House

For anyone who was wondering what our house looked like.
Nothing too fancy, but I love it! ~Home sweet home~

We had a garage sale last weekend and finished getting
things cleaned up enough so that we can actually park
INSIDE the garage. What a concept!

Me at 34+ weeks. Sexy, huh?

Look! Clean, fresh baby blankets and itty, bitty socks!
So exciting!

Huh? I can't hear you!

It's kind of been a crummy week as far as health goes. First Katelyn gets pink eye and now I have an ear infection. Isn't it strange to be a grown up with an ear infection? And my ear is totally plugged. It really does give me a lot more empathy (not that I don't feel bad anyway) for small children who get them. It is quite painful actually. Oh well. I guess it was a good week for Justin to be working every day. Hopefully he will remain nice and healthy.

So, I have written about Katelyn being a terrible eater, right? Well, lately I have been telling her she needs to eat more healthy food. Today I let her have some corn chips for a small snack. When she got done, she said, "I ate healthy food. Now can I have a Ding Dong?" I guess she doesn't quite understand what "healthy" means yet. Darn Justin for buying Ding Dong's :) And no, I did not give her one.

The good side: There were chip crumbs all over the floor underneath Katelyn's table when she was done. She told me it needed to be cleaned up with the vacuum, so when I got the vacuum out she wanted to be the one to suck all the crumbs up. Hey, sounds good to me kid!

Small & Simple

I love how the "little" things can just light up your child's eyes.

I actually got something done in Katelyn's hair
without a river of tears. She was thrilled with it,
even though it really isn't anything fancy (like Maggie & Chloe's).

She has also had this stroller since her 1st birthday,
but the last little while it has been in pieces.

I decided to put it back together today and she was
so happy about putting her baby in it and pushing her around.
Now her baby's name is "Phoebe" (just like Adrienne's baby).

AAAHHHHHH!

Stop It Guys!

Yesterday as we pulled in the driveway from picking up Justin at his training, he and I were having a little..."discussion" (you know the kind) and all of the sudden from the back seat, Katelyn shouts, "STOP IT GUYS!" Hilarious! We totally started laughing and that was the end of our "discussion".

How Could it Be?

She's phasing out of naps and I am in serious denial.
How could my offspring NOT want a nap?
I guess she takes after Justin in more ways than one, because he
is most definitely not a napper.
I think we may have to start going to the timer method-
quiet time in the bedroom. It will work, right? right?

What makes a good day great?

I always feel like I have had a good day if I am able to get some housework done and do something worthwhile with Katelyn. What makes it a great day is when I have been spiritually uplifted and been given personal inspiration for my life. I guess today was an amazing day because all three of those things happened. I have said before that I am a simple person. It is true. Neither Katelyn or I were feeling very good today, but I still managed to get some housework done. I spent time reading with Katelyn- A simple thing, but it makes me feel good. Thank you to my husband for leaving the Ensign out on the table and open to a great article called, "If Thou Endure It Well".

I have about 7 weeks left to this pregnancy (give or take, you never know). Some of you know I have been preparing myself to have a natural childbirth. I am somewhat guarded in talking about it and I'm not sure why. Probably because I don't want people to think I am crazy, and partly because I only want positive reinforcement. If I am unsure if I will get that, I don't say much. I didn't come to this decision quickly or easily. It happened slowly over a period of three years. It was a decision I arrived at after a lot of searching, learning and educating myself, as well as through a lot of prayer. Throughout this journey I have felt touched by the Spirit and I have come closer to God. I have felt a confirmation that I have made a good choice, although having never done it before, I am becoming more anxious as the day gets closer.

A scripture was quoted in the above mentioned article which really gave me peace of mind. "...peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes"
(Doctrine & Covenants 121: 7-8)

I am putting my trust and faith in God that He will help me through the "moment" that has become very important and very meaningful to me at this time in my life. Is there really any way to feel closer to God than to bring life into the world?

Stink Be Gone

I found it! Turns out the foul odor was not coming from the sink. I had a basket with some potatoes in it and one of them was mushed and rotten! EWWWWWWWW! Nasty. Good-bye potato and good-bye basket!

Ramblings

Look out! I'm in full blown nesting mode.

Laundry, dusting, dishes, vacuuming, organizing...I even started deep cleaning my sister in law's stove on our vacation. Crazy!

I'm only having one problem I can't seem to solve. Somewhere around or in my kitchen sink it smells like something crawled in a died. I have tried lemon juice in the disposal as well as dish soap. The kitchen is clean. Why does the smell keep returning? It smells like rotten fish. This is another reason I don't eat fish. Whether it's rotten or not, it all smells rotten. Why would I want to put that smell in my mouth and taste it???

Help! The smell must go away!

I'm coming up on 33 weeks and am getting excited and anxious and nervous and giddy and all sorts of things. I had a prenatal appointment today and the baby is head down. I am hoping she stays that way for good. My midwife showed me how I could feel the baby's head, which was really cool. Even though I've been through this all before, it's still just as exciting and unreal as the first time. It amazes me that I have a child growing inside my body. I am very excited to meet her and hold her and see who she'll look like and all of it...Miss Alaina Jane...

Forks Part III-Camping In the Rainforest

Ok. So, I was pretty much being a HUGE baby about this
camping trip. I was excited about camping, but when rain
was in the forecast for the entire time we were going to be
out there, I got a little bit crabby. There was no getting
out of the trip and everyone else was up for it, so I just had to
suck it up and go with the flow. To my happy surprise, the
rain was more of a fine mist and it wasn't continuous.

We went to Kalaloch campgrounds by the Ocean. About
45 mintues south of Forks.
It was a great spot for camping and we got two really
good sites that felt fairly private. We also got to use
our new tent which is way bigger and fits the air mattress
really nicely. Only one problem. The pump died before
we were able to get the bed all the way full. Thank goodness
it was about 90% full when it was time to sleep.

We picked up some rain gear for Katelyn at the local
Thriftway store in Forks. Corey let me borrow a jacket,
so I didn't have to buy one. Thanks Corey!

Audrey was so good! What an easy going little girl.

Katelyn and Ezra had a great time playing in all the
mossy trees at the campsite. It was really nice to have them
playing and getting a long nicely, rather than fighting and
bugging each other, like they had been doing at the house.

They kept running back in the trees and pretending
there were ghosts in there and would come out screaming.
It's fun to see their imaginations at work.

Before dinner that evening, we took a stroll along the beach.
We saw this seal carcass and lots of crab shells. Cool huh!

We were following Corey as he crossed this little creek.
Every one got across and it was just Sarah and I left. I
was hesitant, but decided to go for it. You had to walk across some
of this driftwood. I was doing good holding Sarah's hand and
all of the sudden I slipped and went in up to my shins. I soaked
my running shoes completely...grrr!

When Justin was going across the logs with Katelyn, one
of her boots fell off (because they are too big) and fell into
the creek. In the above pictures, Justin is bravely rescuing the boot.

Corey and Audrey

Kate, Justin and Ezra.
You just gotta love the Ocean. It's so amazing!

All in all, it was a really fun time. We stayed dry, got to
have a campfire and s'mores...yummy!

All the Happy Campers.
Thanks Corey and Sarah for a great trip!

Forks Part II

Saturday, the 4th we got the pleasure of going down the
river on Corey's new raft. Katelyn was super excited about it.

Ezra, the fearless.

Sarah

Me. I wasn't sure this life jacket was going to make it.

Audrey was so cute in her little life jacket.

All of us, minus Justin. Ready to set sail.

The ride was a lot of fun and the scenery was just beautiful.
There were a few times I was a little nervous, but with
Corey's expert rowing skills, no major catastrophes occurred.

Katelyn really enjoyed the "rapids" which she called
"bumps"...during the first part of the trip anyway.
Once it started getting darker and a bit colder, she wasn't so
sure about this whole rafting thing. Just seconds before our
stopping point, we went over some bigger rapids. She
was sitting in the very front with Justin and they got
completely drenched. Boy she was not happy about that.

It was so much fun though and I am really glad we didn't tip!

We got back too late and pretty much missed the fireworks, but
we did catch a few of the very last ones as we drove into Forks.

Forks Part I

My environmentally friendly brother-in-law, Corey.
I am not really sure why I thought this push mower
thing was so funny to watch. I guess it's just so
fitting for his personality, I can't help but chuckle.

Justin got in on the fun too, by swinging this...thing
back and forth to get rid of the tall weeds that the
push mower wasn't quite able to pick up.

Miss Audrey along for the ride.

Trip to Forks, WA

Friday we left for our 4th of July trip to Forks, to
visit with Corey, Sarah, Ezra and Audrey.

We took Highway 12 almost the entire way over and
it was really beautiful. It goes over White's Pass.

We stopped at this scenic view point to look at some very
beautiful waterfalls and for a potty break. The mosquitoes
at this place were out of control!

We were trying to figure out which mountain this was
during our trip there and back. I'm not sure if we
ever figured out for sure which one it was. We think it
is Mt. Rainier because there were signs for Mt. Rainier park.

Bus Ride & Mom's Group

I am part of a Mom's Group that I hadn't ever been to
until last week. I almost didn't make it last week because
Justin ended up taking the car to work. (yep, we only have one car)
I thought about it and decided we could hop on the bus to the
Police Station and pick up the car. So, we did.

Katelyn was pretty excited about the bus.

We went out to Heidi's house (she was in my birth class)
for lunch and swimming. She lives out in the "country"
and they have chickens and goats that Katelyn got to see close up.

We had a really fun time visiting and munching and swimming.

Baby Stuff

Today I decided to go through some of the baby clothes
and get them washed up and ready to go. Justin teased me
because I still have two months to go, but I didn't have much
else going on today, so why not get a head start. I guess
he just doesn't understand the "nesting" instinct.

Katelyn had a great time helping me take the clothes out
of the bin. In the above picture, she has two baby shirts
on as well as a little swim suit skirt that is 0-3 months in size.
The funny part is that she can still get some of it most of
the way on. She's my skinny little girl.

And no, she didn't grow a goat-tee, it's pudding-her favorite!

She also had fun playing with all the pacifiers.
The ironic part is that she really didn't want a
whole lot to do with them when she was a baby.
It was nice for me that I didn't have to wean her from them.