GMVR & Co.

Start Spreading the Word...

2011-12-09T15:36:00.002-07:00

For Thanksgiving we traveled to New York to visit my grandma. She had never met Rosalie and had been planning to visit for a while. When she realized that she probably wouldn't be able to make the journey here she was so generous and bought us tickets to come see her! She is the sweetest lady and it was wonderful to get to see her. My kids really warmed up to her and were so cute. I was worried about how they would do with this loud, old lady but she is so loving and kind that there were no problems!

One day we headed to the city and got to see so many amazing things. I am pretty sure we saw every toy store there, including FAO Schwarz. The big toys that they were advertising this season were Power Rangers. I am pretty sure that Vaughn thought he had died and gone to heaven. He also was able to meet the real live Spiderman and Iron Man. Does it get any better you ask? In fact it does, his Grandma and Grandpa caved and bought him an entire collection of overpriced Power Ranger action figures. (Rosalie got a Papa Smurf that is as big as she is!)

It poured and poured and poured rain in the city. Everyone toughed it out and made it all the way to Times Square (from the fashion district where we got to visit "Mood"). Finally I wussed out and begged everyone to eat at Bubba Gumps Shrimp Co. because I was tired and wanted to feed Rosalie. It turned out to be a fabulous decision (would you expect any less from me?). The food was wonderful. The waiters were so nice. And as you can see from the picture above, the view was the best. We got to look at Times Square the whole time we ate!!!

Rosalie turned ONE right before we left!!! We had a quick impromptu birthday party before we left and saved a bigger celebration for New York where we could get a cake from the best bakery in the world, Dortonis. Guy picked the cake which was AMAZING. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I suggested to my mom that we buy pants a size too big before we leave and see if we could fit into them by the time we left. Seriously, the food there is so good. Bagels, cookies, cakes, pizza, BBQ, Seafood...

While there we helped my Grandma get ready to move. She is going all the way across the country to California. My uncle, her youngest son, lives there and he found a great place for her to live that is semi-assisted living. When he was trying to get her to move she was undecided until he showed her the brochure and she saw that there was a pool! That sealed the deal. My grandma is just the best little lady ever! She is a young 88 years old. It was such a moving experience to take my kids to see her and see them enjoy all that I did when I was their age. I'm not sure when we will get back to New York but these memories will last forever. (Sorry that sounded so cheesy but it's true!)

A long time coming...

2011-10-25T08:40:00.007-06:00

Last night I opened my blog and I saw that my last post was September 1st! I couldn't believe it! I have been a terrible blogger. I get so frustrated when I want to know what is going on with someone and they haven't updated their blog. I guess that makes me a big fat hypocrite!

So much has been happening! My parents came to visit, our kitchen was renovated, Rosalie started crawling and Vaughn has been having a lot of fun!

I am having a heck of a time trying to get my photos to work today so I will just have to write and then you can look at all the pictures at the end. Sorry.

My parents had been planning a trip for a long time. It finally worked with everyone's schedule for them to come up so they could see our new house (and of course, their grandkids)! Vaughn absolutely adores them. It took Rosalie a while to warm up but once she did she only wanted them and I was pretty much useless!

Rosalie turned 11 months old and I am just praying that this next month goes by slowly because I can't imagine her being a whole year old! She is crawling and pulling herself up to stand! She tries to talk which is about the cutest this ever! She loves to sing whenever she hears music which makes the day fun and church very interesting! She and Vaughn are best friends and can play together for hours at a time. She loves Guy and refuses to be anywhere but in his arms when he is home. She loves to eat just about anything we put in front of her. She is very tall for her age and weighs a little over 20 pounds. She is very independent and curious during the day. She likes to do her own thing and explore the house which gets her into a few predicaments as the picture below shows!

We are all geared up for Halloween. Vaughn begged me to decorate so our house is full of ghosts, bats and spiders! I even put lights on the outside! Last weekend we went to buy pumpkins. Guy wanted to try to the fake carve-able pumpkins because he is always so proud of his pumpkin and he hates to throw it away. They actually turned out pretty well. The only downside is lighting them up because you can't use fire and we haven't found any lights that are bright enough!

I suppose the reason I have been so bad about blogging is because Guy's brother, Nate, died. It just feels weird to blog and not write about him but I don't really know what to say. He found out that he had leukemia and fought a good, hard fight for about five months! He was so young and had 2 young girls (one Rosalie's age) and a beautiful wife. I feel so blessed for our health and wonderful family but I also feel discouraged. The longer I live the sadder life seems. There is so much sickness and tragedy. I am fearful for what could happen to my family. I know that I shouldn't feel this way and I am sure it will pass but seriously, life is sad! He was only 33! I promise to be better about blogging because I want to record our stories and hopefully my next post will be a little more upbeat!

Close to crawling!

2011-09-01T19:46:00.002-06:00

Rosalie is getting so close to crawling! Here is a picture of her getting up on all fours! I am not sure why she won't get on her knees but she prefers to stick her booty in the air! Vaughn is constantly by her and usually ends up blocking her rather than helping. I am not sure how I feel about her being mobile yet...

Holding On

2011-08-18T22:25:00.004-06:00

Facebook has a new feature which tells you what your "status" was a year ago. A year ago today my status read, "Maggie is learning to let go"

I have to say that in some ways I think I have really come a long way in this. I have been able to move past things that bother me and accept many things I cannot change. I imagine when I wrote that I was doing the same thing I did tonight I put the kids to bed, without Guy. I waited for him for dinner but ended up eating Arby's by myself at 10:00 at night. I checked facebook, email and my new favorite blog Just for the Record. I used to loathe being alone at night but now I can usually embrace it. I am still not perfect at this but it's progress. Of course, I would prefer Guy to be home but this week he is on call.

Letting go isn't always necessary though. If you check that blog I linked to above, you will see the story of the sweetest little family. I didn't know them personally but have been touched by their story. Funny thing is, this week I have been trying to hold on to everything rather than let go. My days have been filled with extra hugs, kisses, stories, parks, rug time, kids shows and other things that seemed to have been looked over in the day to day shuffle. While "letting go" is a trait that has served me well for the past year, my status today will read "Maggie is holding on". I am holding on to the smell of my baby girl. I am holding on to the sound of my boy playing in his room way past his bed time. I am holding on to a husband who is working hard for our family and fills our home with love even when he is gone. I am holding on to my knowledge of eternal families. I am holding on to the peace, love and happiness I feel. And I am holding on to baby Ruby and her story so that I can be reminded every day that letting go isn't nearly as important as holding on.

God has a plan for me...

2011-07-21T21:38:00.005-06:00

So much has changed in our lives the last 6 months. I have been amazed at how easy the transition has been. We have been in a little apartment. A new town that is busy, busy, busy with new people. A HUGE ward at church that is difficult to navigate. Few friends. No family nearby. Guy has been busy and stressed at work. Yet, it has been so peaceful for us. Life has been running rather smoothly. I keep waiting for a hiccup or set-back but nothing seems to come. Even on my hard days I am able to smile and laugh. I owe it to a lot of things, like my wonderful husband and Aspen Larsen. I couldn't have done it without my kids. I am so blessed to have them. I love being a mother. They keep me company and keep me busy and provide me with utter joy. But lately I have realized that I owe it to my Heavenly Father. He has a plan for us and I know that plan included taking us here. I know that he has comforted us whenever things got hard and lifted our burden so that we didn't feel it. Tonight I feel compelled to work harder on building a relationship with Him and work on strengthening my daily "gospel" habits. I know that life cannot always be this easy so I know that I need to have a strong support system ready for when this happens. I hope that this didn't ramble too long for any of you but I felt like I needed to share it tonight...

Goodbye June...

2011-07-04T20:57:00.008-06:00

Hello out there!!! June was so busy for us! We got our house sold and it is officially out of our hands. It was great to have the first of July roll by and not have to pay a mortgage!!! However, I won't mind paying it next month if it means we are in our house finally! I want a yard so bad!

Our final picture at our Green River, WY house!

In June we went to close on the house and saw a couple of our favorite people from Green River. I wish that I could have brought them back with us. We also spent a lot of time with my parents and Guy's brother Nathan. Nathan is 32 years old and was diagnosed with Leukemia a couple months ago. He has been staying in Denver (away from his 2 beautiful daughters; ages 5 years and 8 months) and trying to get better. He is currently undergoing his 3rd round of Chemo and we are all praying this will be the key to him being healed! We love him and his family so much so if you would keep him in your prayers we would be so thankful!

We got to spend Father's Day with Grandpa Jack!

While in Denver we visited the Butterfly Pavilion!

Rosalie is almost 8 months old!!! Can you believe it? Time has flown by. She can now successfully roll any way she wants and sit up unassisted. She loves to eat pretty much anything and smiles constantly. At the last visit to the doctor she weighed 18.9 pounds!!! She is also very tall (although I don't have the statistics) and has long beautiful hair.

Rosalie and the flamingos at the Denver Zoo!

The most beautiful ballerina!

Vaughn is growing every day too. He is getting bigger by the second. We are still working on potty training and I HATE it! I must admit that it would probably go faster and smoother if I was more interested and energetic about it. He wears underwear during the time we are at home and does fairly well. However, whenever we go anywhere else I put on a Pull-Up and it is all down hill from there. Oh well, I am just trying to be patient and give it time.

Vaughn's favorite animals...the penguins!

Scuba diver extraordinaire!

Can I Still Blame The Power Outage?

2011-05-27T23:05:00.005-06:00

I wish that I could blame the power outage for my bad habits with blogging. What power outage you say?? Somehow I always live in places where the extreme weather conditions are overlooked. Maybe because it is just the usual? I wouldn't know if that was the case around here because I have only lived here 1/2 a winter! But here are the details of the fiasco this winter -- can you call it winter if it is MAY??!!??
On Saturday morning we woke up with no power or heat. We are currently living in a townhouse provided by Guy's work and it is not the most efficient living quarters. In fact, it was so cold I think we could see our breath! Luckily, our friends live in a nice house that was better at keeping heat. And even better, Adam had a power inverter in his truck so we could watch TV, have a little light and live a pretty good life. However, it wasn't powerful enough to run a heater :( They also had a grill so we could eat warm meals! We are so thankful for them inviting us into their home for such an extended period of time! Here are some pictures of us trying to entertain ourselves:

Vaughn was quite the cook with his play-doh. Spaghetti anyone?

Me and miss Rosalie. She ran out of clothes so she borrowed some of our friend's little boy's clothes! I still think she is beautiful!

When it got really cold (or when we were getting stir crazy) we would pile in the truck and drive around. It was a good excuse to get out of the house and look at all of the craziness going on around town!

This is our street. Our house is the first one on the right. Luckily we got out early enough that we could drive out but when we went back to get some things it was too snowy to drive on. Even in Guy's big truck!!! Did I mention this was in MAY??

On Sunday we were still without power and feeling pretty dirty and sick with cabin fever so we decided to drive to Minot. We got a hotel and did some grocery shopping. Rumor on the street was that we would be out of power for the rest of the week so we also bought a couple generators to help keep our food cold and our babies warm! On the way to Minot there were power lines down almost the whole way! I heard one estimate that there were 1500 down! Even after the snow melted it took a while to get the power back.

Here is our hostess with the mostess, Aspen. Notice the smile on her face even though she had us staying with her until Tuesday1 She was a trooper and stayed positive the whole time. I am so lucky to have such a great friend here in North Dakota!
Now that you have heard my sob story of living like a pioneer, here is what else is going on with us:
Vaughn is completely pee potty trained...at home! He refuses to sit on a potty anywhere else. Also, he saves his poop for when we put a diaper on him at night. Silly kid. He is a trickster. But I still feel like we have made huge progress!
Rosalie is 6 months old! She is getting so big and cute! We love her to pieces. She can roll from her back to her front but has trouble going the other way. She starts occupational therapy next week to help strengthen her arms. Poor girl has some loose joints which prevent her from using her arms to roll or prop herself up.
We sold our house in Green River! We feel so blessed that someone made an offer and we close on June 17th!!! And with our house sold we got to start house hunting here! Just this morning our offer was accepted and this is our new house (well 1/2 of it, I couldn't get the whole thing in one shot). I also feel blessed that we were able to find someplace to live here that didn't break the bank. Housing here is nearly impossible to find!

Hopefully I will be better about blogging but with the warm weather and all the moving I can't make any promises!

Star Wars, Transformers, Toy Story...

2011-04-18T20:39:00.003-06:00

...that is the kind of cake that Vaughn wanted for his birthday. I did my best to oblige: We had many themes this year! It is so fun to have a three year old because he loves everything! No matter what we did he appreciated it and thought it was so cool. We tried to give him a little something from everything that he likes and I think it was all a hit! He absolutely loves to dress up and play pretend. (I am sure there are some more masculine terms that his dad would prefer I use to describe this.) He also loves Star Wars so the Darth Vader costume was a big hit. He has already worn it several times and so have the rest of us!

Our great friends gave him a rifle (much to my mom's dismay) and he loves it. He still can't really believe that it is his and keeps asking if he has to give "Vance's gun" back.

Here he is with all of his loot. He made out like a bandit.

The best part of his birthday was that Grandma and Grandpa were able to come enjoy the whole week with us! We partied down and Vaughn was in heaven playing with his grandpa all day. It was hard to get a picture that showed how much Rosalie and my mom look alike but hopefully you can get an idea. They're both so beautiful and are twins!!!

I think my dad fell in love all over again. Rosalie became very attached and flirted with him every chance she got. He could soothe her better than anyone else!

It's hard to believe my baby boy is three!!! He is so fun to have around. He is pretty good with his sister and loves playing with his dad. He can drink more than anyone else I know and always eats all of his vegetables. I hope we have as much fun in year four as we did in year three!

The CIRCUS!!!!

2011-04-06T15:59:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, our family went to the circus. It was so fun! With Guy's new job he was actually able to be home and come with us! We were feeling pretty lucky just to have him around but the circus was a huge bonus! Vaughn was absolutely mesmerized by everything! We stuffed ourselves with nachos, hot dogs, soda, snow-cones and cotton candy! Vaughn got a light up sword (which he calls a "light saver"). They had tigers, elephants, horses, camels, a bear, jugglers and trapeze artists. I can't even tell you how cool it was to have such an eventful family outing! Williston is treating us well!

We got there extra early so Vaughn could ride the pony! He loved it and rode for like 30 minutes! Unfortunately we ran out of money so he had skip riding the elephant (it was 20 bucks!).

Rosalie is getting so big! I think she looks like a toddler in this picture. I keep telling her to stop growing up but she just won't listen! At her 4 month appointment she weighed 15 and half pounds but I forgot to ask for the rest of her stats.

Vaughn is happy as a clam. Every now and then he asks for some of his favorite friends from Green River but otherwise he just loves playing around here. He likes our little townhouse and thinks playing on the deck is so cool. He has been going to gymnastics, tyke time at the rec. center and story time at the library. It's been keeping us busy but this town is booming with new people so it is hard to meet new friends! Luckily we had some built in friends (The Larsen's) so neither of us are too worried about finding new ones.

I love this picture of my kiddos! It's from a while back but I think they are so cute! I thought it was impossible to love one person as much as I loved Vaughn but now I love them BOTH that much. Funny how motherhood makes your heart grow! While I am feeling a little homesick for Wyoming (friends, family and a HOUSE!) I feel so blessed to be here! Heavenly Father has been watching over our family and I can see His hand in so many parts of our lives right now.

Conversation with a Toddler

2011-03-17T07:43:00.003-06:00

Me: Goodnight, Vaughn.
Vaughn: Can I sleep with you?
Me: No.
Vaughn: Why not?
Me: Where would daddy sleep if you slept with me?
Vaughn: On his side of the bed.
Me: But that is where you sleep when you sleep with me.
Vaughn: Oh. I better sleep in here mom. Goodnight.

(I loved how he acted like it was his idea to sleep in his bed)

Also, yesterday I told him we were going to gymnastics. About 5 minutes later he came up to me and asked, "When are we going to gymbreadsticks?"
So stinkin' cute!

Mostly Pictures

2011-02-22T13:16:00.008-07:00

I haven't had much time for blogging but today I have two sick kids. One baby girl is sleeping (I don't know how she can sleep and cough but she is managing) and a little boy just wants to cuddle up next to me and watch Toy Story. So, I decided this is a good time to catch up on February...

Guy has some skills when it comes to Rosalie. He can get her to burp in record time (it takes me a good 15 minutes) and she absolutely loves to sleep on him just like this!

We got to take a week and go to Williston to see our new living quarters! We also got to see our great friends, The Larsen's, who also live there! Vaughn found a new best friend in Vance which will definitely make moving easier.

Guy came home from work and fell asleep with Rosalie on the chair.

Vaughn still loves to hold his sister!

This was our Valentines dinner. I tried to stick with the "red" theme from years past but I was a little sick so it was not my best effort.

Our family at our Valentine's Day dinner.

I think this might just be the most beautiful baby in the whole world! She is soooo sweet! We love her to bits!

One night I got Vaughn ready for his bath....but before he would go in the bathroom he decided he needed to sit in his reading nook for a while! Who doesn't love reading in the nude?

Our superman-storm trooper-hooded superhero!

And last but not least...Guy had to go to Texas so my parents came for one last visit. We live at the top of a hill and Vaughn and my dad hopped on the sled and rode the whole way down.

As you can see, we have been super busy. Vaughn has been a riot lately! He is really changing (maybe getting ready for his 3rd birthday?) and he loves to make us laugh! Both kiddos bring us tremendous joy and our little family seems to be thriving! Hopefully this momentum can continue after the move!

Currently

2011-01-24T22:31:00.004-07:00

I usually don't blog this type of thing but I saw it on a couple of my friend's blogs and thought I would give it a go. Often I think I should give an update on our life but don't have anything too interesting to post. Thanks to those of you who shared this too!

Reading - Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (still on the first chapter)

Looking forward to - Rosalie's blessing this weekend and the family coming to share it with us

Stressing about - selling our house

Craving - really good seafood

Wanting - a full night's sleep and a date with Guy

Proud of myself for - cleaning and getting rid of a lot of junk

Wearing - sweats and a black long sleeve tee (pretty standard attire these days)

Avoiding - deep cleaning before the move (where do I even start?)

Sick of - the anticipation of moving

Learning - how to care for a little girl

Suffering from - stress

Struggling with - how to entertain Vaughn and take care of Rosalie

Overcoming - patience

Hoping to - sell our house fast!

Excited for - a new beginning

Relieved by - Guy

Splurging on - a Diet Cherry Coke

Hot Diggity Blog

2011-01-11T19:32:00.007-07:00

Who has time for blogging!

Seriously - We have been so busy! We had a family Christmas at our house with just our little family and my parents. It was wonderful and very relaxed. I really enjoyed being able to focus on my children and not feel like I had to entertain anyone else. I love the rest of our families but this was a nice change.

Our lives have had such a big shock with Rosalie. We absolutely love her but 2 kids is way harder than I ever could have imagined. I finally feel like I am getting my bearings but of course this feeling is coming right before we move again so I won't be surprised if I get knocked off my feet again. As I have mentioned before, Rosalie is the easiest baby I have ever seen. I am so thankful for this because with all of the stress we've endured the last 2 months I am not sure how well I would have handled a more difficult child. She hardly ever cries and is very content sitting by herself in the bouncer. Even more impressive is Vaughn's attitude. He is SO sweet with her. He loves playing with her hair and giving her kisses. Yesterday I set her down to run downstairs and she started crying. As I was coming back up the stairs I heard him talking to her so I stopped to listen. He was saying, "It's ok sister. Don't be sad, mama will be right back." It absolutely melted my heart. I am so lucky!

As this picture of our hands shows, our lives are feeling very intertwined. We are so blessed to have each other and it feels like we have been together forever. I can see God's hand in putting us here to be with one another because we fit together like puzzle pieces. Each of compliment one another and make living together easier. I am grateful to Guy, Vaughn and Rosalie for doing their part every day to make my life better!

I wanted to share these pictures of my babies to show how much alike they really are. (Vaughn is on the left and Rosalie the right) So far, Rosalie is so much like Vaughn. Not only do they both look so much alike physically but they also are very alike in personality. They have both been such mellow, happy babies!

Finally, I just want to remind all you ladies to feel your boobs!!! I know it sounds silly and I still feel so young that I didn't think anything like breast cancer could affect me yet. However, I had a doctor who wasn't doing his job of examining my breasts. Luckily, I felt around and found a lump. After a biopsy it turned out to be benign but it opened my eyes to the fact that we need to be taking charge of our health! So, if you haven't been doing self exams please start!!

Announcing...

2010-12-16T14:31:00.004-07:00

Adora Rosalie Jordan

November 18, 2010

8:28 a.m.

6 pounds, 13 ounces

20 1/2 inches long

I know this post is really late but I have had my hands full! LITERALLY! I can't put this little girl down. She is so tiny and so fun to hold. She likes to cuddle so as soon and she is in my arms she wiggles closer to me and falls asleep. She is a great baby and hardly ever cries. She is very quiet and content. Her brother absolutely LOVES her!

I don't have a very exciting birth story but people have asked...all I can say is that scheduled c-sections are intense! I was so nervous leading up to the actual procedure that I didn't sleep for TWO DAYS! By the time we were at the hospital I couldn't stay awake any more. So, even though I only had a spinal tap as far as drugs go I slept through most of the surgery. Guy kept waking me up to keep me posted on what was going on and to hold her once she was out. If I had a choice I would like to go into labor naturally even though I know I will be having a c-section.

Also, since many people have wondered...She will be called Rosalie. It is a tradition on my mom's side of the family to name the first daughter "Adora". Most of us have always gone by a nickname, for example: I am "Adora Margaret". My mom is "Adora Ann" but she goes by "Do" (pronounced doe). My grandmother was "Adora Lou" and was called "Lulu". Miss Rosalie is the 7th Adora. While I have mixed emotions about this tradition (why don't we just give people the name that they will be called???), we decided that we would carry it on for now because it was very important to my mom. If it continues to bug me we will probably change it in a year.

Hopefully I will post more as I get more comfortable with being a mother of two. It is fabulous to have another person in this world to love. She is everything I could have asked for and more. How did I get so lucky???

Blessed!

2010-11-17T16:08:00.002-07:00

Today I am feeling very blessed! For 9 months I have had the joy, privilege and blessing of carrying another human being with me every where I go. She has been my constant companion and reminded me daily how lucky I am. I have tried not to complain or wish her out (which didn't always happen). It is a strange feeling to know that she will be outside of me tomorrow. It is a bittersweet feeling. I can't wait to meet her! I remember feeling this with Vaughn but not as strong. I love having her inside because it feels like I can protect her.
As I have mentioned before, I am sad to be changing my relationship with Vaughn. He and I are so close and I am not ready for that to change. I don't want to share him and I know that he will have to make a big adjustment to sharing me! Today he has been talking a lot about his baby sister. I know he will make a great big brother and, in the long run (probably even the short run), he will benefit from having a sibling.
Sorry there are no pictures today...Just me being overly emotional and wondering if my house will ever be this quiet again?

Peacocks, Pumpkins & Pregnancy

2010-10-27T21:56:00.008-06:00

I think it should be called "P"-tober instead of October in our house! Things have been very busy and exciting around here!!

Peacocks:

I am not sure I have seen anything cuter in this world than Vaughn in his peacock costume. He enjoys wearing it almost as much as I enjoy watching him wear it!! I have a friend who has twin boy's who wore this costume a while back and when Vaughn got to the right age/size I was very eager to borrow it for our own use. I don't know how she handled seeing 2 of these peacocks next to one another because I could barely hold it together with just one. We look forward to going to our first "trunk-or-treat" this weekend with a bunch of Vaughn's cousins!

Pumpkins:

We carved pumpkins early this year which was good and bad. The bonus was that Guy got to do it with us. He has been gone a lot since then so we wouldn't have had time to do it later in the season and still in time for Halloween. The drawback is that they are completely dead now. They have shriveled to an unrecognizable state and are black from mold on the inside.

We let Vaughn paint his pumpkin while we carved which turned out to be a great idea. His is still intact and looking better than his parent's. I wish I had a picture of his final product but rest assured it looks just like you would expect a 2-year-old's painted pumpkin to look.

Can you guess which pumpkin is mine and which is Guy's?

Pregnancy:

Besides being a little more sore than I remember being with Vaughn, this pregnancy is going so well! The baby is really low (I know I should have a picture but that would require self-photography which I am too lazy for at the moment). She is also breach. The lowness and breach position really contribute to me feeling great. I have very little heartburn and I still feel like I can breath pretty well. By this point with Vaughn I was miserable with heartburn and I just wanted him out! I feel like she could cook for a while longer and I would still feel fine!

I have a lot of fears about having another child and this makes me so nervous. Mostly I feel like I am going to traumatize Vaughn. How am I going to give him the attention he needs while taking care of an infant? Will I favor him or her? Will Vaughn and I still be best friends like we are now? But whether I am ready or not she is coming. Assuming everything goes as planned, we will have a c-section on November 18th and finally meet our newest bundle of joy! Until then we are having a very extravagant Halloween because it will be our last holiday as a family of 3.

Many of you have sent me messages wondering if we have a name picked yet. I wish I could say yes because I am quite concerned about her being nameless but unfortunately she is still just "baby girl." Sometimes I will call her Mallory because it feels weird not having a name but I am not sure if that name suits her (or us).

Pistol Pete:

Vaughn has been around for 3 football seasons but this was the first year that he was really aware of everything going on around him. It was fun to watch him take in all the action. From a distance, he was pretty intrigued by Pistol Pete but when my dad took him to actually meet him this (see below) was the closest he would come. The picture doesn't illustrate the 30 feet separating them!

Parties:

Vaughn has really enjoyed his Kindermusik class this fall! Every Wednesday he wakes up and is sure to remind me that we have to go to music class. This week he got to wear his costume to class and enjoy a little Halloween party! He absolutely loved it! His teacher, Miss Carrie, is fabulous. I think this will be one of things we will miss most about Green River!

Happy September!

2010-09-12T21:39:00.009-06:00

It has been so long since I have blogged! We have been pretty busy and Guy has been gone A LOT but mostly I just lost my motivation sometime during the summer. The past few weeks have been jam packed with adventure and big news!

When Guy had been gone for a month and a half I convinced him to take a day long drive to come see us even though he would have to turn around in 24 hours and go back. I didn't expect that he would talk me into going back with him! Right now there is a big boom in North Dakota so it is impossible to get a hotel room. Luckily our friends Aspen and Adam let us stay with them. It was so nice of them to put us up the entire time we were there (which turned out to be a week and a half instead of 4 days). Vance and Vaughn turned out to be very good friends!

After we got home from ND my parents came to visit. My mom and I have been very excited to shop for this new baby but have been holding out until we knew the sex. Since my doctor in Evanston could never tell what we were having we have just had to wait. However, patience is not my strongest characteristic. I finally caved and called a business here called "Sneak-a-Peek Fetal Imaging." I made an appointment and we got to go see our baby! Can you guess what we are having?

I am entirely clueless on what to do with a girl but excited none the less! It should be an interesting learning curve for our whole family. She was very cooperative when it came to showing us her sex but we only got a few good shots of her face! Of course, I think she is beautiful. It looks like she will have a lot of hair and I already see a resemblance to Vaughn.

Along with the baby girl news we also had another big surprise. As I mentioned earlier, Guy has been doing a lot of work away from home. I was getting pretty lonely and a little crazy (we can blame this on pregnancy hormones, right?) and begged to him to ask his boss about any opportunities that might be available to him and keep him home more. I was hoping for something around here or closer to my family but was taken completely off guard when he offered Guy a job in Williston, ND. The job would be a promotion for him and mean he would be home a lot more. Even though I wasn't crazy about moving so far away we decided that it was best for our family. We don't have hardly any of the details smoothed out yet but Guy accepted the job and we will be moving in early 2011! Here is a map in case you were wondering where in the heck Willistion is:Williston is located 20 miles from the Montana boarder and about 60 miles from the Canadian border. Now that you know where it is you know about as much as I do about the town! Feel free to plan a trip to come see us any time.

I can't promise that I will be any better about blogging but hopefully I can at least stay somewhat updated on our plans for moving as they become more concrete!

Where Has the Time Gone?

2010-06-14T15:21:00.002-06:00

What have we been doing since I blogged last? A lot!!! I missed most of May but we were busy having fun. Hopefully those pictures will make my scrapbook even though they didn't make our blog! So far, June has been very busy (and we still have Father's Day and our Anniversary to go)! We bought a fire pit so that we don't have to leave our backyard when we are feeling like some roasted Kronskis and S'mores! Vaughn is already a pro at cooking out:

We are one happy family! Guy had been home a lot this month and we love having him around! He is so sweet to take care of things at night so that we can have a ton of fun during the day! He has been taking extra care of lawn so that it is ready when Vaughn wants to run through the sprinkler:

Last weekend we went to the zoo with some of our friends! It was a little cold but that meant that we were some of the only people there. It was like our own private party:

BIG...

2010-05-20T18:24:00.002-06:00

BROTHER!!! Yes, it's official! Some of you probably suspected that something was up. We are expecting baby #2 on November 26th! (Since it will be another c-section we can all expect an early arrival). Hooray!

Too Young to be Two!

2010-04-21T14:22:00.006-06:00

I can't believe that this little guy is TWO!!! It seems like just yesterday I found out that I was pregnant with him. I can barely remember my labor/delivery! In most ways it seems like he has been in our lives forever. I don't know what I ever did without him! We are so lucky!

We had a birthday lunch Guy at his work and then Vaughn's favorite for dinner! He loves spaghetti! In case you are wondering why it took me so long to blog about this I have an excuse. After the spaghetti we went out for ice cream and Vaughn got SO sick! He threw up all over the ice cream place and continued to puke the entire night! On Tuesday I took him to the doctor and she gave him a miracle pill which stopped the throwing up for a few hours. We gave him another one that night but when Wednesday rolled around he was sick again! I felt so bad for him and called the doctor again. When she examined him she was afraid that it might be appendicitis and sent us to the hospital in Rock Springs! After a long visit there they determined that it wasn't his appendix. They ran a few more tests and couldn't find a reason for his sickness so they sent us home! Luckily, my parents were able to come out and help that night because Guy was gone! By Thursday he seemed a lot better. And by Saturday he was back to normal which was lucky because we had his birthday party planned that day!

We had a "construction" theme this year because Vaughn is really into trucks and tractors (this is what he calls all of the equipment)!

He loves to hit things with sticks so I thought a pinata would be a big hit. Unfortunately, he wasn't too keen on breaking the truck but there were plenty of other kids there who were more than willing.

He made out like a bandit as far as presents go! Thanks to everyone who was so generous with him!

I took this picture today and couldn't resist sharing it! This week he seems to have grown up so much. He is talking in full sentences and is so polite. He has a great sense of humor and loves to make us laugh. He always wants to go outside! He loves animals and feeds the birds! It seems like it took him a while to interact with other kids but he is finally wanting to play with them more often. He asks about his friends when they are away and can recognize them in pictures! I really don't know how I got so lucky. I am truly blessed with a great husband and son!

Some Bunny Special!

2010-04-04T22:48:00.005-06:00

What a weekend!
Lucky for us, Guy's family decided to come visit for Easter weekend! They came on Friday night and left Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, Guy had to work the night shift all weekend so he didn't get to see much of our company. He had been working like that all week and Vaughn was seriously ready for some new faces. He had so much fun and learned the names of all of the relatives. On Saturday night we decided to dye some eggs:

Vaughn's favorite color was yellow. He kept the dye by him the entire time and let his egg get very bright! He was very good at keeping the egg moving to get an even color all around!

He tried his hardest to show off his egg to everyone. It took a lot of concentration to hold it like that!

Although we boiled quite a few eggs, we also broke quite a few. We ended up with 12 that were still safe for consumption and they were beautiful!

After the egg dying Vaughn was more than happy to pose for a couple pictures! He had so much fun. I am glad we decided to do it this year!
On Sunday morning we had an egg hunt! It was so fun to watch him pick up each egg and examine it! Each egg was such a treasure for him!

I hope that I can remember to enjoy the little things in life as much as Vaughn does. He was actually very intrigued by each egg "shell" rather than what was inside.
I am grateful that I married into such a wonderful family! They are so nice to come visit us even when they wont get to see Guy. We are all very different from one another and I feel like every time we get together we teach each other something new! Hopefully they will come again soon. Vaughn is already missing them (especially his cousin, Grace)!

Bowled Over!

2010-03-18T16:20:00.005-06:00

The other day Vaughn was feeling a little sick. He threw up while he was at a friend's house so we promptly left and came home to get him back to feeling great! When we got home I turned on some TV and gave him a bowl so that if he needed to throw up again he could.
When I handed it to him he pretended to throw up again into the bowl. At that point I was satisfied that he knew what to do with it and I figured we were good to go. A little while later he decided to go play and took his bowl with him. What a trooper, right? Less than a minute later he came back looking like this:

What a cutie pie! Luckly the sickness seemed to have passed but he spent the rest of the day enjoying the fact that I felt sorry for him. A little while later he decided that the bowl would make a good snack!

Sarah's Key

2010-03-10T09:44:00.006-07:00

Well, once again I have found an amazing book. I often am not interested in stories about the Holocaust because I find them so depressing. Also, I read "The Diary on Anne Frank" about a million times in school which ended up dulling my senses to the tragedy. Back then, I didn't even know that there were any other stories out there. Then I read "Maus" and "The Zookeepers Wife" which were very good and gave me new perspectives. However, neither of these stories touched me as much as "Sarah's Key". This one hit really close to home for me and I could not put it down.

Obviously this is a sad story, there were a few parts where I was crying pretty hard, but it also has a lot of hope and makes you reflect about what's important in life. The story switches views from a modern day American journalist in Paris to a young girl in France during the Vel de'Hiv round-up. I am shocked at how many people were/are affected by the Holocaust. I am grateful for those who are willing to share their stories and those who can forgive after such a tragedy.

I hope that you will read it!

Carrying on Traditions

2010-03-07T21:55:00.003-07:00

My dad grew up in New York with his best friend, Jeff. As I grew up Jeff often came to visit. He sent me pajamas every Christmas. I always called him Uncle Jeff. When I was pregnant with Vaughn I saw them and I felt like Jeff and his wife, Jan, would be like another set of grandparents for him. Lucky Vaughn! This past weekend they came to Denver and Vaughn met them for the first time. He was in love, of course!

Please note the Elmo toy in every picture. Jeff and Jan brought it to Vaughn and he has not let it go since!

Vancouver

2010-02-22T09:12:00.007-07:00

For those of you who don't know...

We just got home from the 2010 Olympics! Vaughn and Guy were on their very own bobsled team. Pampers was the sponsor. I was keeping it under wraps until after their performance so that they wouldn't have as many nerves to deal with! Of course they didn't let us down! They went for the gold and got it! Hopefully the Jordan bobsled team will be back in 2014 (or tonight if Vaughn gets his way).

Loading up. This part is vital to a good run. Vaughn thought that fewer clothes resulted in a more aerodynamic shape and therefore a faster run. Who are we to judge?

Discussing strategy. Dad pulls, Vaughn holds still. He tipped a few times during the practice runs and was very good at giggling while not shifting his weight.

They gained the lead (and speed) in the turn-around. I think the wood floor helped.

He makes this look easy!

After his run. He was tired but had that Olympic glow!

Here he is with his gold medal! He looks so modest. I am so proud of him. (It may or may not be a broken tape measure.)

Sleepless in Green River

2010-02-19T05:49:00.003-07:00

Lately I have been SO tired! I want to sleep but for some reason after Guy leaves for work every morning I just can't get back to sleep. I wish I could say that this was because I am so well rested and ready to start my day but in reality I am EXHAUSTED! I have watched more than my share of music videos and learned the most comfortable way to lay down on our new couch. The problem is that the longer I go without sleep the more forgetful and irritable I become. I think last night was the last straw for Guy even though he didn't say anything about it to me. Luckily I have been in one of those moods where I am annoyed with everyone but him (and you, of course) but that means he has had to listen to all of my venting.
I am so thankful that I have Vaughn around to keep me grounded and make me smile. This boy has a seriously funny sense of humor which he shares with me all day. Here is a picture of him after his bath one night, eating some fruit salad and watching TV. What a stud!

Baby Take a Bite of My Big Red Dinner!

2010-02-15T10:56:00.007-07:00

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and I wanted to make it very special for my favorite boys. While everything didn't go exactly as planned, (Guy had to go to work for a couple hours and I had some other stuff that took me away for a bit) it still turned out WONDERFULLY!!

I had been planning all week to make a red dinner for Guy and Vaughn. My friend Cindy had a picture of a similar dinner she had done on her blog and I was super impressed so I decided to copy her!

I tried to make everything either red or pink. When you look at the table it is a little overwhelming! The menu consisted of:

A caprese salad

Manicotti

Homemade pink lemonade

A strawberry cake

After dinner the boys got to open their cards and presents. Guy's present was delayed in shipping because of all of the snow so I wrapped some Reese's hearts for him. Vaughn got a red devil that dances to the song, "Do You Love Me?". It was so fun!

We were too full to eat the cake last night so we will have to chow down tonight. Here are some more pictures of our night:

Our family sitting down to eat

Vaughn isn't used to getting his picture taken when he prays (hence the look on his face) but I had to capture him asking us to pray before dinner! He is learning so much so fast and picking up on everything we do (good or bad).

My boys enjoying some bubbly (well, lemonade in bubbly glasses).

Mini Me

2010-02-09T19:38:00.006-07:00

I think that someone looks like his dad!!!

Vaughn really is a daddy's boy. He clings to me when his dad is gone but when Guy gets home he follows him around everywhere! They are two peas in a pod!!

Big Boy Bed!

2010-02-03T10:33:00.005-07:00

It is not usually like me to blog two days in a row but today I am making an exception. Last night we had a huge milestone! For the first time EVER, Vaughn slept in his new big boy bed!

We bought him a bed a couple weeks ago (my first Craig's List purchase). I knew that we were coming to need it because when I was staying with Guy's sister Vaughn was able to escape the pack-and-play. However, he has never gotten out of his crib so I was not in a huge hurry to make the transition. Guy and I decided that we would wait until he had a weekend home so if the transition resulted in an all-nighter we could share the sleeplessness.

Last night we put Vaughn to bed as usual. We were in the living room listening to him talk to himself while we folded laundry. Then...a big boom followed by crying! I was so worried because I knew that sound meant that Vaughn had just escaped his crib. He was fine (I checked all of his bones for breaks) but I didn't want to take the risk again so we pulled out the big boy bed! I am so glad that we had it ready to go so that we could move it in quickly. It is also a toddler bed so he can keep the same mattress from his crib. After we got his bed set up we layed him down and explained to him that it was time for bed and left the room. We sat in silence for about 10 minutes (not wanting to talk for fear of jinxing it) and then I couldn't take the suspense any longer so I went to check on him. This is what I found:

I am very proud of Vaughn for falling asleep so quickly and adjusting to the change so well. We didn't exactly have a full nights sleep but I think it was a very successful start. Tonight Guy is taking the crib down and putting it in storage for a while.
Before we decided to turn in for the night I checked on Vaughn one more time...

This Cowboy...

2010-02-02T11:57:00.008-07:00

This cowboy is growing up so fast! When I took this picture I could not believe how old he looked. When did my baby stop being a baby? I remember when he was smaller and I relished in every little thing he did. Now that he is a toddler I spend more time chasing him around and less time remembering his unique character.
This month Vaughn will be 22 months old!
He loves to wear his cowboy hat. He finds it every morning and wears it all day. He will point to it and say, "cowboy hat". His dad taught him how to wave it around and say, "yee-haw".
He climbs on everything! He rarely falls but loves to pretend he is falling to see our reaction. When we run to catch him he quickly lets himself go and then laughs.
Every night he wants to go around the house and say "good night" to: the fish, a picture of grandma and grandpa, daddy, Max and whatever toys he can find. In the morning the first thing he does is say "hi" to the fish and the picture of grandma and grandpa.
He talks all the time! He knows what he wants and will ask for it repeatedly (we call this broken record style) until we give in or distract him with something else. He can say 3 word combinations now. I don't know if that is on track for his age or not but it impresses me every time. He even said "Mom you're pretty" one time which melted my heart.
He recognizes most animals and can imitate their sounds.
I love my little boy more than I ever could have imagined. We want another baby so bad! I am constantly wondering if it would be possible for me to love another child as much as I love him but I know I will and can't wait to experience it!
I am in awe of a mother's love every day. I love knowing that so many mother's feel the same way about their own child(ren) as I do about Vaughn. I think every child deserves to be loved like this.

The Curse of a Mother

2010-01-30T11:33:00.018-07:00

My mom and I often talk about "the curse of a mother." The curse works like this: when your baby is awake you want to them to sleep but once they are asleep you can't wait for them to get up. I hope that those of you who are mothers can understand and those of you who aren't will forgive me for how awful the curse sounds.

Here's the thing though, when Vaughn is awake I have a hard time getting anything done unless (*cringe*) I put on the TV to entertain him. But, as soon as I put him down for a nap or bed I miss him. I tried to explain this to Guy once and he thought I was crazy. I physically miss Vaughn sometimes even when he is less than 25 steps away in his room. I just want to hold, cuddle, kiss, hug, play...Once I lay Vaughn down and I am sure he is asleep I can't help but go and check on him. Here are a few pics of him being irresistibly cute.

Vaughn somehow fell asleep with his feet sticking out of the bars of the crib. He is one wild sleeper!

*Disclaimer: Vaughn does very well playing by himself but he has quite a bit of separation anxiety right now so when I leave to do something he wants to come with me. The TV will keep him distracted from me leaving. Please don't judge me for this; I judge myself enough about it!

The Help

2010-01-27T11:11:00.003-07:00

I just can't keep it in any longer...

I read the best book! My mom gave it to me for my birthday and I can't help but reccomend it to everyone. If you are looking for a book to fall in love with that you can't put down, this one is for you.
Let me know if you have read it, are planning on reading it or have anything else to say about it!

Sanitary Vaughn

2010-01-19T09:18:00.009-07:00

Our little boy loves to wash his hands. He often stands by a sink and says, "hands, hands, hands..." until we get his fingers under the water. He has also mastered using soap and rubs it all over his hands and between his fingers. Sometimes he wipes it on his pants before he remembers to rinse it off but he is learning! He also really enjoys lotion. His Grandma taught him how to rub it in and then smell his hands (because most lotion smells good these days, especially Grandma's).

Santa!

2010-01-05T15:28:00.006-07:00

Now that Christmas is over Vaughn has a new obsession...Santa!! My parents had a big stuffed Santa at their house and Vaughn carried him around with him the whole time we were there. Mostly he just used Santa as a pillow but he loved showing everyone his new friend. He also got a Christmas themed Wiggle movie which had Santa on it. Now that we are home he feels like it is his duty to remind everyone about Santa year round. He has also learned two key phrases 1) "ho, ho, ho" and 2) "Merry Christmas". Needless to say he is pretty darn cute!!

Missing Husband

2009-12-06T21:49:00.007-07:00

I just thought that I should tell everyone that when Guy is gone I refer to him as "Rodeo Man." I like to pretend that he is out there trying for his 8 second ride. It seems to make the time go by a little faster because I can relate more country songs to our relationship. Also, I pretend his bonus checks are prize money. However, he has been gone way too long this time. I have been singing "I Can Still Make Cheyenne". Don't get me wrong, I am not ready to leave Guy but it sure is hard to be married to a rodeo man. Our big house is too much for just me and Vaughn. Since it doesn't seem to be changing any time soon I think I will nail a horseshoe above our door and keep that jukebox playing those country songs.
Luckily for me I can make this fantasy come to life every summer for Frontier Days. Usually, Guy will oblige and put on some pearl snaps. Last summer he even asked if I had packed his cowboy boots! So, when y'all are ready to kick back with me and enjoy some good 'ole country livin', please come visit. I have been gettin' rather lonely!

Time Out?

2009-12-03T19:39:00.006-07:00

I have been trying my hardest to put Vaughn in time out when he does things that are dangerous, mean or otherwise too mischievous for my taste. Yesterday he was climbing on Grandma Do's table and holding for her very fragile mosaic bowl. I decided that this warranted time out. Vaughn, however, had a different take on the matter and laughs hysterically whenever I try any form of punishment.

It has been really hard for me to discipline him for a few reasons:

1) No one, including Vaughn, takes me seriously when I am mad.

2) He is still so young that I can't decide what deserves time out and what is just a kid being a kid.

3) He is too stinkin' cute!

I feel so lucky to have such an adorable child and hope that he remembers these kind of time outs and not the ones when he is screaming and kicking! I have a very cute video of this on my phone but it does not upload to the blog. If you want to see it let me know and I can email it to you!

Nursery

2009-11-15T17:21:00.002-07:00

We still have not made it through a whole nursery. Luckily, we have sacrament meeting under our belts but Vaughn just refuses to stay put afterwards without one of us there. However, the nursery teachers don't support us staying for the entire time...so our options have dwindled to 1) staying and feeling awkward with the teachers, 2) take Vaughn to our classes and feeling awkward with everyone there because he is loud, restless and like to poke the women who sit in front of us or 3) Leave after sacrament. We are at a loss. What should we do???

Mouse in the House

2009-11-03T16:58:00.006-07:00

As most of you know we bought a new house at the end of September. We moved in mid-October but after one week had to leave so Guy could go to a training in Louisiana. We slept in our bed the night before we left and woke up early the next morning. The bed wasn't made but I pulled the covers up so it wasn't a complete mess. We got back on a Sunday evening and had not gone in our room until we were ready for bed. I climbed into bed and was ready to cuddle up to my honey when I felt something on my leg. I screamed a little and told Guy to come check (I was too afraid to move or see what it was for myself). What do you think he found? A mouse! A computer mouse! It may not seem that weird but neither of us have ever seen this mouse before. We have never used the computer (or a mouse) in the bedroom. And it was not there when we left. Instead of getting too creeped out, Guy and I are just laughing..a lot! How strange.

New Blog

2009-10-18T12:37:00.000-06:00

After some late nights discussing whether or not this was going to happen, G and I have decided to start blogging. Well, I guess I had a much bigger part in the decision making than he did. I will need lots of help figuring out how to do this blog thing because if I am going to have a blog it needs to look good, of course. So give me your advice on fixing it up a bit. Thanks!