Random Updates

So it's hard to update the blog as much as I'd like. I've been working a bit more this month due to some open shifts and wanting some extra money for some clothes. Anywho.....not much else has been going on.

I've been trying to decide what to do with my flower beds this year or next year. I am just about ready to pull everything out and start from scratch next year. If anybody has plant knowledge let me know.

I caught a weird 24 hour stomach bug this past weekend. Not so fun. I was out all of Sunday. I think it was the pizza we got from Papa John's Saturday night. Never again! Bonus though I lost two pounds because of it. Now I am only 5 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. Woot woot!

Justin is going back to school! It's officall! He got accepted to Weber State and will start with some online classes in the fall. He wants to go back to do computer science stuff. Programming and whatnot. Due to changes in his company he feels it's a good thing to expand his skills in case of a needed job change or just job security. It will be a change since we've been done with school for so long but I think he will do great. Grace and I may need to visit people more often to give him time to do homework though so that could be fun. =)

So ragnar came and went and after seeing all the pictures on facebook I really want to do it! Anybody up for doing one next year! I am ready to get back to running again if only my baby would sleep more in the night, but I can do it!

We have cute kids in our neighborhood. The other day two little girls came up to the door and asked if they could do anything for us. I had to tell them no but they were sure cute. Whenever we are outside with Grace they come over and say hi. I love all the kiddos in our street. We have a lot of them but I love to see them riding their bikes and playing outside. They crack me up.

Other then that things are going well. We are looking forward to visiting with family in July and that may be about it. I am hoping to have a few more days off in July and to be able to go on some hikes or other fun activities. Hope you all are enjoying summer!

All about Grace

Our little Gracie is going to be four months this week! I can't hardly believe it. She has grown so much this past month. Not only in physically but her skills have improved. She can grab at things better and wants to grab at more. She has found her voice and it is high and girly. It's cute for now but I know it have the potential to get lethal. =) She is almost to rolling over. We practice everyday, however she might be closer to sitting by herself sooner.

She is still so sweet. Some of my favorite moments are after I get done feeding her and I just cuddle her for a while and she is usually awake and then we talk, sing, giggle and just have fun bonding time. I wouldn't give that up for anything. She has a couple of tickle spots that really get her going and she is just smilely all the time.

She is ok at the sleeping thing. She will usually go to bed around 8-9, wake up at 1-1:30 eat go back to sleep. Awake again at 4-4:30 and then the morning is iffy. She usually ends up in our bed after Justin gets up because it's easier to plug the binkie back in with her sitting next to me then I can get a few more minutes of sleep. She is playing more by herself with her toys. I think the other day she played with her Peacock toy for like ten minutes. Right now she's in her swing just chatting to herself. Adorable.  She was awfully cute and fun this morning so I thought I would do a quick 4 month shoot. She did pretty good for a whle. Got some winners.

Love those dimples!

Proof that she's getting bigger...chubby legs my fav.

modeling our pretty dress from Aunt Ali in New York! She had more fun putting it in her mouth. =)

She does this all the time. Puts her little feet palms together, cracks me up. We love her more and more each day and can't wait to see what she'll do next. 

The Graduate's

Every four years or so we have a stream of graduates from highschool and college. This year we had 4 family members graduate within a month of each other. It made for a busy month! First one to start off the festivities was Jourdan, Justin's sister. She graduated from the University of Utah with her Bachelors in Health Promotions. Right Jourdan? She is very into eating healthy and exercising.She is my inspiration to eat better and exercise more. =) We were all so proud of her and all her hard work. She will go on to do many great things. I know that Justin's mom is especially glad that one more kid is through college.

Next up was my baby sister Natalie Graduating from Logan High! She is a smartie pants and will be joining the forces of red this fall at the University of Utah. Justin approves. =) 

She made her own special medals graduating from Hogwarts. They were pretty legit drawings and medals of what you could get if Hogwarts were real. There was a little tussel with administration saying that Natalie and her friends couldn't wear them. Luckily they had some teachers on their side and everyone loved them anyways.

We were happy to support Natalie in graduating even though my mom made her do the whole cap and gown thing. It's a big thing to accomplish. She will also go on to do great things. She is a smart, hard working, creative and  responsible lady. 

Then we had some California graduates that we really wish we could have been there for. Our brother-in-law Ben Salisbury graduated from USC with his Ph.D in Paino something.....I believe Ben correct me if I am wrong. I just know that he has been going to school for what seems like forever. I am sure it seemed longer to him to actually have to go to school. We are so proud of him and glad that he is done! At least for now. =) He has allready got a great job lined up. We were hoping that now they'd move back to Utah but I think that California has claimed them for good. It's all good cause I know that one day Ben will write the music for an awesome movie and maybe someday win an oscar! 

Our other California Graduation was our Sister-in-Law Neha! She graduated from Dental school so she's a Dr. as well. Unfortunately this is only a break untill she starts a 3 year pediatric residiency. But the hardest part is behind her. She is very passionate and smart about teeth. I really want to show her before and after pictures of my sister Suzanna's mouth cause it was one in a million alright. She will do great in her residency and will be a great dentist. I would trust her with my teeth maybe we'll have to visit her more to get a free cleaning. j/k. We used to do that when my Grandpa was a dentist whenever we visited we got a cleaning.

So I think we are good on the graduating for a while now. I hope so. We are so proud of them and all their hard work. It's nice to get those big things checked off. I know I am glad to be done with school. Justin not so much. He'll be going back to school in the fall at weber state for computer science stuff. Heaven help us. I hope it all works out ok. Yay Graduates of 2013! You did it!  

A little bit of Grace

Our little miss is almost 3 months! I can't believe it. She is growing so much everyday and is so SO fun to play with. She is holding her head up amazingly well, she is wanting to sit up so bad. Everytime we have her in her chair that leans back she does a cruch to get herself to sitting. Such a strong kiddo.

She is starting to giggle. When she's in a good mood I can get her to do a couple of giggles, still super smiley and fun. She's starting to sleep better too, now that we've transisitoned her to her crib. Justin is just a noisy sleeper and I think he was waking her up a lot. =). Last night she fell asleep at 9:15, woke up a little at 5:00, ate then fell right back asleep till after 8! It was Sunday so I had to get her awake and ready for church. I was amazed and so happy. Granted I did wake up at 3 cause it's a habit and checked on her but still. Awesome! 

 

Looking more like a Messenger everyday!

Almost almost rolling over. She gets herself all high centered on her tummy and rocks back and forth till she gets mad. It's only a matter of days before she'll be moving around. AH! She loves to look at the ceiling fan in our bedroom so when I need to get ready I put her on the bed and let her look at it. Once she's mobile I can't do that anymore.

She hates to have her arms wrapped up in a blanket or contained really. So one day as I was getting her ready for bed I pulled her arms out of the sleeves and kept them in the shirt. Then obviously made it better by tying the sleeves. =) She didn't notice for a while then she started to get mad. I quickly took her out but it made me laugh. Yep, I'm an awesome mom. =) 

Justin made her a fun little play mobile thing and she loves to look at her toys in it. I love the look of concentration she has in this picture. She is also loving looking at books. She get so excited looking at the pages and will just stare at them. I love it! I love books. 

Getting some cousin love. 

This pictures cracks me up. I often caption Grace's nosies or facial expressions and this one has so many possibilities.

She is doing so great, weighing in at 11lbs, 9 oz at her Dr. visit and moving up to size 2 diapers. I am getting tired of all the poop laundry I've had to deal with lately. People are always remarking at how alert she is, other people also say how little she is. She doesn't seem so little to me but compared to the giant baby on their arm she is little. She is just the best baby and I tell her that everyday. She is just a joy and light in our life. I love her lots and lots. I worry about her at work that she won't remember me sometimes but then I come home and she smiles big for me and so far I get the most giggles out of her so that makes up for it. She also " talks" to most to me making lots of adorable baby nosies. 

We sure love our little miss!

Visitors!

We've had lots of fun family visitors over the past month. I have been good about getting pictures sometimes....Blame it on the lack of sleep. If I had known that having a baby meant visitors we might have had one sooner. j/k. Our most recent visitors were Justin's grandparents from Idaho. They are lots of fun and are always up for a good visit and card game. Grandma Donna sure got some good smiles out of Grace while she was here. I only got to see them for a little bit since I had to work the weekend but we love to see them whenever we can. 

Grandpa Bill, Grandma Donna and Grace

Then before that in April my sister from California came for a visit. She needed a little get away to Utah =) Her husband was doing some much needed studying to finish his schooling. My sister graciously babysat Grace on my first day back at work. It went ok but I was so glad that it was my sister watching her, so I didn't worry as much. 

We got all the kiddos together for a photo this was the best one I got but I still love it for all the personality that it has in it. It makes me laugh. My sister's boy Gabriel was fun to play with and super chatty they may rue the day they taught him to talk. j/k. He was cute at one point when we were all playing with the kids he forgot my name so he sputtered out, "Baby Grace's momma," to get my attention. It took me a second to realize that oh yeah.... I am Baby Grace's momma. I thought it was cute. My sweet neices love love love Grace and always want to hold her. This picture makes me smile both cause Addie is so cute and Grace's face.

Get used to it kid! I love that they love her so much already and I hope that they'll be friends once Grace gets bigger.

We love getting to see so many friends and family and hope that we get to see them soon. 

Mother's day Madness

We had a busy but great Mother's day this past weekend. I had to work all day Saturday and for a little bit on Sunday so we didn't do much. But I came home to a sweet surprise from my husband and got to snuggle my little baby who made me a momma. 

On Sunday it was busy because it was my sister's birthday and she would be able to Skype with us on her mission. I had to work till 5 and she was going to call at 6. Well we can't leave till the last patient leaves and we had some people still there at 5. But I work with some awesome people who basically kicked me out so I could make it to Logan on time and see my sister who I miss so so much. It was great to see her and hear her fun stories on the mission. 

She is trying so hard and wanting to be a good missionary and example to those she meets. It was great to feel the spirit that she has with her. She may not think so but she is a great missionary with a very willing and dedicated attitude. We miss you Sister Stoddard! Then after dinner we had a fun photo shoot with my lovely momma. 

Me and my baby before church. 

My mom, me and Grace. Three generation shot. 

This pictures makes me a little sad with how little our family has gotten over the past little while. With one sister living in California and another on a mission we are much smaller in number. But it's still cute. 

All the Bryan Stoddard Grandbabies. Hard to get them to all look at you with like 4 different cameras around. Love those kiddos so much. 

All the grandkids minus my sister's boy and baby on the way.

Our little family. Grace is almost smiling in this one. =) 

Over Mother's day I was thinking a lot about moms'. About how from the minute the little baby is made we are sacrifcing. Sacrifcing our bodies, mental capacity, energy and so much more. I sometimes think that I'll never get my body back to a more normal state for a long time. It makes me frustrated at times because it would be easier to not nurse my baby but then I would be missing out on so much. It then made me think of my mom, having six kids and doing so much for us everyday. Many times my mom went without so that we could have something wether it was food, clothing or time. There are so many other great examples of loving, kind and sacrifcing mothers'. It made me grateful that I get to be part of the club now and also appreciate my own mom and mother-in-law so much more.

So Happy Mother's Day to you and your loved moms. Without mom's we wouldn't know where anything is. =) 

Blessing day!

So I have been majorly slacking in the blogging department. I went back to work and it's all I can do to make dinner and keep the house clean. I like going to work but it does make for more messes to clean up. 

On April 14th we blessed our little Gracie. We were kind of nervous about how she'd do, I know Justin was especially but she did great. She was awake right before and fell asleep during the opening exercises. We also had 3 other baby blessings that day and we were the 3rd. So busy day in our ward. I swear our ward is keeping the population of Utah going. When we got here there was a big wave of babies and now there is another big wave of babies coming. Grace is at the beginning of it. 

It was a really nice day weather wise and with family. Justin was nervous but he did a good job. He gave her a beautiful blessing talking about having Faith and Charity. Our little girl will be great I just know it.

 We had to take some photos before hand since my dad left.

 4 generations on the Stoddard side

Yay for Stoddard cousins minus Gabriel- He came the next day.

With the Michilena Grandparents. I forgot to do a 4 generation of the Michilena side that day. We do have one from earlier.

Cutie pie in her sweet dress my mom got. I love it. 

All the Messenger clan minus Jayson and Neha. We were so happy to have everyone there. 

After a while this little miss had had enough pictures and conked out the rest of the day.

I really wanted to bear my testimony but with the 4 baby blessings and all the kids that share we ended up going twenty minutes over anyways. So, I'll share here. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and the peace and calm it gives to me. With so many changes for my family in the past couple months good and bad. I've never felt the love and protection of my Heavenly Father so close. I know that I am extremely blessed and that it all comes from my Heavenly Father. I know that prayer works and that it can bless lives and provide protection. I know that the Book of Mormon is a true book and that by reading it it will change your life. I know that Joesph Smith is a true prophet called of God. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is called to lead us today. I know that Temples can seal families together forever and that going inside the temple can bring you closer to Christ. I love my family, I am thankful for all that they do for me and my little family now. I love being a mommy as well.

Thank you to everyone for coming to show your support. We love you all and love to see you. =)