5 months!

On Saturday little Gracie pie was 5 months old! I can hardly believe it, then she'll be six months then a year and where did my baby go? I was moaning about that to Justin and he just said to me, "She's not there  yet." He is a good voice of reason for me at times. =)

She just gets more and more fun. She is a very happy smiliy, baby and everyone keeps commenting on her blue blue eyes. I look at them then look at mine, then look at Justin's and they aren't like either of ours so I guess it's just a great mix.

She rolled over of her own movement the other day and was totally taken by surprise. Instead of rolling over she likes to scoot around in circles. One day she was moving so I decided to document it. So disclaimer I didn't pose her into any of these just took pictures as an innocent bystander.

Starting out. 

Almost to the other side. 

Made it. 

Coming back around.

This is how she was moving around so much. 

And back to the beginning! 

She is just growing and growing. It's fun to see her discover more around her. We've been struggling with sleeping lately which has been no fun. She'll wake up in the night and cry and cry but not be fully awake. Once she fully awakes she calms for a minute then realizes that she's awake and starts crying again. It's super fun. We've been trying to make a bedtime routine and let her sit it out for a few minutes if she's crying. It's worked better. We still have some rough nights but she is napping better in the daytime. =) 

She's getting better at sitting up on her own and can go for quite a while before wobbling to a side. 

She is getting more hair and it's getting longer. This picture cracks me up because her hair looks like a toddler trying to do their own hair all crazy. Cute.

This is her favorite toy when dad takes care of her. the wipes box. But hey it makes a cool noise when you hit it, it has tasty corners. It's got al the right moves. =) 

She got this super cute school girl dress from a Messenger relative sorry not sure who. It was really cute and fun to see her in it. Justin doesn't normally get all excited about her clothes but he loved this one. 

There she is our little baby girl, Gracie pie, stinker, and silly goose. We love her so much and love her slobbery kisses. She can always make me smile. 

Grateful

This past week was a really rough one for me. I was physically tired, emotionally drained and mentally exhausted. Work was hard, baby wouldn't sleep and kept crying, and family stresses added to the mix. Needless to say I was feeling pretty overwhelmed and not knowing how I was going to make it through.

I came home extremely grateful for my handsome husband. I am always grateful for him but he has been especially helpful this past week. Listening when I needed him to, fixing the problems that he could, cheering me up or just hugging me and above all always showing me love, respect and kindness. I love him with all my heart and he makes me a better person. 

He helps me be silly.

He's a great travel companion and even better friend.

He is always up for an adventure.

He helps me reach my goals.

He likes to have fun.

He's a great daddy and he's cute too!

I love him so much for so many other reasons but mostly this week, I love him because he makes marriage fun, home a heaven and family a joy. We are coming up on our three year anniversary and I still feel like we are honeymooners just now with a baby. It has been some of the best times these past few years. 

Justin thank you for taking care of me and Grace and always showing us love.

I belong, I believe

In a new missionary effort challenge from our bishop of our church I am going to be more vocal about my beliefs via social network. So get ready for some fun! =)

I belong to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka, "The mormon church." I have been blessed to be a part of the church all my life. I officially became a member when I was 8 years old and became baptized. The LDS ( short for Latter-day Saints) church brings true happiness, peace and blessings into my life. I know that it brings me closer to my family, and to my Savior Jesus Christ.

The first and foremost belief in the LDS church is of Jesus Christ. We believe in Him. We believe that he lived, that he died and that he lives again and that we may live again as well. We strive to live our lives the way that he lived his. By giving love, service, compassion and kindness to those we meet. In our church we have what are called articles of faith stating some of our basic beliefs. The first one goes like this: " We believe in God , the Eternal Father and in his Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost." We believe that they are three separate beings that we call the Godhead.

We also believe in Latter-day Prophets. Just as there were prophets in the Bible preaching the word of God we have a prophet to help guide us in the current days. Our current prophet is President of the Church Thomas S. Monson. He is a great man and truly lives a Christlike life. We believe that he has the gift of revelation to let us know what our Father in Heaven wants us to know. One of our more popular prophets was Joseph Smith. He restored the gospel back in 1830 and also translated the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon is an aspect that is different from most other churches but is a key part in our beliefs. It is another testament of Jesus Christ and his teachings to the people of the ancient America's . It is a true book and testifies of Christ every time you read it. It was translated from Golden plates by Joseph Smith and for that we are grateful.

The family unit is very important in the LDS church. We believe that we can be with our families forever and so we strive to have a close, and united family.

I'd like to close with my testimony of the teachings of the gospel. I have searched them, prayed and lived them in my life I know that by doing so you can receive peace to your troubled mind, safety from harm, and more love and patience in your life. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet and that he leads and guides our church in this day. I know that the Book Of Mormon is a true book and that by reading it you can be happier. I know that families can be together forever and that we can be able to see our loved ones who have passed on again someday. I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

If you have any questions please let me know. I'd be more then happy to answer them. If not or you just want to know more about the LDS church you can go to: www.lds.org and browse around there.


And for getting through all that here's a picture of Grace. She makes it all worth while and makes me want to be a better person.

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!