I Want a Morning Redo... And it's only 9:00...

I opened a huge can of worms this morning when I opened a strawberry yogurt. OK, not literally, because that's really gross, but you'll get the point here in just a minute. I'm a slight neat-freak and I usually just spoon feed Carrie the really tricky stuff like yogurt. This morning I decided to just let her have at it with the spoon on her own... Not my best idea. I think she got a total of two bites actually in her mouth and the rest ended up all over her and her highchair. This picture doesn't show it half as bad as it eventually got.
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(And it would be so much easier to be mad about it if she hadn't recently learned how to smile for the camera)
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I decided she was probably due for a bath anyways so I hauled her upstairs to the bathroom (getting yogurt on my pajamas in the process). I gave her a quick scrub down and settled in on the bathroom floor next to the tub while she played. I had already grabbed "Breaking Dawn" which I'm reading for the umpteenth time. The morning seemed like it was getting better. She probably played with her bath toys for half an hour before it suddenly became a little too quiet, and then, a little grunt...
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SERIOUSLY?! I looked up to see none other than Carrie going #2 in the tub... Time to get out! Fortunately she didn't fight me when I quickly pulled her out of the tub and wrapped her in the towel. While I was trying to decide how to deal with the newest mess of the day, Carrie stood up, ditched the towel, and started to pee all over the bathroom floor.... :(
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Now I have to give her legs and feet another wipe down, try to clean the floor so she doesn't step in it and strap a diaper on as fast as possible! Once I got the whole mess figured out and cleaned up, I walk us both downstairs ready to crash on the couch to wallow while Carrie plays.
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Except, oh wait! The high chair is still COVERED in yogurt! My entire morning could repeat itself all over again if that didn't get cleaned right now. And of course it wouldn't be just as easy as a quick wipe up. Nope, it had dried on and I had to scrub to get it clean.
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By this time I'm fuming inside already writing my blog post in my head. Fortunately for Carrie, I'm oddly calm on the outside. Patience has been my dear friend this morning. I love being a mom. (Truly, I do. That's not sarcastic, as hard as it may be to believe after having read this) :)
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***** BLOG POST AMENDMENT; ONE HOUR LATER*****
I. Spoke. Too. Soon.
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While I was sitting at the computer blogging the above story, Carrie was busy at work filling her diaper. To the point of overflowing up her back... Really?.... Another wipe down, new diaper, new clothes... I need a nap...

Dang Technology...

So we finally figured out the problem with our computer/internet. Well, Justin figured it out. Turns out, it was simply our new wireless mouse interfering with our wi-fi internet... Seriously?! We were ready to call the internet company, thinking something was wrong with the connection, or our whole computer or something... and all it took was disabling the wireless mouse and plugging the old one back in.
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*He's been quite the handy-man around here lately. One of our tree sprinkler/bubbler things broke and he spent the whole afternoon fixing it.*
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ANYWAYS, I'll try to catch up a little bit. First of all, the ultrasound picture. Not much to see because I was only 6 weeks. Still, it was nice to see that the baby is really there.
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It's so small it's not even the obvious circle in the top picture, that's the yolk sac. It's the tiny white smudge towards the bottom of the circle. (Red circle around it in the top picture, and a tiny arrow pointing to it in the bottom picture) Told ya, not much to look at...
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It IS, however, something to drain my energy. The past several days I have been beyond tired and nauseous around the clock. I've only thrown up once, but most days I feel like I can't stand up straight. I know it seems silly because as of today I'm only 7 weeks, but... If it's not the pregnancy causing my ickiness, then I have some sort of bug that needs to go away, and fast!
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Justin has been so awesome too! Yesterday when he came home, I was curled up in a little ball on the couch and he jumped right in taking care of Carrie, doing the dishes, getting me a snack, putting Carrie down for a nap, getting us all dinner. I don't know how to make him know how thoroughly thankful I am. I hope this helps, although I've said it 100 times already.
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I do have some good moments, such as the following; Justin bought Carrie a little wading pool to play in and we tried it out the other day. She liked it ok, but I don't think the water had enough time to really warm up before we had her get in. Hopefully we'll get some good use out of it this summer. (You can also notice the lovely background of our backyard if you look hard enough... weeds, dirt, and more weeds...)
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I know I had a ton of little stories floating around in my head the last several days without a chance to blog them, but as I'm sitting here now, I don't remember a single one of them. Well, Carrie's asleep and I'm probably going to try to take a little nap while she's down :)

Baby Update

Our computer is currently on the fritz so I'm blogging from my friend Corynn's computer. Therefore, I don't have the ultrasound picture to post. I had my first ultrasound on Tuesday and everything looks great with our newest little one on the way. Hopefully our computer/internet will be fixed soon and I'll be back to my normal overly-chatty blogger self. Until then...

Sick Baby Girl

My poor sweet baby girl has felt awful all day... She woke up at 5:30 this morning crying, whining, and being very clingy. By 6:45 we had watched two whole episodes of Imagination Movers, had a graham cracker and were already ready for a nap. On and off throughout the day she's been fussy and fallen asleep in my arms or on my lap. We got into the doctor at 3:45 to find out she has an awful ear infection on the left side and one starting up on the right side. :( Luckily, I was able to call in to work for today and tomorrow to take care of her. Here's to hoping the antibiotics work quickly and we get our happy, energetic little girl back.
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Crashed out on the couch
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Relaxing in the pack'n'play in the family room

Ward Campout (with TONS of pictures)

This last weekend was our ward campout at Camp LoMia (where I had girl's camp back in the day). We had a ton of fun and came home Tiiiired! When we got home yesterday afternoon, Carrie and I cleaned up and took really long naps (while Justin went to start working on fixing his car) We shared a cabin with our friends the Paynes. This post is pretty much all pictures so enjoy!

Trying to walk on the rugged terrainTons and tons of rocks... Carrie's paradise :)Sweeping out the cabinCarrie's kiddie camping chair"Oooo, this dirt looks like fun to play with"It got very messy..."Look mom, this stick is taller than me!"Jake and Carrie bundled up in layers of pajamas"K, this is getting old, I'm just going to climb on the bunk bed"Justin (who'd been up since 4:30 am) taking an evening nap so he could hang out at the fire later.Enjoying the fire drinking several cups of hot chocolate and telling stories late into the night.It was so cold I pulled Carrie out of the pack'n'play and into my sleeping bag around 4 in the morning. We both slept much better after that.However, Carrie was not ready to get out of bed when we all woke up.With our friends Corynn and JakeOur beautiful cabin!Playing in the dirty cabin.Justin being really pleased with himself for fixing his car. It wouldn't start a couple days ago and after about 5 hours of work, several trips to Auto Zone, a new battery, and removing and reconnecting a new main fuse we fixed it all by ourselves! (and probably saved a truckload of money!)She's reached the stage of wearing mommy's shoes around the house. All the time...She LOVES her coloring book now. And she knows where I keep it and will pull it out all the time.Justin told Carrie to lay on the couch to watch TV with him. This super comfy lounging pic was the result

Sorry, I can't NOT Post this Picture

I took a couple good pictures of Carrie on Sunday, but as usual, our friend Kevin Beeson snapped an amazingly awesome one! Is there such a thing as Baby Vogue?
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I Wish Dishes Were Always This Fun

Carrie heard me open the dishwasher today to unload it, and immediately ran over to "help". The last few times I've unloaded it, she's wanted to get into it, but I've always made her go do something else. Today I let her help and it was adorable!
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She picked all the silverware out and handed it to me to put away.
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When I turned my back for a second and wasn't there to take it from her, she decided she could just put it away by herself.
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Then she started to pull the big stuff out, but she was very good about just handing it to me and moving on to the next thing. When we finished the bottom rack I thought she would get bored and go play. Nope... She wanted to climb up onto the open dishwasher door and help unload the top rack. Rather than start a habit of standing on the door (although she doesn't weigh near enough to do anything to it right now) I pulled a stool over for her to sit on.
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She pulled everything out one by one as I put it away and when we were all done she helped close the door and reached for the controls to turn it on. It was so funny that she knew how to do it!
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A few minutes later when I was trying to load a few dirty dishes in, she ran back over and tried to unload it again. I'm sure she didn't understand the difference, but I was trying to tell her, "No honey, these ones are dirty, they stay inside." Loading with speed was my friend.
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She made doing dishes way more fun than usual. Thanks Carrie :)

Mother's Day Suprise!

Last week all the primary kids made paper flowers for their moms using their hand prints. I decided to copy it and we made "hand-made" bouquets for each of our moms. This was the only present we gave to them, but they LOVED it! When we gave them their bouquets, we said, "This bouquet is from everyone in our family." Here's a picture of the bouquet. Can you figure out why they loved it so much?
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Can't figure it out? Need some more help? Here's a video of when we gave it to my mom.
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Still need more help?!?!
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WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!
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See the tiny hand inside the yellow flower? As of now the due date is 1-11-11 (awesome huh?) We'll have an ultrasound next week to solidify the date. We're SOOO excited!!

*PS, scroll down for another post from today*

I'm So Proud

Thursday night this past week, I got to go to my friend Corynn's house for a mini craft night. There were only a few of us there but it was fun to chat and be crafty. Corynn's husband Cameron doesn't get home from work until 1:00 in the morning so she said we were welcome to stay until then. I only stayed until 12:30, but look what I got done: An adorable little dress for Carrie.
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It's knit material (t-shirt material) so it's light weight and perfect for hot Arizona summers, which we have already unfortunately reached. Saturday it was 101 degrees...
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Anyways, I made up the pattern as I went and because I was sewing into the "wee hours of the morning", as Corynn says, I didn't have Carrie there to measure or try it on. At one point, I actually used one of Corynn's son's diapers as a reference for size. Miraculously, it worked!
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Then Sunday morning before church, I decided to be ambitious and make a little baby balero to go with it. This, I also made up as I went and it turned out so cute! It ended up just a little small for her, but she wore it once and now I'll just save it in my stash of baby girl clothes. It's fully lined with green fabric on the inside for a little "peek-a-boo" effect. My success has encouraged me to get more material and make several more with different twists to the design. I'm so excited!
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Lastly, here's a picture of the glorious grill! Makes me hungry just remembering all the yummy food we had over the weekend! (Speaking of which, we had a wonderful Mother's Day breakfast of waffles with fresh strawberries in them, and scrambled steak'n'eggs.)
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Grillin' It Up!

Now that we have a house, we really wanted an outdoor grill. Yesterday, we got it! Justin's parents made it into town and we celebrated with steak and shrimp on the grill, yummy! Today we made corn on the cob and stuffed hamburgers (artichoke hearts, chopped onion and avocado mixed into the hamburger meat). It was delicious, but I am soooo stuffed! Not to mention the quart of ice cream each that we got from Baskin Robbin's last night. Don't worry, I didn't eat it all, I could actually barely get it down 1/2 inch from the top.
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This afternoon we went to the Chandler Mall to the Build-A-Bear workshop. Justin's parents had given Carrie a gift card for Christmas and we hadn't used it yet. She got a gray kitty and we named her Suzie. She didn't really like her while we were in the store, but once we got home she wouldn't stop giving it hugs. Every time we'd say, "Can you give Suzie hugs?" she'd pick her up, squeeze her and say "Awww...." Because that's exactly what we all say when we see her hug it. So now anytime she hugs anyone, stuffed animal or person, she says. "Awww..."
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Don't mind the strange face Carrie is making
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We're having a fun-filled weekend with Justin's parents. We're so excited they got to come visit for a few days! (and thanks again for the build-a-cat)

Swimming + Lunch = Nap Time

Carrie and I had the chance to go to a community "splash pad" today with some girls in the ward. It was really fun. I think Carrie would have enjoyed it a little more if she were older. Maybe we'll get to go a few more times and she'll get used to it. Today, she started to cry if she ever got under a water splash. Oh well, we had fun sitting in the shade at the picnic tables and eating lunch. (The only picture -on my phone- I could get of her Little Mermaid swimming suit)
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Apparently we got enough sun to get a little burned even though we had SPF 50 on... We are as white as white can get. Poor girl doesn't stand a chance, it's pink skin all around our family. We came home, slathered on some aloe vera gel and both took a nap for almost 3 hours. The sun really sucks it out of you!
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We're excited to have Justin's parents coming to visit us and see the new house this weekend! I'm a little stressed about making sure the house is clean, because I feel like things get messed up 5 minutes after I clean them! Oh well. I really shouldn't complain about a few dishes in the sink or a few toys in the family room. We really do have a very clean house. I don't know how some people live the way they do, in all their yucky filth. It drives me crazy!
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Anyways, while I was on the computer earlier, Justin yelled out to me from the family room, "Rebecca, camera!" I ran into the family room to see Carrie lounging on Justin's lap letting him read her a few books. It was awesome. Especially considering she isn't a big cuddler, or even lap-sitter. She is an independent little diva, and she reminds us if we ever forget!
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She is doing great, however, at learning how to let us know what she needs/wants. Just in the last couple of days, she's learned the sign for more, even though she's also learned how to say it. The other day she went to the pantry door started to whine. I got down to her level and asked her, "Carrie, what do you want?" Immediately she put her hand/fingers to her mouth and tapped it. I'm not sure if that's a real sign, but it is now in our house. It means "snack, food, hungry etc." And she's great at using it! It has been a real fit-saver.
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It seems like she learns more everyday and is becoming more of a big girl!

Happy 4th Anniversary To Us!!

Four years ago today, we were in the Mesa Temple being married and sealed for time and all eternity! I love being married to my best friend!!
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In honor of this occasion, a few great things about my Hubby:
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-He is a really hard worker even when it means getting up really early
-He wants to make me happy
-He has strong opinions about things that really matter
-He is a fantastic dad
-He enjoys playing games (both the athletic and board/card varieties)
-He is a great Priesthood leader in our home
-He can always make me laugh, even if I am in a bad mood
-He supports me and my dreams
-He helps around the house
-He is a good listener and comforter if I'm sad
-He drives the minivan, even though I know he doesn't like it ;)
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***THIS YEAR'S ANNIVERSARY DATE***
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To celebrate our anniversary this year, we decided to go to the Casino a mile out of town for the buy-one-get-one-free-all-you-can-eat-buffet. It was awesome! For $20, we had unlimited crab legs, steak, kung-pao chicken, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, prime rib, salad, soup, shrimp, and dessert! Yummmm... (Why am I writing about this on Fast Sunday?!)
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We also designated $10 each to splurge on the slots. When we first walked in we got "carded". The lady gave us both a thumbs up stamp on our hands (so everyone would know we were old enough) and said, "Thumbs up for good luck!" It worked :)
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We ended up not only paying ourselves back for the slots AND dinner, but we MADE $5.32. We were pretty proud of ourselves last year for only spending like $18 dollars on our anniversary, but I don't think we'll ever beat this year. Making money on a big date? Very cool. I'm glad we had fun and made money because we're never going back. (Well, maybe for the food) ;)
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We've had a great 4 years and here's to 400,000 more!

Craft Projects Galore!

I've finished a few more projects around the house and I'm quite proud of myself. First of all, the family room valances. I got lazy again and they're stuck up with thumb tacks... Hopefully I'll get them put up for real.
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Secondly, I painted a wall-art decoration for our bedroom. I'm still on the fence about it. I kinda like it, kinda don't. Painting it yourself never turns out the same as store bought.
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My last project, I'm completely happy with! A little background about it. The library is about 1/2 mile from our house, so we've become frequent patrons. A couple days ago, I made a trip there to renew books for me and Justin and get Carrie a few new ones. While trying to tote 6 books, my purse, Carrie, and trying to get my keys out, I realized, "This is crazy! I need a bag to carry the books in or something, I'm about to drop them" And so on my next trip to Walmart, I bought a denim tote bag for $2.50 (I probably could have made it, but...) and decorated it with puffy paint in about 10 minutes. It is now the designated library bag. Yeah!
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