My Baby's Mama

2010-09-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

Gabby has turned 3 and Oliver had his one year birthday as well. Its really true what they say about them growing up so fast.

2010-09-16T11:04:00.001-07:00

2010-09-16T07:05:00.001-07:00

Ollie is walking and almost sleeping through the night! Things are really looking up for this little kiddo. No talking yet but still with the sweetest smile in the world (when he isnt trying to bite me). He knows some signs but mostly just pointing and jabbering. We gave him his first real haircut and he looks like such a big boy now.
Gabby is busy as always. No naps anymore but tends to fall asleep in the car and so we just leave her there with the doors open. Pretty great actually. She talks constantly and tends to start most conversations with, "Ok mom, heres the deal", then proceeds to tell me what the "deal" is. Its usually something pretty great for her and not so great for me. She has started asking us if we are her friends or if we are silly gooses. We then reply "yes of course" and she responds by giggling and telling us she loves us. Pretty darling! She loves to read, dance, sing and play with any "friend" who happens to be walking by our house at that moment.This also includes next door neighbors who she likes visit with after ringing their doorbell. She has started pre-school three days a week for two hours and so far loves it. We also love having a little break. And best of all she is completely potty trained. This is a story all on its own but suffice to say we have succeeded despite many incidents to the contrary.
Ollie likes to eat dirt,water, playing with cars and balls and his very favorite thing of all.. being attached to mom. It was fun at first...

2010-03-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

The other night as I was feeding Oliver in his room to get him ready to put to bed Gabby was acting very sneakily. I was sitting in his room with the light off and the door open and I could see Gabriella running back and forth from the front rooms into her bedroom and back. Every time she would pass the room I was in she would stop and look in and hide whatever she was carrying and continue running to her destination. The curiosity was killing me but I couldn't get up what with the feeding and everything. This happened probably about a dozen times. Finally I was able to lay Oliver down and went to investigate. This is what I found.

Our kids

2010-03-15T19:53:00.001-07:00

Gabriella will be three in June and we are so amazed by all the new things she learns and does and says on a daily basis. She is truly incredible and has a better memory than her father or I. Here are some of the latest
1- runs and jumps, twirls and spins everywhere.
2- sings constantly and not only knows the words to about a dozen songs but makes up her own songs as well. Some of my favorites are the ones she makes up and sings to Oliver to make him feel better.
3- knows her ABC's and sings it all day long
4- counts to 20
5- loves to color and draw
6- dresses up in Princess dresses and heels constantly.. I have found her more than a a couple of times standing in the snow in her heels.
7- still loves her brother and is always trying to help him, sometimes more helpful than others.
8- loves to read her books and has about 30 of them memorized.. still freaks me out when I am reading and she is saying it along with me. Amazing!
9- Definitely still in the terrible twos but lately we are having less terrible and more great. We love our little girl!

Oliver is a little darling and is a sweet little.... mamas boy!! Yikes! I never thought I would end up with one of these but literally he wants to be near me, touching me, looking at me... all day. Still refuses to eat solids and gags every time I try to feed him anything. Apparently I will be nursing this little guy till he heads off to Kindergarten (over my dead body). We love him to pieces though and every day his smile and laugh lights up our lives. He has the most amazing blue eyes and darling little dimple in his chin. Love this little man! Here are some of his latest..
1- now sits up without me helping him. Still a little wobbly but he is doing it!
2- two teeth and counting.. the uppers look like they are on their way.
3- hates his car seat and long trips are kind of painful.. again its the "cant hold mom so I hate it" issue.
4- he is wearing size 12 month clothes and is almost 19 pounds. He is also in the 70% for height.
5- loves his sister!
6- loves his bouncy toys and anything that makes noise and flashes lights.
7- loves people until mommy leaves and then you would have thought his heart was broken
8- still waking up at nights but we are working on it. Last night I got a stretch of 6 hours which was great for us.
9- Loves being outside
10- loves his daddy
We love this little man!

Dance Class

2010-03-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

Gabriella loves to dance and sing and just anything that is girly and where she gets to move and run a lot. We have been able to start taking her to a mommy and me dance class and she loves it. It has been so fun and she talks about it all week long. I dont know if she will be able to make it a career seeing as she will probably be over six feet tall but so far we are having fun and keeping her busy. Two great things in our world.

New tooth, school and other life altering phenomenon

2010-02-16T20:19:00.000-08:00

Houston we have a tooth! Its a miracle! After teething for what has seemed like at least the majority of his life so far we finally have something to show for it. Although my excitement is genuine I also at the same time cringe in agony to picture that little tooth clamping onto my... well one of those things that babies feed from. You know.. those sensitive things which at one time were nice and perky and that are now swollen and saggy and soon to be teething chew toys. I apologize if this is a not very tasteful first post after months but I am a mom on the edge. Why do you ask am I on the edge besides the typical sleepless nights and hectic deranged days? Well I have had the brilliant idea to also begin school and am currently taking 13 credits. Now I dont know if this ever really seemed like a great idea to me but I went for it consequences be darned. I am attempting to complete my pre-requisites for Nursing in the hopes to eventually become a nurse anesthetist. Lets just call this the 15 year plan. By the time my kids are in college I should have a very rewarding and lucrative career. In the meantime I will continue my efforts of reviving my starved and dying brain cells and try to learn something. Come to find out Im not as completely brain dead as I have felt and have actually been able to learn quite a lot and get some very good grades. I say this knowing that I still have more than half a semester left but so far so good.
Brian is still working like a madman and going to school full time as well. Bless his soul! What a man!
Gabby is as active and talkative as ever and has now started saying "fantastic" when something especially tickles her fancy. She still calls Brian babe and is still a super sweet and gentle big sister. She has made Oliver laugh more than anyone else ever and he adores her. Still working on finding her some girls to play with her age but I guess Ill have to settle for being her best friend in the meantime. She is a little beauty and constantly amazes me with her memory and her sweet spirit.
Oliver is a little wild man and has resorted to screaming when he doesn't get his way or if something is happening that he doesn't agree with.. Like being put down... ever! Overall though he is a happy little guy and has a smile to die for.
We are blessed to have these little ones in our family! Lets hope I can continue to keep them happy, healthy and alive! Ive threatened a few time to throw them out in the snow but so far I have been able to refrain. I will give the credit to Heavenly Father who has obviously heard my thousands of prayers in which I beg for more patience to be a better mom. Sometimes I feel like its working and other days I just lock myself in the bathroom for my allotted 3.6 seconds of "alone" time and cry. You cant imagine the rejuvenating properties of a good and quick bathroom melt down. I will leave you with pictures of those two little beings who most of the time remind me that it is all worth it.

my sweet little man

2009-09-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

I am totally obsessed and in love with the new man in my life. Im referring of course to my son but seriously he is such a sweetheart and we are so glad he is part of our family. He is turning into such a big boy already and at 11 weeks has nearly doubled his birth weight. He is of course also very tall and has the most yummy little chub legs. He smiles and coos all the time and just loves to watch his mommy. So cute! Last night he also slept from ten until six this morning. What a champ!

A day in the life...

2009-09-27T17:46:00.001-07:00

The following photos chronicle one day in the life of my little toddler Gabriella.. Heaven help me I am exhausted.

climbing in bed with brother

playing dress up with not one but three princess skirts... and a backpack

yes that is ice cream on her forehead and come to find out also on her shoulders.

making a mountain of pillows on top of the baby.

climbing trees in Kolob among other things. Yes that is dirt on her face mixed with Dorito cheese.

Finally a cousin!

2009-09-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

Lindsey came down to Cedar to visit with the new little niece Haven Claire Barker was born on the 10th and took some darling pictures. Most are from this morning before church with the kiddos looking quite nice in their Sunday best. This is obviously before they had eating anything or thrown up (this is Olivers favorite thing to do on mommy). It was fun to see Linds even if just for a bit. Our new little niece Haven is a doll and we are loving finally having a cousin. I spent this last week at my parents house in Richfield and it was wonderful to regroup a bit after Gabbys sick week last week. I spent days researching online to find out what she had and even a trip to the doctor yielded no diagnosis. She definitely had a virus and the doc said flu which I knew was wrong. She had fever, blisters in her mouth, red painful gums, loss of appetite and the poor thing hardly slept for a week (yes poor mommy as well). Thankfully my mom took her for a few days so I didnt completely lose my mind. She is all better now though thankfully and gaining back some of the weight she lost. Im pretty sure I need to thank the nursery at church for infecting her with this nastiness. Good times!
Despite feeling ill Gabby was still a chatty little lady and is absolutely darling with her brother. She will stop whatever she is doing when he is in the room to hug and kiss him and talk to him. He smiles and coos at her and it is just precious. She is hilarious and makes us laugh constantly. Really the girl is a witty little thing and comes up with stuff that is pretty amazing. She also loves to sing and make up her own songs. Definitely need to get that on video.
Oliver is a sweet little man and really loves his mama which I also love. He is getting so big it is incredible and is in high percentiles for his weight and height. So funny! He is sleeping great at night and has such a sweet happy personality. Always smiling and trying to talk. This is unless he is hungry, tired or in his car seat. Once he decides he is sad about something the little guy cries so hard it breaks my heart. This usually takes about 10 seconds to go from smiley to heartbroken. Very pathetic!
Brian is doing great with school and work and is getting transfered to Cedar city for work so no more hour commute. This is a huge blessing as we can finally see a bit more of him as well as save a bundle in gas every month. Hopefully this will be the start of us actually having a real life together instead of our normal "ships passing in the night" routine.
It is late and Im off to bed. Here are the latest pics!

Fun pics!

2009-08-31T15:09:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest pics of the kids and some of Jessicas baby shower. Oliver is getting so big already and is almost 12 pounds. He loves to be held and is pretty pleasant when he is eating... sleeping and right after he has eaten and if you are holding him. Not a fan of his car seat, swing, bouncy chair, crib or his sister at times.
Gabriella is hilarious and is always keeping us on our toes. She calls her brother "tooty pie" and she wants to love on him constantly. She talks nonstop and is constantly saying "mom look at this" when she wants my attention. She loves cookies, candy, her brother, her binky (the bane of my existence), nursery, her cousins, and the swing. She woke up this morning saying "cousins, cousins, play". Which is funny since her cousins have been gone for two weeks. She must have had a dream about them. So funny!
We love our little beans! They make us laugh every day.
We had Jessicas baby shower on Saturday and it was really nice to sit, eat and look at darling baby girl clothes. She is due on Sept 11 and we are all really excited. Finally some more kiddos in the Bird family. We are all thrilled to meet her!

Busy

2009-08-25T21:12:00.001-07:00

Things have been crazy busy lately. Time is flying by and every day that passes reminds me that I have yet to send out my thank you cards. How much time has to pass before its pointless to even send them out? I think Martha would say I have already blown it by a few weeks.. all I have to say to that is "kiss it Martha.. Im doing my best!" Having two kids is not just twice the work its like six times the work and I promise I am not exaggerating. Just you wait!
This last weekend I took both kids up north with me by myself to go buy our new family wagon. Yes we are officially cruising a minivan. Never thought I would see the day. One day Ill have my dream car but until then we are in the mom mobile. Traveling by myself with two kids was the killer though and I barely made it back home alive. My family was a big help though as was Keri who fixed us a lovely meal and watched Gabby for me. Apparently it was love at first sight between Gabs and Keri's little boy Jett and they played like rock stars together. I dont think they fought once which is amazing for two little toddlers. They even shared the water hose. Amazing! It is a match made in heaven for sure. Heres to the future and the hope that finally Keri and I will be related.

Olivers Blessing

2009-08-17T18:35:00.001-07:00

We blessed Oliver this weekend and had all of Brians family here (minus Kimberlee and Shayna) along with most of mine (minus Megan). It was super fun and so good to see everyone. Brian gave our boy a beautiful blessing and overall it was just a neat weekend. We love our family and Gabriella has absolutely loved playing with all of her cousins. I think she will have withdrawals once everyone leaves and she is left with just me at the house. Here are some pics..

Here is the latest

2009-08-08T17:02:00.001-07:00

Gabby in some cute shades looking cool and also eating... looking not so cool. The girl still hasnt gotten the whole food in mouth concept. Oliver is sleeping as usual. Actually he is awake a lot of the time but has been kind of fussy so only photo ops are while he is asleep. Blessed sleep. Love the little man!

Oliver is here!!!

2009-08-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

On July 13th we welcomed our little boy Oliver Michael Holmes into the world. It was a pretty quick (3 hours) labor but was probably more pain than any person should have to experience. Needless to say it just might be my last un-medicated delivery. Not only was our little guy large 8 pounds 4 ounces but was also transverse which means face up and not down as he should have been. My poor husband had to literally hold my leg and push on my belly at the same time to get the little kiddo to turn. This was all while my midwife was doing her best to turn him internally. Can someone say ouch! Enough about that.. I cant talk about it too much for fear of nightmares. Our little man was perfect and lovely so it was all worth it. Just might not do it again... EVER!
His big sister loves him to pieces and gives him hugs and kisses CONSTANTLY. She calls him Oldivar and also cutie, honey and buddy. So cute! She is a great helper and loves to help me change his diaper. Her help includes standing on his changing table and gagging at his poopie diapers. Funny and yet challenging all at once. This two kids thing is rocking my world and if I never see or talk to anyone again I do apologize. Im doing my best but there are some days when I feel like I will never see the light of day again. Definitely will never get a good nights sleep again. This is where my friend Cherry Pepsi comes in. Thank you caffeine.
Brian is working constantly so for 5 days out of the week I feel like a single parent. But he is definitely a huge help when he is here. He works so hard and will be starting school soon so we will see even less of him if that is possible. So if any of you want to come and spend some time in Cedar we have a lot of time alone and would love visitors.
Here are the latest pics.. Enjoy! Ill post again soon.. heres hoping.

Maybe we should stop giving her pudding.

Easter Weekend

2009-04-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend spent with Aunt Lindsey, Jessica and uncle Jesse. Gabriella even got to see her dad for a bit before he was back at work. Lindsey got some darling pictures of the little girl. What a cutie and so pretty in her new Easter dress. Thanks mom!!

Some picture updates.... finally!

2009-04-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

So its been a while but I finally found a minute to get some more pics on my poor forgotten blog. There are a couple from our recent hike and some of Gabs just being darn cute. Please note the photo of Gabriella in her crib with the broom and dustpan. She actually carried those into her crib on her own. A women who loves cleaning.. I have raised her well. Seriously though we were laughing so hard. What a silly goose! Also some pictures of Gabby playing in the balls with her new boyfriend Jett. We had a way fun and yes a little exhausting trip to see friends and Gabs and he hit it off. Thanks to my gals Keri and Kellie for playing with us and we hope we get to visit again soon.

Little girl in pig tails

2009-02-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

Here are the latest pics of our little monkey. She gets funnier and cuter every day. Cant believe how big she is getting. Enjoy!

ITS A BOY!!

2009-02-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

If you all have not heard we are expecting our second little peanut and as of today discovered that it is a little boy. Honestly I was still expecting a girl as I was convinced that my family could not produce boys but low and behold it is definitely a boy. A very active roley poley boy. Seriously he could not stop moving and the attached video is of him almost jumping butt first in the womb. Oh holy hannah I am in for it! We are so excited though and cant wait to see what a little boy will look like. Here are some pictures from the ultrasound as well.

What a big girl!

2008-12-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

Gabriella is such a big girl now I thought I would write a couple of her latest developments. So fun!
1- She has started lining up all of her toys in a row on top of thing including the edge of her bathtub, shelves and magnet toys on the refrigerator. So silly!
2- Apparently she is afraid of nothing and has taken to launching herself off of everything that she is able to climb onto. Usually her favorite is jumping from the coffee table to the couch. We have had a couple of misses but so far that doesnt seem to have bothered her at all.
3- Latest words; Doggy, water, snack, Jessica, Megy (still working on the names of the rest of the family) her signing vocabulary is also getting bigger and bigger. What a smarty pants!
4- She gives the biggest hugs to her dad and I and smiles and grins and is so happy. She also gives us many good kisses and if she cant get a kiss to our lips will kiss our arm or shoulder or whatever she can reach.
5- She has just in the past few weeks decided to start waking up at around 6:30. This makes for a very sleepy mommy but it is also a fun time cause Gabs and I just curl up on the couch and watch her "shows" which include all baby Einsteins, Signing Time, Super Why and Word World. Man I have learned a lot! My spelling is twice as good as it used to be. Its like being in school all over again.

Terrible Two's

2008-11-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

Okay so I never knew that the terrible twos actually started way before they were actually two. What has happened to my sweet little girl and who is this squealing, crying, whining monster? She looks like my girl but besides that I barely recognize her. Of course we have our good moments which are basically anytime I am doing exactly what she wants which a mom can only keep up for so long. I know we will make it through this hard time but I highly doubt I will be able to do so with all of my mental faculties intact. Here are some photos that help to remind me that inside my little demon is a sweet fun girl.

Merry Christmas...to me

2008-11-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

Well its that time of year again. Here is a little preview of our Christmas card. It was hard to get just the right shot but I think this one of us is pretty amazing..

Poor baby..

2008-10-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

Gabriella has had a really rough last week. In that time she has managed to fall down a flight of stairs, fall off a chair and split her lip open, had the flu, split her lip on the coffee table and finally today fell on her face on the sidewalk and split her lip open again. Eegads! Seriously she obviously takes after her mother who is also very accident prone. Every time her lips get cut I get very queasy though thinking about her teeth getting broken. I nearly pass out every time but thankfully to date no broken teeth. I feel so bad for her but she is a trooper and usually gets right back up and keeps on going. Gotta love that little girl. Here are some pics of some happier moments and before the fat lip.

Fun with the girls!

2008-10-27T18:36:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures from this weekend with the family. So fun to see everyone! Love you!

2008-10-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jessica and I along with Gabriella went to Richfield to be with Megan when she opened her mission call. Holy cow my sister is going on a mission! That is just so freaking rad. Yes I said rad! She is going to the Mesa Arizona mission where she will be at the temple visitors center. How fabulous is that! We are so excited for her and cant wait to hear about the next 18 months of amazing experiences as Im sure there will be many. It was a fun day with sisters and mom and dad. We all just chatted, ate and chatted some more. All the while of course Gabriella was getting loved to bits. The family was admiring her ability to walk, without holding onto anything, down the stairs. She is a little daredevil and has scared me to death a few times but it seems as if the more challenging something is the more she loves doing it. This afternoon she managed to fall down the entire flight of stairs and hit pretty much everything on the way down. Poor dear has a little bloody lip and was very sad but after about 4 minutes she was good as new and started chasing the dog around. I just wish I could bounce back that fast. She really is amazing and is such a big girl. Very independent and very brave. She will try anything and seems to be completely fearless. She is talking up a storm and has started saying cracker, shoes, please, baby and binky amongst all the other words she already says. She loves to be chased by daddy and will run screaming through the house until he catches her and then laughs so hard.

Today as I was on the computer Gabriella brought out the garbage can from our room and proceded to empty it out, blow her nose on some used tissues (ick) and just had some fun. After she was done she picked all the garbage back up, put it in the garbage can and put the garbage can back in the same spot in our room. I didnt even realize what she had done until I went into the room and saw the garbage can back where it belonged. On top of this I handed her a package to be thrown away and asked her to throw it in the garbage. She went into our room and I just figured she put it somewhere and I would just throw it away later. Low and behold the item was right where it should have been, in the garbage. She is amazing! I am seriously astounded at how smart she is... and also how tidy she is. Hmmm... looks like Ill have some help with the chores soon. We love this little lady of ours.

Fall photoshoot and updates!

2008-10-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

So as some of you know when Brian and I were married we were still waiting on my temple sealing cancellation and so had to get married civilly since the process was taking so long. Finally about 4 months ago we received the cancellation and on Friday we were sealed as a family in the St. George Temple. Halleluah! We have been waiting on this for so long and are so grateful and excited to be officially an eternal family. We were joined by our family and some dear friends. Small but perfect for us. Gabriella looked like a little angel! Of course with blessings come trials and that night Gabriella started throwing up after her cousins also had been sick all day and to date Brian, Grandma, Megan, Uncle Jonathon and I have all been sick. Ugh! Brian was up all night last night throwing up and Gabriella is just now starting to feel better. Rough weekend! So grateful for the blessings and we will just ignore the other crappy events. Here are also some family photos we took last week. Thanks uncle Jesse!

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-09T11:54:00.001-07:00

I know its a little early but we got a really great picture of Gabriella that I wanted to share with everyone. Its pretty spooky!

Its been a while..

2008-10-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

I am a horrible blogger. I was on a role there for a couple of months and I have just kind of given up for the time being. I will try to revive my earlier excitement but no promises. Gabriella is sleeping and that gives me a break to do some things that I have been putting off. First things first though let me update you on our lives.. um.... uh... Okay so not much is going on. Probably the most exciting thing is that last night my little girl actually slept through the night. This is the first time in quite some time that this has happened. Of course she woke up for the day at 6:30 so I still feel quite exhausted. She had her 15 month doctors appointment which confirmed all of our suspicions. She is tall and skinny. To be more exact she still has yet to hit 21 pounds and is 31 inches tall. This puts her in the 75% for height and the 15% for weight. Crazy eh? Who would have thought? I would follow this entry with pictures but alas my camera is a big steaming pile of ick and I cannot get pictures off my camera onto my computer at this juncture. Honestly I need a new camera. Anyone have any suggestions on a good one?
And can I just say how wonderful Conference was!! I even got to watch some of it thanks to my dear husband entertaining the little one. So nice to sit and listen to inspired leaders. I am filled with hope that maybe I will survive these toddler years after all..

Megs and Gabs

2008-09-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Gabby also got to spend time with her other favorite aunt Megan. Here are some cute pics from their adventures. Also please note picture with Gabriella talking on the phone. She is such a big girl!

New blog post.. finally!

2008-09-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted and I apologize. It has been a couple crazy weeks with Brian starting school and all that fun stuff. Currently Gabriella and I are both sicky poo and are producing enough snot to make any veteran booger wiper queasy. She is walking and climbing like a champ. Last night she managed to squeeze herself into a shelf in our bookcase and climb onto the table. Heck yes I am frightened. It appears that I have a monkey child... ugh. Its all fun and games until she falls off something and breaks something. Lets pray that never happens. Gabriella got to spend some time with her aunt Lindsey this weekend. Here are pics.

First Hair Cut!!

2008-08-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Gabriella just had her first hair cut courtesy of Aunt Jessica. I think she looks lovely but I just cant get over how big she is getting. Here is a before and after picture. (please disregard black eye)

Olympic withdrawals

2008-08-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

Ill just come right out and say it "I Love the Olympics". Honestly I have had so much fun watching the last few weeks and I am already quite depressed that it is almost over. I have always been somewhat of an athletic person and there is just something about watching those hard bodies that gets my blood pumping and makes me want to work out and sweat. I will miss you Michael Phelps, Nastia Lukin, May and Walsh, Logan Tom and all those others who have entertained me over the last few weeks.(until 2012)

Black eye and some other memories

2008-08-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

Gabriella is officially the recipient of her first black eye. It was quite traumatic and sad but she does indeed have a nice shiner on her. Even though I feel like a horrible parent I felt like I should share this moment and a few others that have happened lately. Mostly there are just some really cute things that she has been doing so I thought I would share. Oh and no I did not give her the black eye. She bent over to pick something up at aunt Jessicas house and smacked her face on the coffee table.
Cute thing #1: Since Gabriella has started walking she likes to challenge herself by walking over large or small rocks and trying out stairs and also walking down steep dirt trails. We have a set of 4 stairs in front of our house that she was determined to learn to walk up and down. The other day she and I were going down the steps and the minute we were down the 4 steps she would turn aroun and try to walk up them. She did this back and forth (with my help) at least a dozen times. I dont know if this means she is just very determined or just really easily entertained. Ill take either.
Cute thing #2: When she wants something she has taken to pointing and twisting her hand back and forth for emphasis. We caught on pretty fast and are pretty good at getting her what she wants. She is a good teacher.
Cute thing #3: Gabriella has this darling little chair that she loves to sit in and in fact her favorite thing is to pile all of her toys or anything that is interesting to her on the chair and then try to sit on top of it all. Its pretty hilarious and in fact at the moment she is sitting on my shoes, a pacifier and a little squeaky dog. Good times!
Cute thing #4: At the sand pit this afternoon Gabriella was playing and throwing dirt around and having a wonderful time on her own. She had wandered to the other side of the sand area and found a little toy car. She immediately turned and looked at me and walked over to me as fast as she could holding the car out in front of her to show me the neat thing she found. She handed it to me and then held her hand out for me to give it back to her so she could play with it. How darling though that she wanted to show me her treasure first. So cute!
Cute thing #5: She loooooves puppy dogs and the minute she sees one or something equally as fuzzy or furry she pants like a dog and points. Its darling and another reminder that she is basically a genius.
Those are just a few of the darling things our little girl has done in the past couple of days that remind me how smart, fun and beautiful she is. Im a lucky mommy! (here are some pics of the black eye.. kinda hard to tell but if you look closely its there)

New Mexico and the Zoo

2008-08-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

So we just got back from New Mexico last night for a quick trip to visit Brians family and to go to his sisters baby shower. It was great being there but I gotta tell you the drive was hellish. Virtually the trip from hell. Never ever will I drive farther then two hours away with a small toddler again. If I ever mention that I am taking a road trip please remind me how much it sucks. It was 10 hours of almost constant crying and general fussiness and not just from Gabriella either. I think I contributed a little myself. So while we love to visit family I think from now on we will see if we can fly and if not maybe a motor home so Gabriella can be running laps while we drive. While we are in Albuquerque we took the kids to the zoo which they really enjoyed as did us parents. I havent been to a zoo in ages so it was pretty neat to see all those furry babies. Here are the pics!

Fun with mom in the creek

2008-08-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

Megan and I took Gabriella to play in the creek and sand again today and of course she loved it. I think we actually have a couple of pictures of us together thanks so Megan so I will go ahead and post those seeing as they are quite rare. Gabriella is supposedly taking a nap at the moment but I keep hearing her squeal and talk to herself. She keeps up a running dialogue all day long and has become quite impatient and demanding at times but is mostly just darling. Everywhere we go people are just tickled by her and her sweet smile. What a cutie pie! Im just so lucky to have her. Here are the pics.

Beach Volleyballer in the making....

2008-08-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Okay so she didnt actually play any volleyball or do anything besides play in the sand but I could tell that she really wished she could. One day little Gabriella... one day. The sand she is playing in is in this darling little park that I just took her to and all the little kids that you see around her were just playing but they were sweet enough to share with Gabriella and try to coax her into smiling into the camera. It finally worked and I got it on tape so enjoy. They also made some sand piles for her and instead of smashing them as you would assume a small child would she gently poked them with her finger. So funny! Gabriella absolutely loves it outside and squeals and laughs every time she gets to walk around or play in the grass or water in the creek. She cries and is so sad whenever we have to come back inside but since she is usually so tuckered out by the time we get home she does take some mighty good naps. Here are the latest pics and videos.

Gabby's Big Escape!

2008-08-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is hilarious and is walking EVERYWHERE! We cant keep up with her already which is a little frightening. Here is a video of her trying to run away down the sidewalk and a little picture of her with mashed potatoes all over her face. Life sure is entertaining with this little one around.

Bath time!

2008-08-05T11:55:00.001-07:00

Gabriella has upgraded her bath to a big girl bath and apparently loves it. She cries every time I take her out now and I think she could play in the bathtub for hours if I let her. Here is a little video I shot last night of her enjoying herself. She is so funny! On a side note I finished my Breaking Dawn book on Sunday night and LOVED it!!! Hopefully all you out there will love it too. I am just so sad its over.. I guess I still have the movie to look forward to though. Thank goodness for that!

4th of July and a cute girl

2008-08-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of gabs during 4th of July which we were in Hawaii for and didnt get to see our girl enjoy her first 4th. From the pictures though she looked pretty tired and not that excited so maybe we didnt miss much. A couple of other cute pics of her while at Grandmas and one of us together which rarely happens seeing as I am the one usually taking pictures. Enjoy!

Edward here I come...

2008-08-02T08:56:00.000-07:00

So I have just become the proud owner of Stephanie Meyers latest "Breaking Dawn" which I have been waiting for since forever it seems. Finally I get to find out if Bella becomes a vampire and if she picks Edward or Jacob. Exciting stuff.. So if any of you wonder over the next few days why you havent heard from me it is because I will be spending every available second reading my new book. Yea for me!!

She's a walker!!

2008-08-01T10:21:00.001-07:00

Okay so Gabriella is officially a walker. It seriously happened just over the last two days but she is really getting the hang of it and seems to prefer walking now to crawling. She is a bit wobbly on those little stems of hers but every day gets better and better. Its so darling! I keep trying to get video of it but as soon as the camera comes out she falls or crawls to me to get the camera. She is just so darn cute if I do say so myself. Im a proud mama!!!

Aloha!

2008-07-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

So we are back from our little vacation to Hawaii and we sure miss it. We had a lovely time with our friends Emily and Mason and Emily's family who are a hoot. It was so sad to come back to reality but we missed our little girl so much that it was actually fun to come home and see her and how much she had grown. She is working on walking now and is a bit unstable on her feet but she probably just gets that from me. Things are going good in our new home in Cedar City. Brian is enjoying his job as a locksmith and will be starting school in a couple of weeks. I am enjoying living by my sister and we have made ourselves very comfortable in their home. Hopefully not so comfortable that they get sick of us. Jessica has a little inflatable pool behind her townhome that Gabriella loves to swim in so that would have to be her new favorite thing. We are totally settled in the house which was a struggle seeing as we only had 4 days here until we left for Hawaii but looks like our blood sweat and tears paid off. Ill do my best to keep this updated now that we finally have internet at our house. Love you all and feel free to come and visit and stay anytime you come to Cedar City... you will love it!!

Moving...again!

2008-06-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

Ugh! So I guess its that time again. Since we have been married we have moved 6 times. Some of you might ask, "Alicia, are you a carni or in the circus or something?" Very good guess but unfortunately no. I am beginning to think that would be a good choice of career for us and probably have more stability than we have experienced up to now. Until than we are moving to Cedar City for Brian to finish his education. While this is very sad for us because we love Heber City so much we are excited to be closer to my sister Jessica and her husband Jesse whom we love and have tons of fun with. We will be moving in the next week or so and hope to have everything settled in the new place before we go to Hawaii. That is our goal anyway. If any of you are dying to help us pack and move just give me a call. We can use all the help we can get.

Happy Birthday Gabriella!!

2008-06-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

Our little girl turned 1 on Monday! I cant believe she is so old and grown up. We had a little party for her down in Richfield at my parents house and had a good time. She got some fun toys but mostly I think she would have been happy just to play with the wrapping paper. We had her doctors appointment yesterday and go figure she is in the 90th percentile for height and the 20th for weight. Just a long sring bean like her dad (her mom used to be one too.. long ago). We are just so proud to be her parents as she is the sweetest, funniest little girl in the world. I dont know how it is possible that she gets cuter and funner every day. She is definitely getting quite a strong personality though which is hilarious. The other day she was digging through my purse and found a piece of chocolate (weird) which she started sucking on ferociously. I took it away from her and threw it in the garbage only to have her scream and yell at me and proceed to crawl to the garbage, dump it over grab the chocolate again and cram it in her mouth. Like mother like daughter I guess. I love my little girl and cant imagine my life without her.

Kate the Hair Whisperer

2008-06-07T08:46:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a fun little trip to Las Vegas to visit my girlfriend Katie who I have been friends with for well.. just about 16 years. I decided I needed some girlfriend time alone without baby and husband to somewhat rejuvinate myself. It was sorely needed to say the least. So Katie is my super stylish hair guru friend who is darling and beautiful and so fun to be with. Her husband happened to be gone as well so it was definitely girl time. If anyone has seen me lately they know that my hair was in dire condition and needed some tlc and some color to battle the roots and grey hair (yes I have grey hair). Katie totally worked her magic on me and I feel like a new woman with new hair. She is so talented and I absolutely love it. Not only do I have new hair but we also talked so much that I think I resolved most of the issues I have been having lately with being a stay at home mom and feeling like crap most days. So thanks to my dear friend I no longer want to jump off a bridge and I look better too. Who could ask for anything more.

Day of "Firsts"

2008-06-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

Gabriella had a big, big day today. Many firsts occurred in her life and so I thought I would share.

1-First ponytail; Granted its on the top of her head and sticks straight into the air but I was just proud that it is long enough to fit in a rubber band.

2-First tooth; Finally we have a little tiny tooth popping out. I cant even see it its so new but I can definitely feel it and it is sharp. We have been waiting for this for quite some time and it is a very big occasion.

3-First bike ride; She got to ride in the bike trailer with her friend Ruby today and she loved it. We rode to the park where she also experienced...

4-First big girl swing set; So adorable and she was quite content swinging back and forth although the biggest smiles didnt come until I had pushed her high. She is definitely a dare devil like her dad. I will follow with pictures...

Mountain biking adventure

2008-06-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had the great fun of going mountain biking with our good friends Mason and Emily. I really havent ever been officially "mountain biking" in the actual mountains so I was a bit nervous but excited as well. Once we started on the trail, which was beautiful, I was thinking to myself that it wasnt as hard as I had thought it would be. It was down hill for part of it so I coasted and looked at the scenery and all was well. Then came the switchbacks. Ordinarily that word would not cause fear to come into my heart but after experiencing my first down hill switchback I was terrified every time I heard the biker in front yell "switchback". I seriously came close to eating dirt so many times and thats even with me walking my bike. After one very scary switchback in which I nearly died I discovered that my brake had twisted, locking itself onto the rear tire. Emily was kind enough to carry my useless bike while I walked hers, hoping we would eventually find our husbands who had left us far behind. Apparently they were more confident in our abilities then they should have been. Thankfully a good samaritan saw our plight and stopped and actually fixed my bike. While standing watching him work his magic I unbelievably came close to falling off the side of the trail to my death. Apparently I was safer on my bike than on my feet. Who would have thought. So bike gets fixed and Emily and I are on our way again. We made it to the last mile which is apparently the steepest decline of the whole trail and very rocky. We decided to walk our bikes most of the way down, riding when it would flatten out a bit. While on one of those "riding" bits I must have misjudged the steepness and as I traveled down, hit a rock at a very high speed and completely flipped over my handle bars. I also took my bike with me and it rolled on top hitting my head in the process. Ouch!!! To say the least I was in pain. Very scary and yet pretty typical for one of my out of doors experiences. Again the husbands are nowhere to be seen so Emily and I finished the final leg walking, me limping, to the end. What we originally thought was going to be an easy 1 hour bike ride became a death defying three hour adventure. All in all though it was very fun and something I hope to do again. All but the flying off my bike part. Here are some pictures of the damage. I was hoping to have pictures of us all smiling and fresh looking after the ride but we could barely stand let alone put together a photo shoot so you will have to make do with seeing pictures of my battered body. ENJOY!

What the thrush!!

2008-05-29T12:41:00.001-07:00

What an eventful 24 hours. After virtually no sleep last night and a non-existent nap this morning it was apparent that my little girl was not feeling very well. Having had our first ear infection not more than three weeks ago I decided to get her into the doctor and see what else could possible be wrong. After waiting an hour it was determined that she still had an ear infection (way to go antibiotics) and because of the lame first set of antiobiotics she now has a lovely case of thrush. Thrush is basically a yeast infection in the mouth. Now we are on stronger antibiotics, enzymes to help counter act the stronger antiobiotic killing all the good things in her body (hence the thrush in the first place), more ear drops, as well as an oral medication for the thrush which apparently results in a very purple mouth and also stains everything in sight. Here are a couple of pictures of Gabriella not so happy about her new purple mouth. Thankfully she is now sleeping like an angel due to the many drugs now coursing through her little body. Maybe its time for mommy nap time as well.

Funny?

2008-05-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

A few hours ago I was talking to one of my dear friends all about my new blog. I was excited until she said "I cant wait to read it, I bet its hilarious". I instantly wanted to tell her that I was lying and I didnt have a blog afterall so not to bother looking for it. I realized a little late (after I already sent the link to everyone I know) that my blog is not funny. Not even close. In fact I dont even think I know what funny is anymore.

Is it funny when I realize a little too late that the wet spot on my daughters bum is diahrea and not water, and that I sniffed a little too closely and it got on my lips?

Is it funny that the only pair of jeans that fit me are covered in mashed bananas and drool and yet I wont wash them because they wouldnt fit anymore?

Is it funny that the only web site I really care about is People.com and
only because I am trying to find pictures of celebrities (mainly Brittany Spears) that look worse than I do or that have been admitted to rehab?

Is it funny that I have spent nearly an hour trying to come up with things in my life that might be funny?

In short... I apologize if my blog is not as funny as some. I will do my best to not only include witty dialogue and catchphrases but also other very humorous anecdotes. If this means I must steal pages of script from other peoples funnier blogs than so be it. Please help me also by telling me in your comments how "freaking hilarious" I am. That boost of confidence will surely give me the "oomph" I need to really impress all of you with how funny I am. Again dont forget to comment about me being funny. Thanks!

Good morning..

2008-05-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

If I have had a rough night taking care of Gabby then Brian always does his best to wake up with her in the morning before work and give me some much needed rest. A couple of days ago Brian got up with her and I could hear him exclaim to her over the baby monitor that she had a very poopy diaper. I think there were also a few squeals when she attempted to also grab that very poopy diaper which resulted in very poopy fingers. I went in to offer assistance and then went to lie back down. About 20 minutes later Brian came in with Gabby and asks if it is possible for her to have peed through her diaper and onto the kitchen floor. I thought it was probably water and told him to just wipe it up and not to worry. When I went into the kitchen a bit later and asked him about it he replied that yes she had indeed peed all over the kitchen floor. Apparently this was only possible seeing as Brian had completly forgotten to put a diaper on her. He just zipped her back up in her jammies and put her in her high chair for breakfast. When she finally went, it leaked through the high chair and puddled all over the floor. Im pretty sure that will be the last time he forgets a diaper. .

Gabby and Daddy

2008-05-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

Gabby loves her daddy so much and get so excited when he comes home. She squeals and crawls as fast as she can the minute he walks through the door. She is definitely daddies little princess. Brian is wonderful with her and has the patience of a saint which is something I am hoping will rub off on me one of these days.

Its about time!!

2008-05-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

Finally! Its official!! I am a blogger!!!

I really have been meaning to do this for quite some time and was convinced that I would be a bad parent if I didnt share all about us and our little girl with all of our friends and family. So much happens and things change so fast that this seemed like the best way to keep everyone updated on the life and times of our little family. Gabriella is nearly 1 which is pretty amazing in itself. She is growing so fast and still has no teeth to show for it. She is pretty good with those gums of hers though and manages to eat her way though just about everything. Today is beautiful so we took a walk and she coo'd and talked to just about everything and everyone we saw. She is crawling so fast is standing but not quite walking. Hopefully she will give me a couple of months before she decides to start that. This past weekend was Memorial weekend and we were able to spend the day in Richfield with my Bird family. This gives me a most welcome break as Gabriella gets shared between Grandma, Grandpa and all the aunts. I pretty much dont have to do anything except relax which is wonderful. We were even able to go see a movie while Grandma watched baby. It was great!

We are living in Heber City and we love it. This valley is absolutely gorgeous and the people have been wonderful to us. Our ward has welcomed us with open arms and given us some fun callings as well. Brian is Sunday School President and I am in the nursery (I knew it was just a matter of time before I was put there). We hope to live in this valley for as long as possible and if all goes well we hope to soon buy our first house.

Brian and are taking a much needed vacation to Hawaii at the end of the month which we are thrilled about. I will of course share pictures and stories when we get back.

We love you all and are excited to share with you all of the ups and downs of parenting and life in general.