A Weekend of Party Fun, 5K Run, & Getting Pictures Hung

All dressed up and no where to go? That wasn’t our problem on Friday night. We were dressed up and ready to P-A-R-T-Y! The farewell party was on Friday night and so much fun! Below are photos from the event:

Saturday my mom, Natalie and I traveled to Kaysville for the Best Buddies 5K run. We met Laura and Angelina there. It was a little cold outside, but very pretty, so we bundled up and went on the walk. There was a quick egg hunt after the race, followed by some prize drawings Laura helped with.

Natalie relaxed after running a 5K

(This is how she woke up from her nap)

Sunday, after a trip to Costco for more frames, I started a picture hanging project. I started by cutting out frame templates and hanging them on the wall to get an idea of where I wanted the photos hung.

Once we had the layout down, I found the photos I wanted in the frames. It was so fun to look through the photo albums and find photos to hang on the wall. Then the fun part, banging nails into the wall and hanging the frames. The wall looks great and I’m already excited about buying more frames and hanging more photos.

Birthday Wrap Up & Friday Night Plans

The birthday party was such fun. The big group of celebrators included the brothers, the parents, Angelina & Laura. We ate a wonderful turkey dinner with all the fixins’ followed by a delicious pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese honey frosting.

YEA! Birthday fun

Natalie got to wear the cute dress Auntie Laura brought home from Spain

Tonight we are heading to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts for the Miss UTAH USA farewell party. Auntie Laura, who is currently Miss UTAH USA is leaving next Wednesday for Las Vegas, where she will be competing in the Miss USA pageant.

The actual pageant is on April 19, but she starts the 3-week long preliminary competition on April 2nd! Even though we are going to miss her while she is gone, we are all so excited for her. I’m sure the party will be fun, plus it is a great excuse to get dressed up and go out on a Friday night! The public is invited, so get your party dress on and come celebrate!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

This is a birthday shout out a very special person, my mama.

Here are some photos of things my mom likes:

Her granddaughter Natalie Her daughter & Son-in-law

Spending time by the fire

Spending time in the ocean

Goggles for quad rides

Her hubby - my dad

I love my mom more than words can express. I’m glad when people compare me to her, I’m glad we are such good friends, and have a hard time imagining a day without talking to her.

Happy Birthday, Mama

Tonight we are having a family dinner, so tomorrow I’ll post photos from the birthday celebration.

It’s in the stars…

I have always believed that who you are and how you act is somewhat determined by your star sign. I’m a Libra and true to form, I like balance, I avoid conflict (most of the time), It’s hard for me to make decisions; the list could go on and on. When I found out I was pregnant I started doing research on Scorpios, I needed to know what to expect from my baby. I bought Zodiac Baby, An Astrological Guide to Your Little Star, to help me understand the difference between the signs.

Here are a few things the book claims about the Scorpio baby:
- Loves things and hates things
o Natalie loves her mom and dad – but hates the bottle with a passion!
- Doesn’t like being ignored
o Natalie knows when we aren’t looking at her and starts to squawk to get attention.
- When they want to sleep good luck waking them up
o Natalie fell asleep on top of the island in our kitchen, while we were fixing dinner
- When it comes to eating, she will be clear about what she likes and dislikes
o Hello! Hates the bottle
- Her will power is strong, the more you push, the more she’ll resist.
o I’m in for a long and exciting ride!

Lucky for me, my mom has her own little Scorpio, Uncle Philip, so she has been able to give me some tips. Philip was always a “ladies man” and the girls he used to date would get upset when other girls would talk to him so my mom told him the following story (intended to be told to all the girls who used to hang around). I think it really sums up how to deal with a Scorpio.

There was a little Indian boy walking along a trail when he came to a river blocking his path. As he started to walk into the river he was stopped by a scorpion begging to be carried across the river. The Indian boy told the scorpion that he couldn’t carry him because scorpions had stingers and he didn’t want to get stung. The scorpion told the Indian boy that if he carried him to the other side, he wouldn’t sting him; so, the Indian boy picked up the scorpion and carried him across the river. Just as they were getting to the other side, the scorpion stung the boy and he flung him to the river bank. The Indian boy cried out in pain, “Scorpion, you promised you wouldn’t sting me, why did you?” to which the scorpion replied, “You knew what I was when you picked me up”.

I guess I knew what I was getting when I picked Natalie up, and boy I’m glad I did!

Vegas Baby!

Last weekend we made our second post-child trek to Las Vegas. We woke up early Saturday morning, packed the car, woke Natalie up and put her in the car seat and set out for Grandma and Grandpa’s house. We were making such good time we decided to stop for coffee – which was great because for some reason hot coffee made me think of the pack and play, which made me think, “did we pack that”. The answer was NO.

We turned around, drove home, got the pack and play and drove back to the ‘rents house. When we got there, Natalie had breakfast while everyone else packed the car. On the road by 9:30 am! Natalie played with toys for the first hour and then fell asleep until we reached Beaver. We had lunch and then set off for St. George.

We reached St. George in time to buy beer and water and drive the boys to the golf course. Grandma, Natalie and I went shopping – we needed a new swimming suit for Natalie, which we found at the local Wal-Mart. After shopping we decided we needed a treat, so we hit Iceberg drive-in for a root beer freeze. We hit Fabulous Freddy's for gas and a car wash and then drove to the golf course to pick up the boys.

We went back to the hotel to meet Philip and Laura, we had dinner and then unshaved legs and all, we went to the swimming pool. Even though the water was waaay too cold for the grown-ups, Natalie loved it! My mom got her kicking and splashing in the water and she didn’t want to get out. She was the best dressed baby in the pool and all the mom’s commented on how cute she was. Her bum looked a little big, but that is only because the swimmer diapers were too big, so she had to wear a regular diaper covered by a swimmer diaper and we couldn’t find a 3-6 month swimming suit, so she had to wear a 12 month suit, but it was still fun!

We woke up Sunday morning and drove to Vegas, checked into our hotel and proceeded to walk up and down the strip. Note to self: Las Vegas is warmer than Salt Lake, pack shorts and sandals because jeans, socks and nice shoes aren’t made for LV!

Second Note to self: Casino’s don’t always have changing stations for babies:

We didn’t have room for the stroller, so Natalie spent the time being passed from Grandpa to Grandma, back to dad and then to mom. She was in heaven! There were so many people who stopped us to tell us how cute Natalie was. There was even one woman who tried to touch (hold) her as she was walking by!

We were able to see Uncle Philip’s band, Rattle and Hum, do their sound check.

Then Sunday night we put Natalie in her green shirt, put tissue in her ears and walked to the New York, New York hotel to hear the band. They played on the Brooklyn Bridge, which is outside, so Natalie was able to join us for the concert. Grandma spent most of the time holding Natalie and standing pretty far away from the stage so she wasn’t overwhelmed by the noise.

Phil and I wanted to stay at the concert a little longer than Grandma and Grandpa so they took Natalie back to their room and played with her until I decided I’d had enough fun and wanted to go to bed! Natalie and I crashed around 12:30 and Phil joined us around 3:30 after winning around $50 at the tables. Monday morning, a semi-coherent Phil and Grandpa went golfing and to see the Hoover Dam. Grandma, Natalie and I went to lunch with Philip and Laura, wandered around the hotel and then decided we deserved a nap.

Phil, Natalie and I went to the airport around 5:30 pm to catch our 7:15 flight. The flight was quick and Natalie seemed to enjoy herself. We had an entire row to ourselves, which was nice because Natalie was able to have her own seat. She seems to like flying, so hopefully we will take a few more trips before she turns 2 and we have to start paying for her.

We arrived home safe and sound around 10:15 Monday night and we were all fast asleep by 12:30 – and still asleep when the alarm went off the next morning.

Welcome back to real life.

4 months - 3 shots

Today was Natalie’s 4 month doctor’s visit. She is growing like a weed, 13 pounds 2 ounces and 25 inches long. The doctor said she is doing so well, she should be in a textbook! The doctor is happy we started giving Natalie rice cereal and said to start giving her fruits and veggies.
Natalie is able to hold her head up, she tries to sit up out of her bouncy chair, and has started rolling over on a pretty regular basis. It is amazing to watch her change every day.

Phil might have to take a business trip to Indonesia in late April or early May, because of this our pediatrician decided to give Natalie an extra shot. That way if Phil brings anything home (other than presents) Natalie will be better protected. Poor Natalie had to have three shots today (ouch!) and a dropper of vaccine, which again she tried to spit out.

After her shots she ate a little bit and then promptly fell asleep. She slept the entire ride home, slept on the bed for about an hour, ate again and fell right back to sleep. Next time I want to schedule the shots close to bed time!Natalie will be taking her first airplane ride on Monday! I’ll update with photos when we are home.

Oh Baby!

A year ago, I was in Kansas City on a business trip. It was a quick trip and the best part about it was getting to see Liz and her family. On the last day of the trip, I was sitting at my computer having a conversation, via Instant Messenger, with my mom.

Mama: Are you sitting down?
Joelle: Yes, why? (clearly thinking someone had died)
Mama: I think you are pregnant!
Joelle: Why would you think that?
Mama: I just know you are, and it is a girl and she will have red hair.
Joelle: You’re crazy.
Mama: Nope, I’m right. Take a test, you will see.
Joelle: I have to leave and catch my plane home. Talk to you later crazy.

Clearly my mom was crazy – how could I be pregnant? It wasn’t possible….or was it. I thought about it the entire way to the airport. I called Phil when I got to the airport.

Joelle: Hi
Phil: Hi, are you at the airport.
Joelle: Yes, my mom thinks I’m pregnant
Phil: What?!?
Joelle: Yep, she said she just knows….
Phil: Well, she knows things. She has the sense. You should take a test when you get home.
Joelle: I guess so, but I don’t think she is right.

I got home that night and decided to take a test. Phil and I stood over the test and watched the control line appear and then watched as the second line started to appear! I thought it was too light to be an actual line. I even thought maybe we were seeing double and there was only one line not two. Phil proceeded to read the box – “It says that even if there is a faint line, it is positive”. I still didn’t believe.
The next morning, I woke up and decided to try the test again. The box said the test is the most accurate in the morning. I was sure it wouldn’t show two lines. First Test: Two lines! So I took another one, just to be sure. Yep, two lines again! I walked downstairs and said, “I don’t know how she knew”.

Later that day, my mom and I were shopping at Macy’s. As we were walking through the fine china section, Phil called to ask if I had told my mom. As I was telling him that No, I hadn’t told her yet, she snuck up behind me and when I hung up, said, “What haven’t you told me?” So I said, “You were right, I’m pregnant” She started to tear up, so I started to tear up and just before we could have a special moment between mother and daughter, a sales person came from out of no where to offer help. Lesson learned – don’t tell your mom you are pregnant when you are at Macy’s.

Here’s to Mother’s Intuition. I only hope that I have this insight with my daughter!

Catch-up

Hello blog world...let me update you on what has been happening since my last post.

Last week my mom and I went to Roberts craft store. I was feeling crafty and had some decorating ideas for Natalie’s room. To get started I was going to need mod podge, which is this great glue-like substance which allows you to stick paper objects on other objects (I’m sure a word wizard).
Then I went in search of die-cut letters. To my surprise, Roberts doesn’t sell die-cut letters, they only sell the machine that cuts out the letters. The nice lady at Roberts suggested we head to the near by scrapbook store, because they would have the letters already cut out. BUT, they didn’t. Lucky for us, they did sell pretty pink paper and if you buy the paper, you get to use the die-cut machine to cut out letters. However, this is where the trouble begins. I bought some cute paper, and set off to start the die-cutting process.
The “T” was easy, “I’ no problem…The “E”, “N”, “A” & “L” were another story. My mom watched me try to cut out the “E” five times before successfully cutting it out facing the right way and not upside down. My mom found it so funny, that she almost peed her pants because she was laughing so hard. I finally cut out every letter so they were all facing the right way and we spelled Natalie’s name correctly!

I took this basic step stool from Ikea, spray painted it chocolate brown, added a little mod podge, and those die cut letters and poof, custom made step stool:
While at Roberts, I found these cute, cute, cute wooden letters that I plan to paint dark brown and hang on one of the walls in Natalie’s room. The letters were on sale and my mom had a coupon, so they were only $2 a piece! Take that Babies R Us and your $8 letters!
I plan on painting them this weekend and hopefully I’ll get them hung too! I’ll keep you posted on the progress. Right now they are on the floor to remind me to paint and hang them.

Last night Natalie and I met Auntie Fran for appetizers at Mazza on 9th & 9th. Parking was horrible and I was stopped at every red light on my way there – so we were a little late. Lucky for us Frances waited for us. We split an appetizer sampler, with hummus, baba ganooj, veggie grape leaves, lamb sfiha, and fries. All delicious!
Natalie woke up after we ordered and Frances gave me a break by holding and playing with her the entire time. And being the good girl that Natalie is, she waited until the end of the evening to have a dirty diaper – especially lucky for me because I realized that I forgot to bring diapers in the diaper bag – I only brought wipes, not so helpful.

We are keeping busy this month. Stay tuned for updates on Natalie’s four month check up (seriously, where did the last four months go), our 2nd Vegas Vacation – which will include Natalie’s first plane ride!, and Grandma’s birthday to mention just a few things.