It's a Girl!

Okay okay. Guilt has caused me to write this post. Life has been busy in a good kind of way. Ben works a lot, but enjoys his job. I'm a little overwhelmed thinking that I'll have a 3rd baby in April. We did the ultrasound last week and found out that we are having a girl. I'm excited for Kate to have a "best friend". I still call Kate "baby Kate" and think that I still will after there is another baby in the house. She is so adorable and girly. I can't believe how girly she is. She already is picky about what outfits I put on her. She usually just wants to wear colorful pjs or Carson's underwear (maybe she's jealous?). Carson likes to force Kate to play with him and gets frustrated when Kate does not understand his commands. Overall, they play very well together. If Kate is not around, Carson will ask, "where's my Kate?" Carson cracks me up with the things he says and how he says them. He doesn't pronounce his ls and rs and few others. I try to correct him which is also funny. Lately, we've been working on need. He says meed. Now when he "needs" something he say's "mom, I n- n- meed that". He also puts words in Kate's mouth, like, "Kate says she's hungry". Then usually recommends something like candy or chocolate to share with her. Or "Kate needs to go outside". Meaning I need to have someone to play with in my playhouse outside. I also say that Carson has to be a good/happy boy to receive privileges, so if he does not get something that he wants he cries and through his tears, says "but mom, I want to be happy!". It makes me laugh.

We are visiting the family in January. We are excited and hope to see as many friends and family as possible. Yay!

Love it here!

I really am liking Granby, CT. It is a great place to live. Sorry I'm the same old Jill and not very good at posting. Here's a very quick update... My family visited a few weeks ago and we had a lot of fun. We went to Cape Cod and Boston. Kim, Ben, and dad went to NYC. Kate had her birthday August 11th. She is one year old! Carson is potty trained! I had held it off long enough. Carson starts Joy School and preschool in a few weeks. Ben is really liking his job and we love our new home, we are finally settled in. I am also serving as second counselor in the YW. It's a great calling. People here are super nice and although we live a bit far from each other, I do have friends. yay!

Carson kissing Kate, whether she likes it or not.


This pond is 6 minutes from my house in a beautiful nature preserve. We couldn't go any further on the trail because there was a mama bear with her cubs.


Grandpa just off the airplane and happy to see his grandkids.


Kim teaching Kate how to shop.


I just love that face!


And this one too!


Mom bravely going down the slide with Carson at the fair. Carson didn't seem scared at all.


Watching the fireman's parade in nearby Hartland. The parade is a huge deal for this small town.


Carson's favorite ride at the fair.


Kate waiting with mom for the parade to start. It was a beautiful day.


Kate trying to get to the water in Cape Cod. She loved the ocean!


She couldn't be happier.

Modern day pioneer, kind of

Hello all! I have many beautiful pictures of our family in CT. Unfortunately, the internet connection here is too slow to load them. So, I'll tell you a bit about what we've been up to. I could tell you only the wonderful stuff, which it mostly is, but that wouldn't be the whole story. So.... First of all, after ten minutes in our smelly apartment, the people downstairs knocked on our door to complain that we were being too loud (we as in Carson who runs to get almost anywhere). Immediately we could tell that this was going to be a problem. Despite my best efforts of leaving for most of the day and keeping Carson as quiet as possible, they complained EVERY DAY!! I told them that I was doing the best I could and to please understand that he is 2 years old. They did NOT understand and went so far as to criticize my mothering twice! It was very stressful and after one week of it, we gave our landlord our notice. Then, Ben unexpectedly had to go out of town the week we were to move to the hotel AND the air bed popped a hole, so I slept on the floor of the smelly apartment for the last three nights and then packed up and moved myself and the two kids to the hotel. So back to an extended stay hotel,one room for all of us. It's a bit more expensive, but worth it.
Also an interesting note about this hotel, it was THE cheapest rate we could find. It is also a Jewish hotel. Who knew. Over the weekend it was like a Jewish convention (men only) and Saturday (the sabbath) was interesting too. They only speak Hebrew and they are not allowed to talk to you. Definitely a very cultural experience for us.
Now for the good stuff. It is beautiful here!! I mean gorgeous. Sometimes I just can't believe that this is where I'll be living. Everyone is so nice! I've already made friends at parks, libraries, and a kids play gym. All I do is say I'm new and they give me their phone number and email and proceed in telling everything there is to do in the area. I love my ward. They are so nice! I love the recreation available in the area. There is a beautiful bike path down the street from our house as well as Salmon Brooke where you can fish. There is wild life and farms all over. It really is green everywhere. We are two hours from NYC and a little less than two hours from Boston. The schools are some of the best in the nation. I am excited to get our house, one big reason, there is a second master which we are planning on using as a guest room for the several west coast visitors. PLEASE COME!! You will LOVE it I am sure. You can take the train to NYC or Boston. You can even just make a day trip of it. Plus, aside from the big cities, there is plenty to see right here in CT. It is very quaint with several historical sites. Love you all and miss you tons. -Jill

Moving to Connecticut

Has it really been 4 months since my last post?! Well, for those of you who have not heard, we are indeed moving to Connecticut. Ben accepted a great job position in Windsor, CT (near Hartford). He is already there working. It is hard being apart, but we hope to be together just as soon as we can figure out a place to live. I am going to miss everyone. I have only visited the east coast once before, but I have to tell you, after doing a lot of research and a visit to CT myself, I am actually very excited to make this move. It is GORGEOUS there! Green, lots of trees, hills, rivers, creeks, and the cutest little towns you can imagine. The school ratings are very high, and everyone there has been so nice. Ben was excited to learn that although they are not large resorts, there are quite a few ski/snowboard resorts within an hours drive of where we'll be living.
I really feel the Lords hand in this and I know that this move is going to be a really good thing for our family.


Cute hat from aunt Lindsay.



Carson being spoiled by his aunts Rachel and Audrey in Cedar City.


No need to bring a pack n' play!


Kate making herself comfortable after a long flight to CT.



Ben and Kate riding the Subway. We were stuck in New York City, so we took the subway to Manhattan to look at the sights.


Picture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.


Carson enjoying some mommy time after a thorough licking of the beaters.


Out with friends to see Phantom of the Opera. So sad to be leaving such a great group of friends.

An update and random pics

Okay, so it has been awhile for me. I guess two kids does make a difference in how much free time you have. Or at least naps and cleaning my house have become much more tempting than going online. So everything is going great here. Carson LOVES his new baby sister. Carson calls her Kate or Baby Kate. He is so sweet. He gives her kisses all of the time (he kissed the screen while I was loading a picture of Kate for this post). He'll ask about her or want to know where she is. He is possessive of her and is sure to notify me if someone outside the family is holding her. He knows to be soft with Kate and, for the most part, is very gentle with her. Such a good big brother.

Carson also just had a birthday. He is now two years old. He'll tell you so if you ask him (but I don't think he knows what it means to be two). We did a Halloween themed party and it was so much fun. We had a cookie decorating table and balloons and toys scattered all over the floor. Plus, we had the kids dress up in their Halloween costumes. It was a toddlers paradise. Carson got some great gifts. My friends were paying attention to Carson's likes. He got cars, trucks, a guitar, and iron man stuff. It couldn't have been any better for him. Unfortunately, my camera was not working, but my brother-in-law Nate took a few pictures, so hopefully I'll get those from him soon.

Ben just finished his classes for his Masters program. Now he just needs to take the comprehensive exam on November 19th and he'll be all done with that. He got straight As of course. He's such an amazing guy! Going to school full-time and working full-time is not easy.

I am training for a half marathon in California with a couple of my friends. We have been really good at keeping to the training schedule. The run is not until March, so we'll have plenty of time to build up our miles. Right now we are only doing 2,3, and 4 miles and I can't see myself doing any more than that right now. Training for an event is the only way I can get myself to workout regularly. I'm so glad that there are so many of my friends training with me. It makes keeping to schedule and staying motivated so much easier.

My sister Rachel stayed with us for almost a week before she left for New York City. I REALLY miss her. She is so great with Carson and a huge help around the house, plus, she's just great company. She is really enjoying her experience living in the Big Apple and calls constantly telling me how much she wants us to visit. For those of you who do not know, she is performing in "The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, with the Rockettes". If we can make it work, we are so going to go see her. I'm not excited about how cold it will be, but I think it will still be a lot of fun.

We had Katelyn's baby blessing yesterday. The entire weekend was nice. I was able to visit with Seth and Riva and their kids and Isaac and Allison and their kids. Trick-or-Treating in my in-laws neighborhood went really well too. Carson enjoyed going house to house more than the trunk-or-treat. Gloria, my mother-in-law, made a beautiful blessing dress, together with a bonnet and little shoes. Katelyn looked so pretty. I'll post some pics as soon as I get them. Speaking of which I have a few random pics that I was able to load to the computer. Hopefully, I'll have a few more to post before the end of this week.







Katelyn with her cousins Olivia and Viola.


My sweet grandmas Laura and T.J.

Katelyn Juarez

So Tuesday, August 11th, Katelyn Guadalupe Juarez was born. 4:17am. 7 lbs. 4 oz. Her due date was September 3rd, so she was quite early. I started getting contractions Monday afternoon. I went into the hospital with mild but regular contractions around 5:30pm. My cervix did not dialate within two hours, so they sent me home. My contractions increased from 5 minutes apart to 1 1/2 to 3 minutes apart while in the hospital, but since I was so early (not yet 37 weeks) there was nothing that they could do. So... I waited at home and my contractions started getting stronger and closer together. Finally at 2:00am, Ben and I drove back to the hospital, I was dialated to a 5, and Katelyn was born two hours later. We are so happy. Katelyn is beautiful and healthy. I worried that I would deliver early again and that there might be health concerns, but she is perfect.

Here are some pics of our new baby girl, plus some photos of Carson enjoying his time being spoiled by his aunts.

Baby Shower and Bedding

Last week I had a small family baby shower. It was probably the best baby shower I have ever had hosted for me mostly because of its size. We all sat at a table and visited with one another. It was so nice. If I ever throw or recieve another shower, I think I will make it small. Sometimes there are so many people at the shower that you really do not get a chance to visit. I also LOVED the activity we did. We all made hair bows for my little girl while we visited at the table. I figured that everyone would make one bow, but we had so much fun that I think we made almost three a piece. It was also neat to see the creativity and talent that everyone had. Here are pictures of the big bows. We made some small ones too. You know, the kind that you glue on the baby's head.

Also, I finished my little girl's baby bedding. Well, I still have to go to the quilting shop to finish stitching up the quilt. I like how it turned out. I think that she will really like the bright colors. Now we just need a baby. I've got another month yet and I am hoping that she doesn't come early. She's a lot easier to take care of inside the womb. She can take all the time she needs.