SANTA

We took Ivy to visit Santa at the Childrens Museum yesterday, and it went better than we expected. We went there instead of the mall because they let you take your own pictures, and Ivy is always freaked out by photographers. So the pictures didn't turn out wonderful, but she wasn't screaming her head off which was ultimately our main goal! I even got to sit on Santa's lap. He asked if I had been a good girl this year and I didn't quite know how to answer that. I told him "I hope so" and left it at that!

Lessons in brushing a toddler's teeth.......

I have been working on getting Ivy excited about brushing her teeth. She loves to play with her toothbrush, and will carry it around for an hour and chew on it, and drool all over the place. But she doesn't want me to help her at all. So our new deal is that she gets to brush my teeth while I brush hers. It's pretty goofy, but it actually works (sometimes) and John happened to catch us last week when we were getting ready for church.

Family Pictures

We went out today and tried to get some good "christmas card" pictures. My friend Melissa took them, and actually got some smiles out of Ivy! So here are some samples :) I didn't post the one we chose for our cards, so that one will still be a surprise (well, sort-of. It's pretty much the same idea as these two). Oh well!

Tagged

Okay so here I go again. I'm sure you all are just dying for me to tell you random and weird facts about myself, but since this is my blog I get to post whatever I want :) And I'll try really hard to think of things you may not already know. So here you go! Thanks Jenna!

1. My favorite pregnancy craving this time around is oreos and peanut butter- yes together. You just dip the oreo in the pb, and you have a very yummy creation! You should definately try it!

2. I like to take really hot showers, so that the bathroom gets all steamed up and my skin is red when I get out. Ahhhhhhhh..........

3. My dream job is to buy old houses, renovate, and re-sell them. I love old houses, and I think it's so sad then they get run down- so I just want to see them being loved again! Picture center street in Logan! All I need is a BIG chunk of cash to get started.

4. I have diagnosed myself with ADD. This is why being a stay-at-home mom is such a perfect job for me- I can start a million projects, and not really have to finish any of them (at least not right away). This is also why John is so good for me- he's exactly the opposite and is teaching me how to focus on things.

5. In the winter months I love to have a cup of hot chocolate every night. With marshmallows, of course!

6. I LOVE Desperate Housewives. I know, it's my guilty pleasure :) I had to miss this weeks episode, and can't wait to watch it! I guess I must need a little drama in my life or something.

7. My very favorite thing to do is watch John with Ivy. He is such a great dad, and it just makes me melt to see them play together. They are good buddies, and i'm so thankful Ivy has such a great example in her life.

Wow, that was kind-of hard to come up with 7- sorry if you're bored. Now I tag Celeste, Chrissy, Shelley, Laur and Julie.

mmmmmm.....bacon!

I took Ivy to this really fun play area in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, where all of the "toys" are modeled after breakfast foods. It was pretty funny :) Ivy loved it. She is getting so independent, it scares me a little bit! She didn't want me to help her, or play with her at all- she just wanted to do her own thing the whole time. If she ever saw me walking towards her she would turn around and "run" (as fast as a little toddler can go) the other way. Sad! But I guess I should be happy that she's able to entertain herself, right?

Just a little baby update!

For those of you who have been wondering, I just wanted to let you know that we had our ultrasound last week. Everything looks to be going well, and the baby is measuring perfectly with our dates (Due March 30th)! The only problem was that the baby had its legs crossed! The tech would occasionally catch a glimpse of "something" and said that there's a possibility that this baby is a boy, but told us to keep the reciepts if we buy anything. And I think we've also come the conclusion that the 11-week ultrasound was a fluke- it was still too early to tell. So it looks like we're having a surprise! I was disappointed at first, but now I think it will be fun to hear "IT'S A BOY!", or "IT'S A GIRL!" in the delivery room.

St. Louis

Sorry I have been MIA for a few days- we took a little trip to St. Louis, Missouri for my brother-in-law Dave's wedding. The wedding was beautiful, and we had lots of fun hanging out with John's family. When I get pictures from outside of the temple, I'll post them too!

John and his brother Dave giving Ivy a double smooch :) She got SO much attention on this trip and she loved every minute of it!
We had dinner at a casino buffet the night before the wedding. St. Louis has this law that casinos are legal, but only if they are touching the river. If anybody can tell me why, I'd love to know! And oh my gosh- the food was SO good! I wish you could all see the dessert bar- it was amazing. Oh, and yes, I chopped my hair off :)
Dave and Lyndsie - The happy couple!
Our little family of 3 1/2 in front of the casino's Christmas tree
John and Ivy at the reception. John was such a hottie in his tux! I married the most handsome guy ever! Dave and Lyndsie couldn't get away fast enough!

Fads

With Christmas coming up I've been thinking about what to get for Ivy. That got me thinking about the toys and things that I loved when I was a kid. So this post is for all of you who grew up in the 80's and 90's. I'd love to hear what your favorite toys were too!

Rainbow Bright! When I found this picture, I didn't remember her looking quite like this. But you get the idea!

Care Bears! They still make them, but I don't think the new ones are as cute as the old ones.

My friend had one of these, and I was always so jealous! It is actually a kind-of cool toy!
If you try to tell me you didn't have slap bracelets in elementary school, I'll know you are lying. They were the coolest- and the more you had, the cooler you were! hehehe
Teddy Ruxpin was seriously one of my favorites! He tells stories! I had Mother Goose too.


The Fraggles! I always watched Fraggle Rock, and if I knew that they had Fraggle dolls, I would have wanted them too!

We LOVE Fall!

We have had so much fun playing in the leaves, going for walks, and just playing outside in the last few weeks. What will we do when winter comes? I love the Autumn weather in Colorado, it just doesn't last long enough!

LoTS oF hAllOwEeN fuN!

This is in the bug room at the Children's Museum. Appropriate, huh!

Okay so I know I'm a horrible photographer- I guess I don't know how to work my camera. Plust it has this huge delay, so the moment usually passes me by before my camera actually shoots. GRRR! So I didn't get many cute pix of Ivy in her costume, but here are a couple of semi-decent ones.

We went to the Children's Museum in the morning with Val and her kiddos for Trick-or-treat-street, which Ivy loved. She wanted to be pretty independent the whole time, except when it came time to go up the the trick-or-treat booths. Then she would get all shy and either sit down and refuse to move, or cry to have me pick her up.

Then in the afternoon we went trick-or-treating at the mall. I didn't bring her stroller because I thought she would want to walk around, but there were so many people there I think she was scared. So I ended up carrying her around the entire mall (which is a little bigger that Cache Valley mall, hehehe). So I got a good workout and then came home and hid her really good candy from John.

That night we got a jack-o-lantern shaped pizza, answered the door for about 12 trick-0r-treaters, and watched a movie. We had a fun Halloween, but I think Ivy will enjoy it a little more next year (and we probably won't be able to get away with eating all of her candy)!

He's finally getting married!

John's brother Dave is getting married in a couple of weeks, and I just wanted to share with you guys. We are all so excited to have Lyndsie in the family! She is so gorgeous and talented, she is always going to show me up! But that's ok- they are such a cute couple (sorry Dave for using the word "cute"). I can't wait to see them in St. Louis! (Isn't that a line in a movie?)

Ward Trunk-or-Treat

Our ward had their trunk-or-treat halloween party last week, and Ivy just thought she was big stuff.. She loved her costume, and strutted around wanting everyone to look at her (and they did). I have to say she looked pretty cute. We are having so much fun with her right now- she is very independent, and it is great to watch her learn and face new situations. I'm sure you'll be seeing more Halloween pictures, but I thought I'd post these just for fun!

I finally figured it out!

Well everybody, welcome to my world. I finally managed to learn how to change my layout (after a lot of googling). John told me the other day that he thinks Ivy is more technologically savvy than me. Which normally might make me feel bad, but I'm sure it's probably true. So feel free to tell me what you think about the layout. Also, I lost a lot of my favorite blogs' web addresses in the process so if you used to be on my list of other bloggers and aren't any more, it isn't because we don't want to be your friend any more. So please comment so that I can get you added back to my list :) Now that I actually know how to do this, I have a feeling I'll be changing my blog colors with my moods! This could be fun!

Tag I'm it and now 6 of you are too!

I've been tagged. Thanks Jill :)


The Rules:

Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves

At the end of the post the player then tags six people and posts their names then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Have fun!

1. I hate being the center of attention. I always blush and get all shy when I can tell people are looking at me (especially in big groups). Hate this about myself!

2. I have this weird habit of subconsciously writing words with my finger. Sometimes when John and I are holding hands he looks over and asks what I'm writing about. I usually don't even realize I'm doing it. I must be practicing my cursive or something!

3. It drives me NUTS when people mix up the spellings of the words : to, too, and two, and also there, their, and they're. They all have completely different meanings!

4. I love Christmas music, and usually break out my Christmas CD's in about August. I waited until the end of September this year to spare John. I also love the movie White Christmas and I watch it (really just listen to it) at least once a week.

5. I love scrapbooking! I'm really not the most creative person, but I love to archive my memories- especially the ones of my cute Ivy! She's just so dang cute!

6. I get really grouchy when I'm hungry, and I usually plan my days around what and when I will be eating. Feed me!

Okay that was fun! So now I tag: Brandy, Hallie, Shelley, Randi, Chelsea, and anyone else that wants a chance to talk about themselves!

Our Trip to Utah!

Ivy and I took a little road trip to Utah last week (and according to Brandy I am way too slow posting the pictures...SORRY!) We traveled with my friend Chrissy and her two little boys Spencer and McKay. The kids were SO good in the car, and we only had one incident - nearly running out of gas in the middle of nowhere on the way home. For those of you who know me, you will be able to guess that I was a basket-case! But other than that it was basically a relaxed and uneventful vacation! Here are some of the things we did:

Ivy jumping on the tramp with Aunt Monica. Ivy absolutely loves her!
We ate at Firehouse with my aunt Kim, cousin Brandy and my Mom. I love that place!
We got to see my cute friend Brooke and her sweet little girl Karlee. Isn't she adorable? And of course she was perfectly behaved while Ivy was a little pill! I have the most strong-willed child, but I wouldn't have her any other way (I think)! Thanks Brooke for coming to say hello!
Ivy had fun playing in my parent's garden. I can't wait until we have a yard!
And of course we paid a visit to the Logan cemetary to see Grandpa Boyd. John and I are sure that he and Ivy would have been good buddies!

I love Cache Valley and was so glad I got to go back and visit during the fall! The colors are so gorgeous, and it was fun to have that "small-town" feeling for a few days, and then return to my city! I love getting away, but am always so glad to get back to John, and to my normal boring life!

Personal Space, Cell phone ettiquete, and other things....

So here I was minding my own business at the grocery store. Milk, cereal, eggs, peanut butter, and snickers ice cream bars in tow. Ivy was being quite the little angel, keeping herself entertained by taking off her shoes and throwing them out of the cart. Now, I know better than to go to the grocery store in the afternoon. My usual shopping time is 8am due to the lack of other peoples school-aged children, and grouchy/tired/rushed working mothers. I suppose I thought it might be different today.... I guess I learned my lesson. I was standing (very innocently, may I add) 4th in line when all of a sudden I felt something hit me in the back. I looked down and there was a very sad little girl crying over the spilled bottle of milk that was now running under my shoes. I still don't know if she threw it to try to get me out of the way or if she was trying to share with me. Then around the corner came (I assume) her very young mother and grandmother with ***3*** carts full of groceries, and a few other children. Mom was stressed out trying to keep kids quiet, and Grandma was no help at all due to a very important (also somewhat private) cell phone conversation. I never really wanted to know about her husband's visit to the doctor this morning. So Mom picked up the little girl and took her to get more milk. Seconds later one of the little boys decided to take the cart for a drive and ran first into the candy bar rack, then into me. Grandma was still on the phone, but decided to be helpful and stand in-between me and the cart. The only problem with this is that I could hear way too much of her conversation, I could actually feel her breathing on me, and hear the person on the other line. Why is it that she had to invade my bubble? I love my personal space. I had people in front of me in line, and I didn't feel the need to stand close enough to smell their perfume. I took a step forward, and she did too! Finally I took Ivy out of the cart and put the cart in-between myself and my new friend. So the moral of the story is: Don't torture your children by taking them on "3-cart" grocery trips, take away Grandma's cell phone, and always wear protective gear to Wal-Mart.

Family

I just wanted to take a minute to tell Connor, Claire, Mike, Jordan, Jarom, Spencer, Swensen, Livia and Mya (my cute neices and nephews) how great I think they are! Being an aunt is the best :) I don't have recent pictures of all of them, but here are a few! (So to my brothers and sister who don't send me pictures of your children, please let this be my request!)

Spencer and Jordan
Liv and Mya
Connor

And these are my great parents! I think they're cute enough to post with my neices and nephews :)

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

John, Ivy and I went to a really fun farm last week that has a pumpkin patch and farm animals. We had a fun evening together! Ivy loved the animals, but was pretty freaked out by the pumpkins- I don't know what she thought they would do to her, but this picture is the closest she would get to them without crying.

We tried to set her in the middle of a bunch of pumpkins, and she just started screaming and trying to get away from them. Poor thing!
Ivy and Daddy feeding the ducks. Ducks are one of Ivy's favorite animals- she knows how to say and sign "duck"
This is Ivy and I on a hayride. I hate this picture of me, but Ivy looks so cute!
Ivy and John in front of the barn.
Talking to a goat. (I think that's a goat!) Ivy thought they were great!

She also loved the kittens, but we didn't get any pictures of them :( She "meows" any time she sees a cat. It is so cute!

Playing dress-up....

So Ivy and I were in my room the other day and she was "helping" me fold laundry. I looked over at her and she had my bra around her neck. I tried to take it off, and she got SO mad! She must have thought it looked like a fun necklace or something! hehehe

Is it inappropriate to have pictures of my underwear on my blog? Sorry if you're offended :) I just thought is was too funny, and had to share the laugh with you all!

Our Giant Resident Spider

So we have a fun little patio behind our townhome, and we have a grill, and a dead little garden. But I haven't spent any time back there lately because of this.........

.........Yes, it is a huge spider. He showed up in the middle of August, and just won't go away! I couldn't even believe I went out there to take this picture! Sometimes we open up the blinds and watch him eat other bugs, and crawl up and down his 2-foot-long web. I'm thinking I should give him a name since he just keeps hanging around! Any ideas?!

Happy Buttefly Birthday Janie

We went to a fun birthday party today for our friend Janie. It was a butterfly birthday- she had a really cute butterfly cake (nice job, Val!), and then we went to the Butterfly Pavilion. Ivy and I had fun looking at all of the bugs and butterflies. They even had a room that was like "honey I shrunk the kids" and the bugs (models) were huge. It was a fun day!

Isn't that cake fun! And Janie even got butterfly wings for her birthday that she got to wear all day.

Ivy and Alton hanging out! Alton loves to "help" push the stroller, even though I ran over him once. Oops! And, Ivy kept hitting his hand and saying "no, no". How do I teach a 1-year-old to share?!
This is a great big honey-comb that the kids can climb through- Ivy loved it!
Watching some butterflies- they were awesome!

I know, I should be a photographer! hahaha

Lizzy!

I found this Jane Austen quiz on Chrissy's blog, and had to copy-cat. Iwas surprised to learn that:

Take the Quiz here!

Of course-I judge too quickly, and I am immensly attractive! hahaha. No, that's just what it said on the description. But she really is one of my very favorite literary characters ever, so I'm happy to be like her!