July

Ok truthfully nothing's happened. But everyone else is updating their blogs with these exciting things going on, so I figured I'd let you all know that we're the same as before!

Aly's crawling everywhere, getting into everything, and it's so fun. She climbs up and stuff and scares me to death. She loves getting chased by her dad. She has this high pitched squeal that she'll let out as soon as she thinks she might be close to about being chased! She has decided that nap time is not her thing, but she's SOOOO grouchy by bedtime that I'm still being "mean mom" and making her take one. Currently she's in her bed screaming. Anyone have a way to make it easier?? We do it at the same time everyday, and with the same routine. But she doesn't get it. Morning naps are definitely easier than Afternoon naps. And bedtime's not usually too hard either. Just that dang 3o'clock nap time. Other than that, she's just trying to learn out to be brave enough to walk without holding our hands or the couch. Yesterday was the first time she stood up off the floor by herself without using the couch or someone as leverage, so we're making positive steps towards actual steps! :)
Loren will have been at his job for a year on Monday so he's got a meeting to discuss a raise. :) Wish us luck. Otherwise he's still looking for a part-time job. If anyone knows of anything, or needs computer work done please let me know! He can fix almost anything, clean up virus, etc...macs or pcs, doesn't matter. Thanks for the help!
I'm just trying to become a better housewife and mom. Part of that is actually making dinner for my family every night. It's getting more necessary cuz AlyRae doesn't like baby food anymore. She only wants the good stuff that she can feed herself. That means I need to make some of that! I made myself a really cute menu board out of a mirror and have been using that to get a little more organized. So progress is happening. :)
We're just looking forward to 2 weddings this month. Loren is a groomsman in one and the best man in another so we're going to be busy with that! Stay tuned :)

The Fantastic Four(th)

The Fourth of July has always been my favorite holiday! I love the parades, the sunshine, the bbqs, the family, the fireworks, all the people!! I just love a good party. This year was especially special cuz it was Alysha's first year! Loren and I were so excited to show her everything and see her reactions! I got up early and made us breakfast and then we got ready to leave for the parade. Loren made Aly's hair all spiky and I sprayed it with glitter and stuck a hair bow in. Surprisingly she did REALLY well keeping it in this time. Sometimes she's not as good :). We found a great place to watch the parade. Alysha caught the eye of lots of people in the parade and lots of spectators. It's cuz she's so cute :). Halfway through she fells asleep. I was shocked at how she could sleep through loud music, sirens, and honking horns. We went home and made burgers and had a great bbq with some friends. We decided to go down to the Liberty Festival at the Falls. I got a beloved snocone :) and we walked around all the booths. We went to where we wanted to sit, but just as we got close we learned that the bridge we needed to take was closed cuz it was flooded! Luckily we saw a small piece of grass that hadn't been blocked off by other people and we grabbed it. Somehow we missed the signs that said fall-out zone...The fireworks started and we learned just how amazing our seats were. We felt like we were right in the fireworks. They were directly above us! It was absolutely amazing. Then we realized that sparks and cardboard and other debris was showering down on us. I swallowed part of a firework and when we got home Loren and I both discovered debris in our hair :). But it was absolutely amazing. They were so beautiful. And the cutest part was AlyRae. She started giggling like crazy. I thought she would be a little scared or something, but she LOVED it. At first she just sat there with her mouth hanging wide open, but then she started laughing so hard! It was adorable. I can't find our camera cord or else there would be videos and pictures here, so stay tuned. :) Over all it was an amazing day. I am so lucky to have Loren and Alysha in my life. I am SO happy!

Catch up

So I got my wisdom teeth out a few weeks. I was really worried about it cuz I had never had any work done on my mouth other than cavities and braces. I don't consider that a huge amount of work. But Loren reassured me that it wasn't going to be too bad by telling me, "Just imagine getting hit in the mouth by a semi-truck." That helped a ton :). It was that bad. I couldn't eat real food for a few days because my sockets were so sore. But I think that the worst pain was my jaw. Having my jaw held open for 2 hours made it so so so sore. I was on 800 mg of Ibuprofen for 2 weeks. But it's getting better and I guess it was a good thing that I got it done :).
The day after I got my teeth pulled we headed to Utah to go camping with my family. It was so much fun!! We partied in Payson for a few days. We tried fishing, we took some walks, we played games, and we ate great food! Oh and we battled 100 degree temperatures, termites, and mosquitoes. ew. At one I fell asleep in a hammock and got a stellar tanline on my arm.
On Saturday we left camping and went back up to Logan for Loren's little sister's wedding. In the sun. I thought I was going to die cuz I was SO hot! But it was a beautiful day and it was wonderful to see the siblings :). Only 1 of 12 kids was missing. I met Loren's brother and his wife and kids that I had never met, and now I know the whole family! It was a fun time and then we drove home that night. We discovered that Alysha gets car sick. It could have just been spending all day in the sun, but Loren and I both get sick so I'm thinking that she just takes after us. We stopped to clean her up at 1130 at night and two cops pull up behind us. They were just checking to make sure we hadn't hit a tractor tire that I guess what in the middle of the road? But it scared me to see their lights that late anyway!

Oops

Oops. Sorry blogging community. I have been seriously lacking in the communication department. Updates:
Alysha is growing so fast! I am having a hard time keeping up with all the changes :(. She's got almost 3 teeth now and is crawling so good. Today she started actually crawling on her knees and not just army crawling and she is getting stronger and stronger. She's eating constantly and loves graham crackers and strawberries. Also applesauce and watermelon. And today we introduced honey nut cheerios to her diet. A new favorite for sure :). She loves anything with bells and balls and her stuffed animals. And luckily right now she's taking a nap :D.
I started a new job about a month ago at a daycare and I love it. I'm tired everyday and I am finding a new hate for everything 6 years old, but it's worth it :). Also I am getting my wisdom teeth out cuz they're growing in and it's the most painful thing ever! When your mouth hurts everything hurts. Now I totally understand what Aly goes through getting these new teeth. I also quit my hospice job and last weekend was my first weekend off in forever and Loren and I enjoyed it so much!! We walked around a few farmer's markets in town and a beautiful little water way. We also walked through a couple brand new houses.
Loren and I are looking forward to going camping with some family next week and then his sister Hannah is getting married next Saturday. We're very excited to get to spend 5 days together without any work and to get to see our families.
I don't know if I posted about my trip to DC. Alysha and I had an awesome time with my family! We spent 2 weeks playing tourist. It was a fabulous vacation and I can't wait to take Loren back there sometime soon!

Aly's 6 month stats

Ok went to the dr today. Aly's large for her age. Surprise surprise :). She's 17 1/2 lbs and 27 1/2 inch long. He says she's developing on schedule. Now she's teething. Today's been so hard! She cried all night and anytime I put her down today she screams. I can't do anything! Plus, for some reason I am really clumsy. I spilled a Jamba all over my car. The dr says that everyone has good and bad days and that includes babies. I just wish that Aly and I didn't both have bad days on the same day!!

New Skirt!

Ok I'm in love with this website...(Thanks a lot Candace!) And I found this pattern for a skirt and I made it and I'm definitely in love! I'll post pix of my finished skirt later, hopefully I'm actually getting a camera this week so I'll be able to take a nicer picture. But here's the pattern to check out!
http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2011/03/3-way-skirtdress-tutorial.html

Happy Crafting!

A rough March

So this month has been a little crazy, but Loren and I are SO blessed!

At the beginning of February Loren and I found out that tho I was on birth control, I was pregnant again. At first we were very very shocked and thrown aback, but we got used to the idea and were getting very excited to have another baby. At my appointment in March we found out that something had gone wrong. I had a blighted ovum. It was a genetic disorder doomed to fail from the beginning. The embryo had been reabsorbed into my uterus and left the placenta and egg sac behind. It can continue to grow for 3 months without realizing that there's no baby and just giving my body false pregnancy symptoms. But when my doctor couldn't find a heartbeat, she knew that this had happened. We were very devastated. The first day was extremely hard, but it got better. I started to be more grateful that I was not going to have 2 kids a year apart. We decided to get out of town for a few days and be with family. So the next day we loaded Alysha and all her stuff into the car and drove to Logan for 3 days. As soon as we walked into Loren's parent's house Alysha started coughing and sneezing. We assumed that Aly was allergic to animals like Loren is (his parent's have 3 cats and a dog). She was miserable all weekend. And we were too cuz we had to spend all night walking her around and trying to get her to calm down enough to sleep. But she kept coughing and choking and crying. We hoped that as soon as we got home she would get better as we have no animals! And Sunday night she seemed to be a little bit better. But while I was at the gym on Monday I got a desperate call from Loren to come back home. Alysha was throwing up everything all over. She had mucus all over her face and was crying and choking again. So we put her in the van and we to the ER. After about 2 1/2 hours we got the diagnosis of RSV. They gave her a breathing treatment and sent her home. We let her sleep in her car seat to keep her up a little higher and we had to feed her PediaLite because the formula was giving her too much mucus. Luckily by Friday she was doing a lot better!! We were very very grateful not to have had to admit her to the hospital.
Since she's been better she's definitely found her upper range! I spent most of Sunday in the hallway because Aly was shouting. She thinks it's the funniest thing ever. And it is! While we're at home. Not church. One older woman in our ward told me, we spend so much energy getting them to talk, then we trying our hardest getting them to stop!! But we love AlyRae and we love that she's starting to communicate better with us!! :D
Hope your month was better than ours!! Aly and I are looking forward to April when we get to go visit my parents and family in Virginia for 2 weeks. Look forward for our DC post and pictures! :D