Simple Pleasures of Motherhood

I took the plunge into potty training Jack.

I am determined to only purchase one size of diapers at a time.

We tried this about 4 months ago for a few days without success.

This time I could tell he was much, much more ready.

Today was day 3, and I'm happy ecstatic to say it was accident free, and even ended with a number two making its appearance, allowing Jack to boast the rest of the night, "I poop!" 

(and for that, he got an entire bag of Famous Amos cookies.)

Oh, happy day.

Now I get to enjoy a diaper-free life...for about 5 weeks. 

Stack and Whack

Ever heard of it?
It's a type of quilt.
And it's what I'm making for little man #2

Wish me luck.

Four Years Ago

When I was attending BYU-Idaho, my roommates and I decided it would be fun to get some friends together to play a game of football.  Even though it was November in Rexburg and freezing we had so much fun, and it sort became tradition to go play every Thursday night.

When I came home for the summer to Las Vegas, I thought it would be fun to continue the tradition.  So my sister and I rounded up some people and headed to a nearby park.  One of these friends was Kalee, who told me her brother "H" just got home from his LDS mission (2 days before, to be exact) and could she bring him..?  Now Kalee had told me about this "H" before.  She had mentioned that she thought he and I would make a good couple, and although I hadn't really dwelt on that conversation much, who was I to let her down by not at least meeting him, right?  I said of course, we'd love to have him come.  And because she always called him by the nickname she had given him, "H", I really had no idea what his real name was.

It turns out "H" stood for Harrison...who knew? And it turns out Harrison was a cute, blonde, 21 year old who I figured out pretty quickly that I wouldn't mind getting to know better.  I asked him later (much, much later in our relationship) what his first impressions of me were.  He said three things:  He thought I was older than Lindsay (my sister), he thought I was athletic (and for those who know me best know that of course that is no surprise), and he also thought I must have been a little rebellious for a 19 year old Mormon girl since Linds and I kept the radio on the whole night, trying to win tickets to the Justin Timberlake concert.  It turns out none of those things were true.  So he may have asked me out under false pretenses, thinking I was this older, athletic, rebellious girl, but it didn't take him long to figure out the truth.  And our first date was the best first date I've ever been on.  Simple, honest, and fun.  We had a pizza picnic and talked for hours.  About everything.

Which was a bummer, really.  You see this new guy I was falling for, and I were both leaving for school in a matter of weeks, and we'd be living 4 hours apart.  And this guy just got home from serving a mission, and was about to go to the land of LDS single girls in Provo, Utah.  But someone was listening to my prayers, because somehow I tricked him into a long distance relationship.  And soon I found myself counting down the days until Friday night rolled around when he came up to Rexburg, or I drove down to meet him in Provo.  Life was so good.  He took such good care of me.  I remember one time grocery shopping together and he paid for my groceries.  You may think thats silly, but to a poor college student girl, that was sweeter than getting flowers and chocolates.
We soon had a problem though.  This long-distance stuff was hard.  We were halfway through the semester and our emotions, grades, and cell phone bills were taking a hit.  We found ourselves needing to make a decision: break-up, or get married.  Luckily we chose the latter, and luckily it was much more romantic than that.  

3 months later I was blessed to get married forever to my best friend. Everyone we loved was there including the matchmaker herself (love you, Kalee!).  And if it's possible, after 3.5 years of marriage, 6 moves, 8+ months of being apart, and nearly 2 kids later I love him even more today than I did then.

And it all started with that awesome game of football August 9, 2007.

Oh yeah, i have a blog...

Much has changed.

And due to a series of recent events, and after much prayer and deliberation we've decided to move out to Washington much sooner than anticipated.

So my lack of blogging can be explained by a huge of amount of planning, preparing, and packing for our 4th move in 10 months.

And let me tell you, packing up a house at six months pregnant is no fun and is partnered  with little motivation and zero energy.

Luckily Harrison is a hard worker and I'm a good decision-maker, pointer, and box-taper.

"That goes there, honey. We can throw that away.  Okay bring that box to me." 

So we have a little over a week before Jack and I will be west-coasters again.

Harrison has more training here, and will be joining us soon. (hopefully before this baby comes!)

Speaking of baby...

Anyone who has ever been pregnant will tell you how fabulous it is to take pregnancy photos, and I think I may win the award for most awkward poser ever.

But here I am at 27ish weeks, and this baby is wearing me out!

I'm pretty sure I'm nearly twice the size I was with Jack at this point in my pregnancy, and I am feeling it.

But I am loving all the kicks he's giving me all day long, and we can't wait for him to come!!

And Jack will be 2 1/2 years old next week

(yes, I pay attention to half birthdays)

He makes us laugh all day, everyday.

He is learning new words all the time, and even if we have to translate most of what he says to other people we still think he is the smartest two year old. Ever.

He loves, loves, loves, sports.  Basketball, baseball, golf, soccer, swimming, and anything involving a ball and a racket/paddle. 

He is so active all day which is fine with me since it makes him sleep so well.  He is still napping like a champ (2+ hours a day) and he spoils me by sleeping until 8:30 am or later.

He is starting to be "too cool" for kisses, but has really become quite the cuddler.  

He does however often kiss my tummy and say, "baby!"  

He's going to be the cutest big brother :)

"Golk"

Last week when we were in Atlanta, we discovered Jack is a boy of many talents.

We went to the Children's Museum (lots of money for little parental entertainment...)  

And Jack took his activities very seriously.

"Mom, I'm workin' the land, can't we do this later??"

 His new favorite thing to do is golf...or, "golk" as he more affectionately calls it...

 And he's not half bad either.

Although this picture doesn't show it...

I can't get enough of Mr. Jack - he cracks us up everyday.

And I'm so excited to have another one.

There's just something so sweet about little boys.

Belated Post

Last week Harrison graduated from IBOLC

Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course

 (by the way, this picture counts as my 20ish week belly shot...I'm feeling very unmotivated to take progressive pictures of my baby bump this time around)

Harrison's branch in the Army is Infantry. 

What the heck does 'Infantry' mean?

When you think of a typical US soldier, you're probably thinking of an infantry soldier, I bet.

They are the soldiers who fight in units on foot, and Harrison as an Officer, will most likely soon be a Platoon Leader over about 40 men. (when we get to Ft. Lewis, WA)

IBOLC consisted of 16 weeks of training on weapons, land navigation, emergency medical care, and other military operations. 10 of those weeks he was out in the field doing overnight training, ruck marches, and night missions.

Many of the 150+ men that went through this same training with Harrison are reporting to their units and are soon deploying overseas to defend our nation.  We're not crossing that bridge yet, thankfully, but you do gain a stronger sense of appreciation for what these men are willing to sacrifice when you are surrounded by them and their families here.

So, he's kind of a big deal.  

And we had lots of fun celebrating his graduation.

We had our friends, the Cornetts, over to help us eat this yummy treat:

And oh-so-yummy, it was... 

Fruit Pizza

Cookie Crust:

 1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

2 eggs

 1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

2 3/4 cups flour

Mix together, then press into pizza pans (or cookie sheet)

Bake crust @ 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until slightly golden brown around edges

Icing:

12 oz. cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice

Mix together, then spread on cooled crust

Then slice desired fruit and arrange on icing.

I use strawberries, but you can use peaches, mandarin oranges, pineapple, kiwi, etc.

Or a mixture of anything you want!

I love to see the Temple

I have always lived near a Temple.  I grew up in Fresno, CA where a LDS Temple was dedicated less than 1 month after my 12th birthday. Then from Fresno, I moved to Rexburg, ID where we had a temple in Idaho Falls (about 20 minutes away) and even as I attended BYU-Idaho I got to watch the Rexburg temple being built from my apartment window and it was dedicated 2 months after I left.  And since then I've lived in Las Vegas, Portland, and Provo, UT where there were temples easily within a 20 minute drive - and in the case of Utah, about 4 temples in that 20 minute drive.

But here, the Atlanta Temple is about 120 miles away. And I know compared to most members of the LDS church I am still blessed to be that close to a temple, but it definitely takes more effort and planning to attend.  We finally made that happen yesterday for the first time since we moved here.  Luckily we were able to go with some friends of ours to make the babysitting swap while each couple was inside.  And I'm always so grateful I get to go after I do.  It is such a great place to get away from the craziness of the world, feel peace, and worship.  The temple is so sacred to me and my faith.  I've had so many wonderful experiences there, including when I married Mr. Smith in the Las Vegas, NV Temple and because of that blessing I believe I will get to be with him forever, not just "until death do we part".

To find out more about LDS temples, click here.