Remembering

Remember when.......
You were just the cute guy in the pink shirt (which you were pulling off) and I wondered, "He's cute, how come I've never seen him before!"

Remember when....
We started hanging out and I thought you were the funniest person I had ever met.

Remember when...
I would come to ward prayer and secretly hope you were there so  could see you again.

Remember when....
You FINALLY asked me on a date, we chatted easily all night long.  Then you fell asleep on my floor while watching "The Sandlot"

Remember when.....
You said, "I love you."  the first time.  My heart said, "I love you too!"  but my mind raced and panicked. I called one of my good friends and said, "what do I do?"  she just said, "You dork!  If you love him, you say it back!"  Thank heavens for good friends.

Remember when....
You decorated my room with flower petals and candles and proposed, down on one knee.  You had a bouquet of my favorite flowers in one hand and a ring in the other.  I cried and said YES!

Remember when....
I had to squeeze your hand at the, "I do" part of the wedding because we were too busy staring into each other's eyes.

Remember when....
We lived in a 400 sq foot basement apartment and we spent most nights beating every level of Mario Kart on the wii.

Remember when...
We moved to a bigger apartment. We slept on the floor by the fire the first night because we didn't have any furniture and we felt like we were about to live in a mansion!

Remember when....
We spent most nights doing homework together.

Remember those....
Warm summer evenings we spent playing volleyball, swimming and bbqing.

Remember when...
We started driving home from Colorado with an 8 week old husky, who was howling in distress, and we both said, "what have we gotten ourselves into!"

Remember when....
Said puppy graduated puppy school and we felt so proud that we had changed our wild pup into an  obedient member of the family.

Remember when....
We spent every evening walking, jogging and sometimes skating around Liberty Park with Little T.

Remember when....
After hours of labor we saw the face of our first child....when we became a family.

I loved you so much then, I loved you like I had never loved anyone before.  I had no idea how time would change that love.  It's deeper, and more meaningful.  You have become an important part of me. I can't imagine life without you.

You are my best friend. You are the best husband.  You are the best father.  I love you so much!  Happy 5 year anniversary! I look forward to many more!

Pity Party

Today was beautiful.  It was the first day in the 70's since the onset of winter. Yet it felt dark. Why?  Around 2 o'clock this afternoon I heard a jiggle at the door and in came husband, Kylea yelled, "Dadda!!"  and I called out, "hello! You're home early!!!" As I looked up into his face I knew, it happened again... he didn't get the job.

I've posted on here before about our epic battle with gaining a promotion for husband.  I try not to post about it too often because, well, it's depressing. He's weathered a lot of rejection, but this one REALLY stung.  The interviewer complimented him extensively during the interview and then a week and a half later, personally contacted him to say that he was "very impressed with him but had decided to hire someone with more experience."  Here's my giant gripe about the "experience" excuse.  The one caveat is, just because the person has experience doesn't mean they were actually GOOD at what they were doing.  Either way, you are taking a gamble, why not gamble on husband?

I could throw a pity party, and believe me, for the better part of today we have.  We've frowned, pouted, skulked, and complained all afternoon so far all that pity has just made us feel so much worse.

Instead I want to celebrate 20 things that make my life great.

1- I have an awesome, hardworking, funny, smart husband who is my best friend.  We're celebrating 5 years of marriage next week, can you believe it?!  I can't.

2. We have a beautiful, bright, spunky little girl who is healthy and happy.  I have a friend who is pregnant now and is facing all kinds of difficulties.  Delivery of a healthy baby is truly a miracle that I haven't fully appreciated.

3. We have a lovely new home that is all ours.  Words like "mortgage" can be scary but other words like, "equity" are so, so sweet.  

4. We live in a wonderfully supportive and beautiful community.  I have never been around so many genuinely nice people.  We have made many friends and feel very at home.  It's nice to be surrounded with views like snow capped mountains a lake and when we venture out on walks, fields that are beginning to bloom with wildflowers and a green beautiful golf course. 

5. We had the blessing and opportunity to obtain higher education.  Yes, it's been a financial burden to pay for.  But it has expanded our minds in a way that nothing else could.  I honestly believe that my degree makes me a better mom and citizen of the world.

6. I am blessed to currently work as a stay-at-home mommy.  It's a title that has taken some swallowing of pride to embrace. But I really do love it.  I am grateful that I get to be a part of every day of her little life.

7. Both husband and I are remarkably healthy.  Seriously, we rarely get sick and have never had serious health complications, a tremendous blessing indeed!

8. I'm grateful for the 3+ years that husband and I had to spend together before baby came along.  

9. I'm thankful for the talents that I have been able to develop. Especially playing the piano.  That and running are the two releases of stress for my soul.  

10. I'm thankful my mom insisted on me taking lessons and practicing for all those years.  Thanks, Mom!

11. I'm thankful that, even though we don't have a lot, we always have enough.  

12. I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who hears and answers prayers even when the only thing I can think to ask is, "why?"  he sends peace.

13. I'm thankful that it's General Conference weekend. 

14. I'm thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for his infinite atonement in my (and all of our) behalf.  I'm imperfect but, because of Him, that's ok.

15. I'm thankful for my running shoes.  They've taken me many places and worked through many things.  I love to run.

16. I'm thankful that I am NOT, in fact, pregnant (more on that little scare later).

17. I'm thankful for sunny days, spent outside.

18. I'm thankful for days I get to dress up pretty.....the little princess still lives inside me, I LOVE dress up:)

19. I'm thankful for friends who love me for who I am.

20. I'm thankful for being blessed to be a part of a wonderful family who love and support me (nuclear and extended) as well as in-laws who have accepted me into their family and extended love and support to me and my family too.

Wow, you know what?  I do feel a little better.  Life is good, it's just not always easy to remember that.

Just Bein' Cute!

18 months

"NOOOOOOOO!" she shrieked.  Every fiber of her tiny being was flexed and quivering.  Even the "O" came out wavering and labored.  I stood and watched my child, wide eyed.  I was not angry, not frustrated, but completely bewildered!   

Thoughts raced through my mind.  What should I do?  A time-out? Surely something must be done, this behavior is unacceptable.  Thankfully through befuddlement came that calm clear voice of inspiration I have come to trust, "she needs a hug"  

A hug?  really? It's worth a try.  I knelt down and scooped her up in my arms.  She pushed away with both tiny arms for just a moment then laid her head down on my shoulder and sobbed.  I could hear myself saying, "It's been a frustrating day for you hasn't it?  All these things just make you, mad, mad, mad! I love you very, very much"  Her sobs subsided and she looked into my face with little tear stained cheeks and smiled, as if to say, "thanks mom, I'm glad you understand."

We've turned a corner.  I still call her my baby, she will always be my baby, but she has become a toddler.  She's bright and curious and active.  

You might be a toddler mom if, 

While using the restroom you can see two little hands wriggling under the door and the little giggle on the other side.

You see this, when you open your dishwasher.

mama's little helper was hard at work

You have read the same children's book 473 million times, in one day.

At night, the song running through your head as you fall asleep is, "The itsy bitsy spider" or "baby beluga"

If cleaning takes on a new aerobic quality.  If you want to see floor when you are finished, all cleaning and tidying must be done at the speed of light times two..... or faster.

If your favorite time of day is nap time.

If snuggles are harder to come by, but still so sweet.

If you spend a significant portion of your day preparing snacks and meals that go largely untouched.

Sure it has it's challenges, but I've found it to be more rewarding than ever. She is expressive, curious and cuter than ever. She gasps, points and asks, "what that?!" when she sees something she loves or is new.  She loves to get my attention and babble stories.  She has a highly developed sense of humor. She's a funny little girl, we just love her to pieces!

Talking Baby

Have you missed us? Remember when I wrote about Kylea's first stomach bug? Well, we have been sick, sick, sick and more sick since then.  We've had a stomach virus, a regular cold, RSV, and Kylea's first ear infection. The good news is, everyone is feeling much better now but it has been a long month.

It feels like the changes happen so quickly.  Kylea is now talking.  She can only put a couple words together at a time but it's still very exciting!  She is acquiring new words at lightning speeds.  She parrots back new words every day.  

She can say, "bye, bye dadda" or if we are leaving the dog behind she says "bye, bye, woo-woo" she can say "hi"  she points to things and asks, "What that?" She can ask for "more", milk, shoes, and to read a book.  She loves to point out all the babies and says, "baby".  She will say "thank-you" if you give her something.  She's great at saying No and Yes. She recently added the words, Nana and Papa to her ever growing vocabulary. And much more!  

I say it at every age, but this is by far my most favorite age.  She gasps and runs to the door when her daddy comes home.  She gives the best hugs and kisses.  She can point to her nose and eyes and mouth.  She knows the sounds that all the animals make. She is curious about the world and points and babbles.  She has the brightest and most beautiful smile in the whole world and the best part is she uses it often.  She sings when music comes on and dances. It's so fun watching her learn and grow.

She's getting really good at climbing.  I left to grab her a shirt for the day and came back to find her standing on the chair...yikes!

She puts her puzzles together all by herself now.

I wanna go outside mama!

She LOVES the snow.

She found a comfy chair.

She is in LOVE with this unicorn. She says "niegh!" and gives it kisses.

cutie pie

Putting her puzzle of the states together.

A Day in the City

Kevin had another interview at Goldman Sachs downtown yesterday (cross your fingers for him!) So Kylea and I decided to tag along and spend some time in the city.  I contemplated several destinations but ultimately decided that the best place for us to visit would be the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum again. 

Round two was so much fun!  Kylea was able to play with most of the exhibits this time and she spent the full two hours running and checking out EVERYTHING.

It was hard to get a good photo because she was so active but here is what I was able to capture

The water exhibit was by far her favorite.  She would have played there the entire time!

I made her check out another exhibit and she just stood there like she was disappointed that there wasn't any water to play with.

so I let her go back for more water play. This time with an apron.

an apron which was comically large on her.

She found this infant rocker in a corner designated for nursing mothers.

inside the tree house

ping pong ball maze.....she liked sticking them in the tube maze but she LOVED hoarding the ping pong balls all to herself.  She spent a good chunk of time trying to gather as many ping pong balls as she could.  Even bravely walking up to an older child pointing to the ping pong ball he was holding and saying, "Please?!"  (it sounds so polite in the telling of it, but really it was done in such a bossy way I couldn't help but laugh.)

Can't get enough of this water!

She spent the drive back home excitedly chattering and munching on her rice cakes. I like to think she was telling her daddy all about the awesome adventure that she just had.    

(just before walking the dog today.  The piggy tails just kill me.)

The Ham Bone is Connected to the Cute Bone

Cuteness abounded this morning and the camera had to come out and document it.

I got on my tummy to take a photo of Kylea doing the splits and reading a book.  She's already a multi-tasker.

When she saw me, she ran over and jumped on my back and started hamming it up for the camera.

She is such a little ham.  There is so much personality packed into a little package... she gets it from her dad.