homesick. literally.

feeling homesick for my two favorite people

i flew home to maryland a couple days ago for my sisters' baby showers. i feel so lucky to be here since i almost didn't make it due to the flu (headcold/chills/achy joints one- not the stomach bug) that hit me big time the day i was suppose to head out. i had to switch my flight a day later (i was literally bedridden on thursday) but was able to muster enough strength to get on the airplane friday morning. i am SO glad i didn't miss these showers (and so grateful the illness didn't start a day later or i definitely would have missed them) but other than participating in the actual events, i've just been trying to sleep and take it easy. steve stayed with the little miss in utah (spending the weekend at his parents) which makes this trip the longest i've ever been away from her. talk about hard. we videochatted last night and sang songs and she and grandma showed me how she can count to three. aunt lauren had her hair in the cutest piggy tails i ever saw. she's lovin' life with family back in utah and doesn't miss me one bit. which i know is a good thing but why can't it be the same on this side?  i miss her like crazy! 

 i'm homesick. in more ways than one.

.... oh and of course i miss steve too. duh. 

(but its harder to be away from a baby... it just is!!! you other moms know what i'm talking about!!!)

the showers were so fun. its so great seeing my family and spending what little time i have with them. i wish i wasn't such a sniffling-coughing-sleeping-zoned-out mess while i was here and i'm pretty sure that at least one (if not many more) of my family members will come down with the same illness after i leave and hate me for life......

hope you're all having a happy sick-free weekend with your babies and husbands close by. 

ok thats enough out of me. adios!

post edit: i should make mention that although i miss jayne a lot- it has been super nice to just relax knowing that i don't need to be on baby alert 24/7. i have had some nice long baths, lots of naps, and even slept in (wow). don't go feeling too sorry for me. really.

i need your advice.

so my computer is broken and its stunk big time because it means i can't blog like i'd like to, and i also can't check out all your amazing blogs like i'd like to too (except for the rare and short times i get access to steve's computer). i am dreading the drive to salt lake to get it fixed which is why i have put it off for almost two weeks now. go me.

i've got a few minutes to quickly post using steve's computer and there is something important i need to ask you other mom's out there who have toddlers/more than two kids, etc. i'm stressin' out about the whole crib situation with jayne and vinny. our initial thought was to keep jayne in her crib and use our porta crib for vinny until jayne outgrows her crib. BUT at the same time we have been using the porta crib as a play pen in our room for when i need to shower and get ready and can't watch jayne (we throw her in there with her toys and she entertains herself on lockdown for a good half hour while i get ready- its awesome). also, it would be nice to have something a little better looking than a porta crib in vincent's nursery.

i guess i'm just wondering what any of you did, how you did it, and how you liked it. did you just suck it up and buy a second crib? did you put your toddler in a toddler bed a little early? would i be crazy to do that since she'll no longer be fenced in? what about a mini crib for vincent until he's older (the kind just sits right next to the bed)? how long do those last?

for the life of me i can not come up with a decision so i figured i'd turn to you others who might have some great advice to clue me in.

i've only got a few weeks left and this baby needs a place to sleep.

any thoughts or advice on this subject would be much appreciated! THANK YOU!

34 weeks

we had a fun little impromptu baby bump photo shoot today before heading out to take jayne to go see Megamind. she was SO excited about going to a movie (i took her to see Tangled last week and she loved it!). sadly, we got to the theatre and it was sold out. steve and i felt so bad having to put our confused little girl back in the car and drive home.  so... instead we popped some popcorn and watched The Land Before Time in the comfort of our own home. all snuggled up together with blankets on the couch.

jayne was loving it. so were we.  it was our own little at home family movie night. and it was awesome.

take that you sold out movie!

wanna see something freaky?

no, not the face. jerks. although, granted that expression is pretty freaky. 

what i'm REALLY talking about is this......

BOOM. AHHH!!!  it could poke your eye out people!!!

i'm 33 weeks. which means baby is coming in 7 weeks. holy cow. 

i've had three dreams in the past week that i went into labor and he came early. like too early (as in now). 

it was a total nightmare. 

i'm not ready yet. please someone tell me that in 7 weeks i'll be ready. please. PLEASE!  i need that kind of reassurance right now.

don't get me wrong... i'm excited to see this mini steve of mine, like really really excited, but i still feel like i have SO much to do before he comes and i'm still not really sure how the whole parenting of two babies is all going to roll out... 

hm. at least i've got some awesome ghetto baby bump pictures to show off like these two:

you likey??

i've decided a fancier baby bump photo shoot needs to take place here ASAP. 

especially if my nightmare really does come true and its too late.

because its the big 5-0.

i've pretty much abandoned my jayne themed birthday posts for the last little while (they are harder than you might think!). but i figured a little video in honor of my father-in-law's 50th (yes, 50th!) birthday sure wouldn't hurt.

happy birthday "old" man. we love you!

in an effort to post daily...

... i will just let you know that jayne and i spent a lovely day with this little cutiepants. they played together like angels while her mommy and i chatted and hung out for hours. it was exactly what i needed. 

... on the way home we stopped at this place for dinner for the first time since before denmark. i was in heaven with my ranch bacon cheeseburger. jayne and i shared the fries and oreo shake. it was better than i remembered. (and i realize it may seem to go against #1 of said new year resolution plan.. but its about moderation people! i can't go back for AT LEAST a couple days. ha ha jk. it won't be for a while...)

... then came home to watch this guilty pleasure with my sister-in-laws. (missed monday's episode)

needless to say, it was a fabulous day. 

18 months

yikes. i knew this day was gonna come sooner or later but i definitely can't believe its here now. 

i have an 18 monther people. thats just weird.

jayne is seriously no longer a baby-baby (although i won't be giving up that label for her for a loooong time- just so you know). she is doing all sorts of "big girl" things like talking, running around, watching movies, pulling tantrums, climbing up everything, playing with doll houses, and giving hugs and puckered kisses.

when we got back from maryland one of the first things i had to do was clear out jayne's teeny clothes that no longer fit and put them into boxes to make way for her current wardrobe. it was weird, and sad, but also happy reminiscing with all the little items she used to wear. its a good thing i've got vinny to look forward to because this "letting go" of jayne as a baby process is not all that easy.

but i must say....

although i miss the teeny immobile baby-ness ball of chub she use to be... with her drooling, and tongue sticking out, and baby food eating, and open mouth kissing....

this new stage is pretty awesome. steve and i had our first date out in a little while last night. guess who occupied pretty much our entire conversation? you guessed it. we kept going back and forth saying all the funny and cute things jayne has been doing lately (why is that so much fun?). she has so much personality. she cracks us up every day with the things she says and does. it is so enjoyable watching her grow and better understand the world and people around her. and she somehow manages to get cuter and cuter every day.

so here's to me accepting this new stage of toddlerhood, and enjoying every moment of it.

happy 18 months baby girl. we love you.

its monday!

i'm determined to make this week 100% productive. we are over our illnesses, our baby girl is back to her normal self, i've got some newfound energy, and we've got lots to do to get ready for this baby boy to come in a couple months. 

let the fun begin.

happy monday!

feeling down?

watch this special little number and tell me it didn't turn your frown upside down.

i might regret posting this in the morning. but then again, maybe not. it is pretty amazing.

i'd like to thank my sisters lauren and elyse for making this video possible. and for the rickity single bed that didn't gave way with all 3 of us (4 if you count vinny) on it shakin' what our momma gave us. 

it was a christmas morning miracle.  

2011 Resolutions & Family Theme

2011 Resolutions:

1. Maintain a healthier lifestyle by: Drinking more water and less other stuff, eliminating the junk food in the home, keeping all things in moderation (treats, soda, etc. i don't see the point in going cold turkey of the things i love for an entire year- thus, moderation is key). Train for and run a half marathon in the fall (post baby).

2. Maintain sanity through organization and daily schedules (especially when baby boy comes)

3. Focus on the essentials in life: Gospel & Family

#3 ties in with our family theme this year.... 

"Be Still"

"...be still and know that I am God." D&C 101:16

the pace of life is moving at an ever-increasing speed- i can feel it, and i'm sure you can too. there are so many things happening in our life right now, of which aren't bad by any means, but when it becomes a distraction from what matters most it certainly can be. my mother-in-law gave all us girls in the family these beautiful bee necklaces for christmas. the idea is that as we wear it that the little "bee" stands as a reminder for us to slow down our busy pace for a moment to "be still."  to do a quick check of where we stand. to slow down and "proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, life up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most." (Pres. Uchtdorf's message at this past General Conference).  

our hope this year is to take moments each day to "be still." to refocus our life on the things that matter most: gospel and family. the best opportunities for this are through daily scripture study, monthly temple attendance, daily personal/family prayer, and spending quality time together as a family. our hope is that as we take these quiet moments, that our life will be more centered around Him and the hussle and bussle of daily life will be balanced by our refocus on what is most important, and that we will be better able to listen to the still small voice and act on any promptings we receive. 

its going to be a good year!

happy new year!

steve and i sharing our first kiss of the new year


i finally got all my overdue posts up. they were piling up fast. check em out.

christmas eve morning


christmas eve


christmas morning


natural history museum & national christmas tree


steve turns 27


new years eve

i have some new year resolutions and a 2011 family theme that i still want to share... tomorrow.
check back in for it!

new years eve

we celebrated new years up at steve's parents cabin playing games with family until the countdown to the new year. it was so much fun. we ate great food and laughed a lot. steve beat all our butts at nurtz.  we welcomed in 2011 with party hats and noisemakers. we took some fun pictures. 

  

  

NEW YEARS MORNING...

  

after breakfast we threw on our snow gear (me in one of Steve's snow jackets cause I don't fit in my own anymore!) and headed outside for some sledding. too bad it was too deep to take the little miss- steve's weight just sunk right down into the fresh powder. the other little kids got some good runs in though. 

Teague 

Gavin

Max (check out all the snow!)

the sledding man

steve turns 27

my handsome man turned 27th on the 21st of december. we made his evening special with dinner at one of his all-time favorite restaurants, Rio Grande (the beef fajitas... amazing!). afterwards we went to a performance at the temple visitor's center and then came back home for cake and ice cream. steve got spoiled with lots of great gifts from my family and we all went around the table and said why we love him. 

i love steve.... because he takes fatherhood to a whole other level. he loves jayne so much, it is such a touching thing to see. he so willingly steps in to help with miss jayne- playing with her, changing her diapers, getting up with her when i'm not feeling well. he never complains, in fact, he enjoys it. he is seriously amazing, and i couldn't have married a better person who so selflessly serves our little family so much. 

oh and he's pretty sexy too. gotta throw that in there too, right?

here are a few other fun pics from that morning when we took jayne and jordan to this indoor play place. they were so cute together playing at the different sections (mostly jayne following jordy wherever he wanted to go).

jayne loved this basketball hoop and was so good at throwing the balls in. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!

natural history museum and the national christmas tree

the day before we left maryland, the whole fam piled into cars and we headed over to the natural history museum in dc. it was so fun letting the kids see all the animals and dinosaur bones, and just hanging out together as a family. jayne especially enjoyed seeing the fish tank with the many "meano"s inside (Nemo). 

the Hope Diamond

after the museum, we headed down the block to check out the National Christmas Tree. we got there just as the sun went down. it was freezing but well worth it.  poor steve and jaynie weren't feeling too well so they napped away in the warm car while the rest of us braved the cold.