4th of July

hApPy BiRtHdAy kAy!

I want to be the first to wish my newest sis-in-law a Happy Birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day. Thanks again for the gifts from Cancun.

dress up anyone?

So the other day Grace asks if she can dress Kohen up. I said sure why not. This is what we got. At least he's not in a dress and tiara.

and they lived happily ever after...

My brother Chris got married this weekend to the sweetest girl ever, Kayleen. This past week has been a whirlwind of emotions and events. On Thursday my Aunt Sherry and my cousin Don came into town for the wedding. We had a beautiful rehearsal dinner at Biaggi's at the Gateway downtown. If you have never been there you must go, it is wonderful. Besides being stressful it was one of the most emotional weeks of my life. Even though I am so excited to get a new sister, I can't help but feel like I am losing my one and only brother. I can't wait to hang out and double date, Frank and I haven't dated for quite some time. Their wedding was like a fairytale. Kayleen was the most beautiful bride I have seen. She really did look like a princess. Gracie did an awesome job as flower girl. She was a little reluctant at first but once she got started she was tossing those rose petals like a champ. The ceremony was beautiful. The reception was perfect. The entire day went off without a hitch. Right now they are honeymooning in Cancun and swimming with the dolphins. I have to admit that I'm just a little jealous. Welcome to the family Kay.

Kicked Outta East High

Last Friday I took my niece Erika & Grace to East High. They are filming the new High School Musical 3. Grace is a HUGE fan. She watches the first two almost on a daily basis. She has every song memorized along with most of the lines. My friend Ayme works at the school and said that they were almost done filming so we decided to go and check it out. We wandered around the school for about and hour, we saw Troy's and Sharpay's lockers, the gym, the cafeteria and as we made our way to the auditorium we saw a couple of stars from the movie. We walked into the auditorium and could see they were about to film something. A lady asked who we were with and I guess because I looked a little confused by her question she then asked if we were "off the street." Like an idiot I said yes and she said that it was a closed set and we had to leave the school premises immediately! How rude. I had no idea they were going to be filming that day. Oh well. Grace did get an autographed picture of the cast from Ayme. She had alot of fun. Now she finally believes me that it was filmed here. If you know Grace at all it takes a lot of convincing her of something. She doesn't just take your word for it. Can't wait for the movie this fall.

Watch out Nemo...

here she comes. Gracie started swimming lessons today. You would think that seeing how it is June 9th and all the weather would be perfect for swimming. Not so. During the entire lesson you could hear the kids in her class saying "mommy I'm cold." If the wind hadn't been blowing it wouldn't have been so bad. Despite the cold temps she had lots of fun. I hope that she learns a lot and will have more fun when we go swimming. She did really well. Her teacher told them a secret about the pool but she wont spill the beans. I guess thats a good thing that she can keep a secret.

Chubber Wubbers

Well Kohen had his 2 month check up this week and holy cow is he getting big. He now weighs 11 lbs 9 oz. He has gained 3 lbs in 2 months! I guess I am used to Grace who was always so tiny. She only weighed 14lbs at 12 months!! I was a little worried that he wasn't eating enough because he could sleep through feedings during the day. I guess he is getting enough because he is growing. I can't remember how long he is but he is in the 25th percentile for height and when I told Frank his stats Frank's comment was, "oh great my son is going to short and fat." Just like the rest of us I said. He is starting to coo now and is smiling all the time. He has just started to grab for his toy that hangs from his carseat. He can't grab it but he's trying hard. He has slept through the night the past three nights. Of course I am happy to have gotten more sleep but I sure am thankful for my pump. I think I could feed a small country with all the milk I produce. Sorry if that is too much info. I figure I will give him a few more nights in my room and them move him to his crib. It's a little bitter sweet, I know I will get a little bit better sleep but now he won't be an arms length away.

Tea for Two

A couple of days ago Grace begged me to make some cookies. I try to keep a few bags of cookie mix on hand for an occasion just like this. I prefer to make my cookies from scratch. I just think they taste better and I also think it's just more fun. However it is time consuming and much messier (especially with a 4 year old). While the cookies were baking Grace disappears for a bit only to return with a teapot, two plates and two cups. (notice that they are glasses and not teacups, silly girl). She proceeds to "invite" me to a tea party. It was very fun, even though she spilled her milk not once but twice. After the second mishap Grace says "maybe I should have a smaller glass of milk." I told her that I didn't think we could find glasses any smaller. What a character. She makes me laugh.

Has it really been six weeks?

Man how time flies when you are sleep deprived. I can't believe that it was six weeks ago that our precious miracle came into our lives. Kohen is such a sweet child. He still sleeps alot. But when he is awake he loves to be held and talked to. He is not sleeping through the night yet, but he only wakes up about every 3 hours to eat then he's back to sleep. He has started to smile and is trying out his voice. I love to listen to him. Grace loves to sit and sing to him. The other day I heard her "reading" him a Curious George story. She is such a wonderful big sister. She has been so helpful. Before Kohen was born I was a little sad that they would be 4 1/2 years apart but now I am thankful. She is so excited to help in anyway she can. She is pretty independent so I don't have to do everything for her and she is always asking what she can do to help with the baby. She takes her baby doll everywhere we go and sometimes I even let her take her doll stroller. The only thing she gets upset with is that she can't feed him. Only mommy has the right equipment. Sometimes I will pump and let her feed him the bottle. Unfortunately he is suffering from a bad case of baby acne and I think cradle cap. Grace never had either. I must have given him an extra shot of my hormones before he was born. The books I have read all say it should be gone around 8 weeks. I hope. My brother is getting married next month.

Dr. Grace Dolittle

Gracie loves bugs! She can spend hours in the yard looking for potato bugs and other creepy crawlers. For Christmas she got an ant farm which I am sad to say the ants did not make it. I blame that on Frank for not watering and feeding them. This past weekend Grace went snail hunting at Nona's house. Usually she only finds the empty shells but Sunday was her lucky day. She found one. She was so excited to finally have a snail to add to collection of other "friends". She thought he was dirty so she decided to give him a bath. (the picture of her and the orange bucket). Surprisingly he lived through his bath. She was very entertained by watching him peek out of his shell and she would touch his eyes and watch him suck back inside. I love children's' curiosity. It's funny, when Grace was born her nickname was "bug". I guess it is fitting now. I love my Gracie Lou!!

Kohen's Dedication

On Mother's Day we had Kohen dedicated to the Lord at church. This a covenant that Frank and I make with God that we will raise our children in the way of the Lord. I pray each day that God gives me the strength and wisdom to do what is right by him in raising my children. Being a parent is the most difficult but yet most rewarding job I have ever had. We are not only responsible for the physical and emotional wellbeing but the spiritual as well. It is a task that I don't want to take to lightly. I don't want to regret anything. My Pastor made a comment in church on Sunday that really hit home. He said that he would rather fail at all other aspects in his life but he would be crushed if he failed as a parent. I feel the same way. I want to thank our family and friends who came out to support us. I love each and every one of you. I believe God has placed us in each others lives for a purpose.

Mother's Day

A friend sent me this e-mail and I think it pretty much sums up how I feel. There is no other sound in the world more precious than your child saying "Mommy, I love you." I truly feel blessed to be a mother.

Before I was a Mom:
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom:
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom:
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up l ate hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom:
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom:
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom:
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every
10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Maggie & Grace

We have two Miniature Schnauzers, Schatzi and Maggie. They are so good with Grace. They take everything she dishes out and they never bite. The dogs sleep in Frank and my room. One night Grace refused to go to her room to sleep. She wanted to sleep with Mags and this is how I found them. Isn't that just so precious.

Catchin' up

It has been a while since my last post. I have been a little busy and haven't much time to update it. So here it goes.
Two weeks ago my good friend Ginger and I took our chickadees to the Aquarium in Sandy. Grace loves hanging out there. Her favorite sea creature is the octopus. She thinks it is so cool that it doesn't have any bones. She's getting a bit more daring when it comes to touching the stingrays.


On Sunday we went for a family walk around the neighborhood and Grace showed off her bike riding skills. Last year she got very frustrated because she couldn't pedal and watch where she was going at the same time. This year she has made a vast improvement. She was smiling from ear to ear. She also finally learned how to use the breaks instead of dragging her feet to stop her.

This past Monday we packed a sack lunch and headed for the park. The kids had a blast. It was such a nice day. I wish we could have more days like that. The sun was out and there was a cool breeze to cool you down just enough. I miss spring.
The highlight of the week was Thursday. It was Gracie's first gymnastics class. She has wanted to do gymnastics for quite a while but our schedule before I quit working made it too difficult to do. She loved it. Her favorite are the bars and the balance beam. I hope this will help channel some of her energy to something productive.


Well I think that gets me caught up. I'll try to stay on top of things better.
Blog with ya later.

I've been tagged

A- Attached or Single: Happily attached
B- Best Friend: It's a tie between my husband Frank and my mom.
C- Cake or Pie: Marie Callendar's pumpkin pie
D- Day of Choice: Saturday. I get to spend the day with Frank
E- Essential Items: Diaper bag, sunglasses, my sanity & patience
F- Favorite Color: shades of green
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: cinnamon gummy bears
H- Hometown: West Jordan, Utah
I- Indulgences:Chocolate, bread, 32 oz Coke (more of an addiction than an indulgence)
K- Kids: Two. Grace- 4 1/2 & Kohen- 4 weeks
L- Life is incomplete without: My wonderful husband, beautiful children and my family.
M- Marriage Date: May 20,2000.
N- Number of Siblings: 1 amazing brother. (3 sisters-in-law and soon to be a 4th!)
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges
P- Phobias or Fears: Small places, crowded rooms, spiders, wind and being alone.
Q- Quote: "I know not what the future holds but I know who holds the future."
R- Reason to Smile: Being a mom. Being alive. Being an American.
S- Something New: Kohen
T-Tag: Ginger, Steph & Amber
U- Unknown Fact About Me: my right foot is bigger than my left
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor Of Animal: bring on the beef!
W- Worst Habit:I'm a major procrastinator
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds
Y- Your Favorite Food: anything my mom cook! Probably Mexican or Italian
Z- Zoo Animal: Polar Bears