Easter Feast

Pictures of our bounteous feat for Easter Dinner. Matt & Hillary and Nick & Kaycee came over and we had some really good food! After our dinner we played the Wii- my first time! It is definitely fun. (Do you think I made enough rolls?!)

Sunday Drive...

On Sunday afternoon, we took a drive up toward Mesa Falls. Actually we were trying to go to Mesa Falls and got nearly there and realized the road is still closed. Duh. Anyway we had an enjoyable afternoon and Connor loved looking at the Warm River.

Gettin' Ready

Connor loves to stand on his stool and brush his teeth. Although I don't know if you can call chewing on your toothbrush "brushing." He is really cute though.

In Labor for 6 days straight...

Okay- this is a totally prideful/bitter post so if you don't want to read it, move on.

I had a baby naturally. I am not bragging about this fact, it was due to medical circumstances, not will power. If it was a test of will power, I would have had an epidural IMMEDIATELY after my water broke. That is when the real pain started.

I was induced, one minute I was telling the nurse my information, sitting comfortably in my bed. The next minute, my Dr. broke my water and I was wondering what the hell (yes it hurt bad enough to swear, even 20 months later.) was happening. Four hours later, Connor was born.

I just blog stalked across someone who had a baby all natural and said she was in labor for 48 hours. We need to get our definition of "labor" straight. About 5 weeks before Connor was due, I thought I was in labor. I went to the hospital and laid in the bed hooked up to the monitor. I heard a woman next to me panting and moaning. I knew then that I was NOT in labor. If the woman next to me was in labor, I was taking a walk in the park. However, medically I WAS in labor. Pre-term labor. They gave me a shot and I went home. I went into "labor" two more times before going on bed rest. Was it my definition of "labor" HA! no way. It was like getting bit by a mosquito.

Labor to me: Unbelievable pain which causes you to want to crawl up the wall. No crying is possible, the pain is too bad. No talking allowed by anyone in the room. You wonder if you will soon die. Screaming is only possible during pushing, pushing feels GOOD compared to labor.

Labor to everyone else: You start contracting at home, you get a watch and start timing. You go for a walk. You pack your bag. You time some more. You wonder if today is the day. You call your friends, you go to the hospital, you walk some more, they say come back later...

Now if you are induced, like me and many others, you never know this kind of "labor" and thus to you it is not "labor."

I may be right or wrong, but to me I think the term "labor" should apply to when they actually admit you to the hospital and hook you up to the monitors. Even that is pushing it because you can contract for a long time before things really get serious.

Excuse my bitterness, but I think including the "pre-labor labor" in with the word "labor" does two things:

1. Discredits those who have natural childbirths and their "labor" is four hours. People have said to me "oh that's not too bad" HA! come over and watch my labor video- then think again.

2. Discredits those who get an epidural after a short amount of (real) "labor". "oh you got an epidural after 2 hours?, my daughter was in labor for 48!"

Anyway, this is random, and definitely a rant. Kudos to all who have even had a baby... it hurts epidural or not.

Private: To be or not to be... that is the question.

It seems there is a huge "going private" trend going on. I am tempted to join the club, but I feel that going private takes the true fun out of blogging. I mean how else are you going to find your old roommate's boyfriend who is now married with two kids? Or the girl that was in your stake that you didn't really know, but who is a great photographer and you like looking at her pictures? Anyway, blog stalking is fun and assuming that at least one person that I don't know likes looking at my blog- I don't want to go private. So, this being said, I have a favor to ask of those who have me linked to their blog.

1. If you haven't already, can you take my last name off your blog? Thanks.

2. This one may be annoying, but can you take yourself off of search engines? If you allow yourself to be found on search engines, then anyone searching for any key word in your blog can pull you up off google etc. I have taken myself off these search engines, but if you haven't then some creep can find you, and then find me and my adorable little boy. You probably already have clicked "no" when asked if you want to be on search engines, but if I am on your list and you haven't, would you mind? I apologize if this is annoying or inconvenient, but I would really appreciate it! If for some reason you want to be on search engines, (this may sound harsh) would you take me off your links list?! Sorry but this is the best solution I came up with to not going private.

I hope this helps keep our families a little safer and lets us all continue stalking each other :)

The Countdown is On!

Only 6 days until Connor and I are going to Boise to visit Megan and Madie! We can't wait!

Just a comparison:

After that last post I thought it would be fun to compare:

Connor 3 days old. Boise, Idaho

Connor 18 months 8 days old. Rexburg, Idaho

ps: if you are wondering why I have posted so much it is because Brandon is out of town!

Remember...

I've been so anxious for Kim to have her baby because it makes me remember having my little guy. He is such a sweetie and I can't believe how much he has changed. I still remember how tired/stressed/worried etc. Brandon and I were when we brought Connor home. I wish we would have taken the time to really enjoy ourselves during that amazing time. I look back on his birth and our first couple days as a family and cherish it as one of my fondest memories. Hmmm... does this mean I'm ready for another one? :)

Welcome Milah!

Congratulations to my cousin Kimmie on this adorable little girl! Milah looks like such a sweetheart and we are so glad she is finally here! Have fun with your new little girl Kim & Brad! We love you!

Easter Party!

I did it! I stepped out of my little shell and had a party. Yea for me. I had 12 kids at my house today for an easter party. We decorated cupcakes and had a little easter egg hunt afterward. It was very fun and I think everyone had a good time. I would like to thank my "party inspirers" my sister Megan and Erin's sis-in-law Stacie. These two ladies know how to throw a party- how do I know? Well I've been to my sisters and I have been to Stacie's through blog stalking :) Thanks! (Stacie gave me the idea for the cupcakes!)

Cuter by the minute...

I really think Connor is getting cuter by the minute! We got him another haircut yesterday and this time it is really short! She used the clippers on the side. It looks really cute and makes him look like a big boy!

This just in:

So Brandon has been going out of town a lot for either interviews or school functions. He was in Sacramento last weekend and will be gone this weekend in Utah. So, when a company in LA called him to come for an interview, I was very happy for him but secretly thinking: yea! another weekend alone full of movies and m&m's. Then when the HR lady started making travel plans, she said, "now does your wife want to come?" Brandon replied, she may come, I will look into getting her a ticket (which was his way of saying, no I am not paying for her to come) The HR lady answers, "no we will take care of her accomodations." Yea for this company, the first one who has invited me to come too! So- April 10th me and the hubby fly to LA for a nice relaxing weekend! Yippee!

Po-eee Monster!

Okay so I have created a "bee bee" in the "po-ee" monster! For the last couple days, before Connor's bath, I have set him on the big boy potty, and he has tried so hard to go pee. After a couple of times he actually did it and he was so happy! So yesterday, we bought Connor a cute little green potty with a frog on it. He is obsessed!!! He wants to go "po-eee" all the time. He went once this morning and then kept saying "po-ee, po-eee" and I said, "No Connor the potty is not a toy, it is only for going pee pees. Do you need to go pee pees?" To which he replied, "bee bee" so, I undid his pants, set him on the potty and he went pee again!

So needless to say, I think potty training has started and I wasn't ready for it! I only bought the potty to start introducing the idea, I thought it would take a long time for him to become interested. Now I am being cursed for my proactive approach. A word to the wise: don't start potty training until you are ready for a "Po-eee" monster.

A Day in the Life...

It is 11:24 am... today I have:

Woken up at 5 to take Brandon to the airport.
Emailed Brandon's homework to his teacher that he forgot to do last night.
Taken a nap.
Eaten a string cheese and a handful of M&Ms
Prepared Connor's Breakfast
Thrown away Connor's breakfast because he wouldn't eat it
Given Connor a bath
Cleaned poop out of the bath
Cleaned pee off the floor
Cleaned pee off the floor again
Blogged

Ha ha, is this funny to anyone else?

Getting in touch with my roots...

Okay so these obviously aren't the best pictures, but they are the only ones I have taken so far of my new hair. I had been thinking of going dark for a couple of days before my appointment-and decided to just do it! I didn't tell Brandon, just came home with dark hair. He really likes it and I like it too. I am definitely getting used to it.

I have no idea what my natural color is, but my hair lady says this is a half shade darker. It is supposed to fade out a little bit so it will ultimately be a little lighter. So what do you think?

Bringin' SEXY back...

Aren't these two so cute!? This was the first time Connor wore his suit, it was a little big but he looks adorable! His daddy isn't too shabby either.

Playing with Grandma!

My parents decided to come over and visit us last week. My mom called me on Thursday and said "what are you doing for dinner tonight?" I said I didn't know and she said they wanted to drive over and take us out. So, about 4 hours later, they were here! We went out to dinner, got a cupcake at the new cupcake cafe and watched a movie. The next morning, I made breakfast and me and my dad went to the new Rexburg temple while my mom got more grandma time.

When we left to drive to the temple, my dad's car was making a clanking noise, he thought something was wrong but I reminded him that his car had probably never been so cold in it's entire existence.

Later we went to lunch and then they were on their way back home. We had such a fun time and we are so glad they came!! It was so fun to have them here, and Connor loved to play with them.

Thanks again! Come again when it is warmer!

I'm a Big Boy Now...

So Connor has learned to climb... on everything. We were lucky for a while because he has really short legs, he couldn't swing his leg up onto anything. But now, he has figured it out an loves to climb on to everything! Such a big boy!

Silly Pictures

Okay so I know Connor doesn't look thrilled with me in these two pictures, but he really was! First of all, I tested both of these nose rings on myself first and they didn't hurt, so then I did them to Connor. He laughed until he saw the camera and then he cried because he couldn't have it.
This picture was taken after Connor spent the day with his daddy. I was gone the whole day and Connor didn't get one nap! He went to lunch with daddy, to school, to the store etc. and no nap. So he got home, took off his pants (which I imagine were soaked through with pee because Brandon doesn't take the diaper bag) put him in his high chair with a bunch of food and went to check his email. Less than two minutes later this is what resulted! Needless to say, Connor LOVES playing with his daddy. He has so much fun, even if his jeans are damp.

Maeve's Wedding weekend...

Although this post is over a month late, I wanted to add a few pics of Maeve & Chirs' wedding! It was so fun to go to SLC and hang out with the girls... being with them is always an adventure to say the least.

The sealing was absolutely wonderful, I hadn't been to one since my own wedding so it was special. Maeve and Chris were actually sealed in the same room as Brandon and I. (They also enjoyed their first night as a couple in the same hotel...)

It was a great weekend and a beautiful wedding. We had lots of fun reminiscing and talking about life. I am convinced I have some of the classiest friends out there. Can't wait until the next roomie reunion! DC anyone?

More Connor Pics.

Cute Smile!

This is the one and only time we tried to have Connor play in the snow. It seemed like such a good idea; have fun as a family in the winter weather. Well, he hated it! Although it was a sunny day, the wind was blowing and dusting snow in our faces. We are excited for spring!

Connor is really into putting our shoes on lately. We had to help him get daddy's hunting boots on, and he couldn't walk with them, but he still looked cute! (excuse my disastrous house in the background.)

Pictures of a CUTE BOY!!

Here are some pictures since I haven't posted in a while. Isn't he cute? This one on the bottom was after his first haircut. I am not the organized mom who brought her camera and diligently documented the monumental event, but I did get one picture afterwards, does that count?