted to be a mom SO bad. Some days seem HARD, but she is so worth it.

Here is my mom. I'm missing her today. She is having a really hard time this mother's day because my brother left on his mission 2 weeks ago. I guess when you are in the MTC you don't get to call home on mothers day. It is so sad.

This was all the girls in the family until little miss Anna came to the world last week! Happy mothers day to my older sister Meagan! She is now the mother of 2 under the age of 2 and is doing it like a pro.

Easter

The most recent news is that my sister Meagan had her baby on Saturday! Her name is Anna Marie. I have only seen a naked, just popped out picture that wasn't very flattering which was also on my little phone screen so I am still waiting to really see her!

Here are our Easter pictures. We had a great weekend in Burley with Trevor's family and Emma LOVED hunting eggs. She called them balls and tried to kick them at first but then got the hang of it.

Running down the hill.

Aunt Kelcie's dog Mollie, Emma is a HUGE pet lover...so the opposite of me.

Seriously.

Easter pictures soon! For now, I saw this on a friends blog and HAD to re post it. I am a BIG believer of tough love when it comes to bed time for emma...no negotiations.

Put Your Dang Kids to Bed

Source: Brant's Blog of Awesomeness
Put Your Dang Kids to Bed

Seriously. You can do it.

If you want to have a marriage with some zing, put your dang kids to bed. Put them to bed EARLY. Put them to bed on time, the same time, every night, and make them stay there.

Then, go goof off with your wife. Laugh and talk and unwind and watch "Walker, Texas Ranger" until you can't laugh anymore. Be unproductive. Smooch. Do this every night.

Your kids need to sleep, and they can sleep. They actually don't have to get up every ten minutes. They're just doing that to get attention and delay bedtime. Don't allow it, or you're a pansy.

This gives you -- and, more importantly, your wife -- some peaceful time, every day, to look forward to. Moreover, it lets you stay happily married. She's under less stress, you have time to connect, life is good, your marriage means something, and you remember you're not just roomies with junior-size roomies running around.

Don't just "help" with bedtime. Supervise it, entirely. Let your wife use that time as wind-down time, or to take care of last-minute things. Kids will want to make bedtime an endless parade of traditions, too, in order to stave it off. Don't let this happen. Make it as simple a process as possible. If you want to read a story, awesome! Just start early enough that the lights go off at the appointed time. Your kids will start to complain. Too bad. Lights off. Sweet dreams. Buh-bye.

Let them know that your time with your wife trumps all other considerations, and, after their bedtime, they are "other considerations." Kids resist this, but -- deep down -- positively love it.

7 p.m. is not too early for young children. Give yourself a couple hours together, not one or two nights a week, but five or six.

If she's stressed out every night, because of her job, let her quit her job. If you can't afford it, afford it. Sell stuff. Move. Rent. Forget the college fund. Don't buy dumb cars and houses and stuff to make yourself feel cool, and miss out on a joyous, stress-limited marriage. She can take care of herself. It'll give her time, and energy, to love her children, her neighbors, and you.

So you bought her a nice car? Who gives a rip? She'd rather drive an old mini-van and have you around, living life together at a sweet, beautiful pace. Even if she doesn't think she wants this, she does.

Quit buying garbage and live in a trailer if you have to. And put your trailer-kids to bed, for crying out loud. Don't let them get up unless it's an emergency. Smooch your wife.

There. Sheesh.

Ch ch ch changes.

This week is moving week. Friday we are heading back up to Rexburg so I can finish my last semester of classes. I really don't enjoy moving but I am SO excited to be in an apartment with a dishwasher and a disposal! Plus I will actually be able to get ready in the bathroom...ours right now is WAY to small for me to blow dry and straighten my hair. I will NEVER have a bathroom again that has NO counter, literally.
Anyway we had a great last weekend here in Pocatello and took Em swimming. She LOVED it. Sadly Rexburg weather is going to be colder than here and we will have to wait a couple months before it is warm enough to go to the splash park up there. I can't wait!