The Bird's Nest

XY

2010-08-24T23:01:00.003-06:00

The results are in!!

My mom had a dream a couple of weeks ago and it "told" her I was going to have a boy. I felt like it was a girl....so did a lot of people! The ultrasound technician said they were all smokin' crack because this baby is clearly a.............

BOY!

I am in bed and am too lazy to scan the picture in...although I do have the DVD downstairs....
eh still too lazy to get up. I will post up the picture.....this little one is not shy about his privates. It's funny because Ashton's ultrasound picture was exactly in the same position- spread eagle.

I am not going to lie. I cried a little. I wasn't sure if it was because I was really surprised or because I was happy to find out. I think it was a little of both but I immedietely felt guilty because I was a little sad it wasn't a girl. To be honest, I have felt a little sad all day. But, after talking to my mom and reading an article in the Ensign my spirits have been lifted. Geez, I feel terrible actually admitting this. But now, I just really am grateful and happy to have a very healthy baby boy (I just hope he is mellow!!!!) I think I cried a little too because Ashton was going insane in the room and yelling and I thought- How am I going to handle 2 Ashtons?!?! The technician kept saying how beautiful and perfect this baby is, how that is a textbook picture of the heart ventricles, etc.

So yes, I am having a baby boy. The clothes I bought can be stored away for another day. And now I am looking at nurseries and bathroom ideas since they will have to share a bathroom :) I am so excited to hold this little baby boy in my arms and just fall in love with another mini-Lorin.

waiting....

2010-08-22T23:17:00.002-06:00

i have not really done anything with this baby. i remember with my first pregnancy i looked at nurseries and names the second i found out i was pregnant. not with this one. i don't want to fall in love with anything gender based because i don't want to be "disappointed." so...i am waiting for my ultrasound on tuesday morning!!! i can't wait to start coming up with names and design the nursery.

so everyone. keep on voting and i will let you know as soon as i know!

1,2,3 and 4

2010-07-29T21:35:00.003-06:00

Baby Bird #2 is due January 9th, 2011.

We are so excited. It was a bit of a roller coaster ride with this one, but are so grateful we have been blessed with another little one.

Ashton kisses my belly when I ask him where the baby is. I know he will be a great big brother.

I feel like this baby is a girl....but we'll find out on Aug. 24!!

LIVE from South Africa

2010-06-11T12:19:00.003-06:00

Is anyone so pumped up about this that you can feel it in your veins?!? Ok, I am not that big of a sports fan but I absolutely love watching the World Cup. I can hardly wait the 9 minutes that are left until the next game starts. I remember watching it with my family growing up...on Univision- in Spanish! I loved when any team scored a goal because the commentator would scream "GOOOOOOOOL GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL GOOOOOOOOOL" over and over again.

I am about to turn on the TV (we have bunny ears and ONLY get 2 channels: some baptist channel and....UNIVISION). So, Ashton and I will watch the games in Spanish. Maybe he'll pick up some words and say them to his grandparents...won't they be proud :)

4 years ago, after Lorin and I came back from vacations after our wedding, we drove cross-country in June. We stopped at local sports bars to watch the World Cup Games....sure it took us longer to get to Utah but its already a looon ride, so why not make it fun? We were dedicated fans, cheering for our teams while eating a burger at some scummy sports bar. I can't help but smile at those wonderful memories! However, the only thing I didn't like was that we had to watch it in English. There was no excitement in the commentator's voice. Thanks for making sports even more boring! Seriously, once we were able to watch the games on our own (Dallin's) TV, we watched it in Spanish and it was amazing. I was so pumped. Have you even seen me pumped and watching sports? Yeah.....that is what the Spanish channel does to me :)

Who are my teams? I don't really have any. I usually cheer on the Latin teams first unless they are playing the US. I don't bite the hand that feeds me.

Now, I am going to sit back, relax, drink my smoothie and attempt to cuddle with Ashton as he grunts and cheers for the little people running around chasing a ball on the TV.

To: Ashton From: CSN Stores

2010-05-20T23:18:00.004-06:00

It's here! What's this, you ask?

a horsie?oh...a chair!!
*sigh* time to relax!

I was lucky enough to review an item from the CSN stores. I chose that little chair. Needless to say it is a hit! Ashton has been sitting in it everyday since it arrived! He loves to watch his shows in it and I can even fit in it! Now, I didn't choose to sit in it- Ashton wanted me to try out his comfy little chair.

Reasons I like the chair:

1. So so soft (its like a light weight fleece)

2. Washable! Yes it got dirty on the first day. It has zippers so you just wash the outer layer and not the foam.

3. 3in1. Ashton can sit in it, cuddle with it like a stuffed animal and use the back part as a table.

4. It is a unique looking animal so it has caught the eye of many a children that have stopped by our house to play.

5. The item was priced at 34.99+shipping. I am an extremely thrifty person so this seemed a little high for me. When I went to discount stores to look at their prices, theirs were about $40 for not as cute chairs like Dora or Thomas the train engine prints...

Reasons I like CSN:

1. You can find everything you need because they have tons of stores

2. Good customer service. Ashley, on the promoteam, was extremely nice and helpful.

3. Fast shipping!

4. Unique items. I don't like to have the same things as everyone so you can get good quality unique items.

Things I would change about both:

1. The chair is slippery...but I have hardwood floors so any cloth would be slippery. Problem was solved when we put it on the rug.

2. The back isn't high enough so Ashton's head isn't supported that well.

All in all though, with a few minor adjustments, this chair suits our needs just great! Once Ashton is done, I put the pieces back together and it just looks like a cute stuffed animal. It doesn't look too out of place in my toy-filled living room :)

Thank you, CSN for giving us this opportunity to try out something from one of your many stores!!

**Please note: I was asked to choose an item at no cost for this review. It will in no way influence my review of the product.

Winner Winner

2010-05-20T15:46:00.003-06:00

the winner is....

Marissa!

Woo hoo. I actually knew she was going to win.

The correct answers were Peru, family, being pregnant.

So, Miss, just let me know what you would like :)

Thanks to all those that participated!

To my second place winner: VAL!

Val, let me know what you would like :)

I miss....you win! yes- a real prize!!

2010-05-19T09:00:00.001-06:00

I am really missing a few things in my life. Like, I feel as if my body is craving certain things that it can't have right now. There are at least 3 things in this picture that I really miss right now. If YOU can name 3 things (can't list individual people) you WIN! Really, you win something that I have made/or will make for you....whether it be stationary, cards, headbands, editing pics, etc. You name it (please be reasonable- I can't give away Ashton...or a million bucks 'cause I don't have that nor do I make ANY money haha)

this pic might give you a better hint to 1 of those things.

good luck! the prize will go to the first person that posts correctly. and even if you don't want anything from me...just humor me will ya? :)

**Edited 5/19 12 pm

I won't reveal the right answers and the winner(s) until tomorrow at 9am. If I am feeling overly generous I will announce more than 1 winner :)

fallwintersummer

2010-05-17T23:25:00.003-06:00

what happened to spring weather? I feel like its summer here....it was seriously so hot out today i was sweating just sitting outside. not that i am complaining or anything. i heart heart heart this weather.

we went outside.

twice.

glorious.

except when ashton doesn't want to come back inside and throws a tantrum.

i'm pretty sure my neighbors laugh as i walk by carrying ashton like a sack of potatoes.

also i love that i peek outside my window and see meelllions of children outside playing...that is my cue to bring out the child and mingle with the other moms. love small neighborhoods.

hippoty hop

2010-05-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

I am not a fan of hip hop but I love this!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4

yes I know this isn't really hip hop but it should be! If all hip hop music were as wholesome and funny as this I would love it!

Stats221 is for Lovers

2010-05-12T23:44:00.001-06:00

4 years ago today (well i wrote it on wednesday but i'm posting it a few days late) was one of the happiest days of our lives.

3 guesses.

No- we actually have no idea when that happened.

No- no comment.

Yes? The man in the back with the turquoise hat? You are correct!

Lorin and I got hitched! WoooHoo!

I want to tell y'all the story of how we met. It really is a fantastic one. So, pull up a chair, get some snacks ready and put your kids down for a nap.
It all started with 2 experiences before I went off to school the fall of '05. I didn't know what I wanted to major in and had been praying for guidance. I was led to research Business Management (for all that know me this is just ridiculous!). I wanted to major in business not to make beeelllions of dollars, but to work at a non-profit where I would make, well the opposite of that. So, I signed up for the business pre-req classes....like Stats 221. The other experience was a blessing I received from my daddy right before I hopped on a plane to Utah. When he said a certain phrase, I raised my eyebrow, opened my eye and saw my mom giving me the same confused expression. Ha! We thought my dad must be going crazy or something. Let me explain. I was "waiting" for a missionary. We dated all of freshman year, over the summer, and continued our "relationship" through my sophmore year. My dad said something to the effect that I would find my eternal companion this year and prepare for marriage. So you get the confusion right? My missionary wasn't coming home until next year! And everyone knew that I wanted to marry him. Anyway, I thought my dad was nuts, hopped on a plane and prepared for my pre business major classes.

As I sat down in the JKB classroom, I prepared my brain to stuff all this "cool & fun" stuff I was about to learn. I was right by the door and watched everyone as they strolled in. One caught my eye.....I believe he was wearing his green Hurley shirt and board shorts (his signature style). He was super tan, had long hair with a cute little curl on the ends and had piercing GREEN eyes. Hmmmm, ok enough of that, focus. And guess what? He sat down right next to me. That's right. There were empty seats and he chose the seat directly next to mine. And then it clicked. My roomate, Bev, had talked to him in church the previous Sunday. He was in my ward! He said "hey." He had me at "hey."

"I think you are in my ward."

"How do you know?"

"Um, I think I saw you in the building."

"Prove it."

Ok weirdo. You talked to my friend. Whatever. By this time the teacher had started talking. And Mr. Sexy Hair kept talking. I obviously didn't really respond because it is rude to talk while the teacher is talking, duh. He didn't see it that way and thought I was rude. I believe he sat next to me the next class, too. But after that he sat next to this little blonde chick who was Snow White for Halloween....enough said. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I thought this "stats-mance" was over, afterall he had moved on to a cute little blonde.

Ha! Was I wrong, we "studied" for Stats even though I wasn't in his class anymore. (I switched times because work conflicted with that time). And by "studied" I mean we seriously talked the whole time. Then he didn't want to study with me anymore because we didn't get anything done. But we did hang out! We had a lot of fun times just hanging out as friends and eventually became more than that.

I will say that dating Lorin was not easy for me. No, not because he didn't know people actually celebrated Valentine's Day, but because I didn't want to fall in love with him. I just wanted to focus on school and my missionary. Lorin's roommate did warn him that I had a missionary but he paid no attention. When I prayed for comfort in my decision to break up with Lorin it never felt right. Something always kept us together.After struggling with the decision to keep on dating Lorin, and many many talks with my friend, Steve, about it....well I decided to go for it.

We were married in the Washington D.C., LDS temple on May 12, 2006. I was so nervous and excited that it is a blur to me. And even now, I cannot believe how fast 4 years have gone. We have many ups and downs, complete joy and sorrow and have felt the purest of loves when our son was born and when we attend the temple. We've traveled to Europe, South America, national parks and local cabins. We've argued over everything from placement of coffee table books to, well, more serious matters. I miss him when he is at work for the day or on business trips for days. My favorite time of day is when we go to bed and the world is silent. We have that time to reflect on our days and just hold each other we fall asleep....or he pushes me away because he gets too hot.

Babe, you are the best husband I could have asked for. You know me sometimes better than I know myself. You know my likes and dislikes. I love you so much that I go camping and skiing, just for you. May we have many more years together, experiencing more joys, trials, disagreements, travels, and most of all, love.

Upcoming Review on CSN Stores

2010-05-12T08:00:00.003-06:00

Have a busybody toddler? I sure do! And he has a hard time sitting down for anything....except... Bear in the Big Blue House. I have been in search of a itty bitty chair for Ashton to call his very own. I found a cute little monster bear softie chair at the CSN Stores. They have over 200 stores on their site! They have everything from toddler beds, to accent furniture to cookware like Le Creuset! You can seriously find everything you may need for your home on this site! And with a little busybody I can shop for lots of things from the comfort of my own home...while he watches his show of course!

I was graciously offered an item to review from any one of their stores. Of course I chose this cute little chair for Ashton. It reminded me of a bear (which he loves) and its blue...it kinda goes with my home decor. Also, the price and shipping price is awesome! I can't wait for this little monster to join the gang of friends Ashton has (yes his stuffed animals). So, stay tuned for when I will be posting my thoughts on the product as well as a cute picture of Ashton snuggling/sitting/asking me to put it in his crib... I am absolutely postive he will love it.

part deux

2010-05-10T10:47:00.006-06:00

yep. your eyes are not deceiving you. THE martha stewart signed MY book! my sweet mother waited patiently in line at costco in CT. they had a separate line for mommies with babies so she only had a 40 minute wait. and then she talked to martha. yes. they chatted about how awesome my mom was for having a 25 yr old daughter AND a 6 month old son...with 3 boys in between. my mother was elated. we both LOVE LOVE LOVE martha. and I don't care about her brief stint in the slammer. she is an awesome homemaker so there.

ok how awesome is my mom. she got me all this delicious ribbon...look at all those velvety textures! she knows me too well!!

ashton made me this flower in nursery. i will treasure it forever. seriously i will. i may even sleep with it tonight.

lorin's gifts:

i was balling, seriously sobbing when i read lorin's letter. if you read the last post- we got into an argument on saturday night. we went to bed upset at each other. but sunday morning we forgave each others foibles and went on to celebrate...me! haha. it wasn't mushy because that isn't lorin's style. and that is why it meant so much more. ashton saw me crying and started fake crying and signing "mommy." he climbed on the couch, made his little sympathy noise "awwww" and gave me hugs. then he signed "baby" because he associates crying with babies. i love him. i love love love my boys more than i can possibly describe.

more of mom's gifts:

to top of the day we had chicken masala for dinner and had the fam over to play hand and foot. lorin and i won. boo-ya

zoology & greek cuisine part 1

2010-05-10T00:04:00.004-06:00

first: happy mother's day! i am so grateful for a wonderful, beautiful, spiritual, strong-willed, intelligent, crafty, selfless, generous and patient mother. i really do have the best mom in the world. seriously, who else can i call for a quick question and end up talking for 2 hours? i love you, mom. you are my best friend, my confidant, my mother.

and a wonderful mother's day to my other mom. i am so grateful for your dilligence in teaching and raising such a wonderful young man. he is who he is because you are a wonderful mother. thank you for your love and helpful advise. we love you.

i had a wonderful mother's day weekend. we started the day with me going to a yard sale...alone! trust me, this is a good thing :) i returned to two sleeping boys (another good thing). we had breakfast and got ready for the day. we went to jcrew where lorin ordered my swimsuit for mother's day. utah stores don't carry swimsuits so you have to order them. if you do it at the store it is free shipping! then we went to the zoo! ashton loved it!! the bird show was so fun and ashton really really loves birds so he enjoyed it. after walking around, i got tired and super hungry so we went out to dinner to aristo's. we've been there before and we really like greek food. i got the lamb (yummy) and lorin got the pork gyro (even yummier!). then we went to joann's (i am addicted to crafting- it really is a problem). we got home and lorin and i got into an argument for some stupid reason. i believe it was my fault- i got mad at lorin for moving around my coffee table books.

will lorin stop moving the coffeetable books? will brenda let it slide this time? or will they call it quits- afterall they do argue over stupid things often.......stay tuned for part 2 on tomorrow's post.

My thrifty message center

2010-05-06T22:55:00.005-06:00

I have been getting my craft on. Perhaps it is all the days inside because of the fickle Utah weather. Seriously, I don't even want to talk about the 45 degree weather out today- MAY 6!! Are the Jensen's happy about moving here after I said that?? Ha. JK. Not my fault guys. I prayed for warm weather and have been trying to channel the global warming guys by wearing flip flops and shorts to no avail.

ANYWAY...OK. So I have been trying to revamp my builder's white filled house (by that I mean that my walls are the white the builders used in every. single. house. in my neighborhood.) I really DO NOT want to paint the walls because I don't have those skills. And...I CANNOT afford to pay someone to do it. So...my walls will be the ooogly builder's white.

So to make lemonade out of the lemons I've been handed, I decided to put color everywhere else instead of the walls. I have also decluttered the dreaded drawer that everything is stuffed in. And voila....a cute, toile message board, erasable calendar and mail sorter thingy.

The message board I had (it was a gift given to me in high school). I just recovered it with red toile fabric. Oh yes...before I recovered it, I covered a square piece of cork board I got at Hobby Lobby (I think it was $3 for 4 pieces of cork board). I also covered a rectangular piece that went along the right side and another rectangular piece that went along the bottom. I had a plan for this but I did it so long ago (which is why I can't show you a step by step) I can't remember why. But its pretty simple. Cut enough fabric to cover the board and hot glue around the sides. I didn't like the edges showing so I hot glued some green ribbon on the sides.

For the push pins I used those flat glass beads you put as a filler in flower vases, thumb tacks, scrapbook paper scraps, modgepodge and hot glue.

1. Spread modge podge on flat side of bead and place that side on the right side of the paper. 2. Let dry (cue jeapordy musique)

3. Cut around paper.

4. Put hot glue of top of thumb tack and quickly place on the back side of the bead. The pic shows me putting it on the paper but don't do it this way. Let my mistakes teach you! The tack fell off this one only, while the other ones (put glue on tack first) stayed. Coincidence??

5. Repeat step 2.

6. Voila! Cute thumb tacks to brighten up the oh so awesome pieces of paper tacked on the message board.

Erasable/Rewritable Calendar

Ok I have this thing about scribble marks. Well....I HATE them. It's like nails on a chalkboard. The only scribblies I like are when I purposely scribble things off my to-do list. I write things I've already done just to scribble them out....I am giddy just thinking about it. Anyway, my family's plans change often and I hate wasting paper (except post-it notes where my glorious to-do lists are printed on). I saw this at the house where my husband home teaches and STOLE (muhahah) the idea. I"m pretty sure there are tutorials out there....but here is my version sans pics (again- I made this a while ago)

1. Choose a pretty frame with the glass still intact (spraypaint it if you don't like the color.)

2. Optional: Modgepodge cute paper to the cardboard paper that comes with it so that is what shows through instead of the wall of back of frame. I chose to skip this step because the pretty paper made it hard to read what I wrote.

3. Measure height and width. Now this all depends on what you want. If you only want the days then divide the width by 7. I divided it by 9 (the extra two were for an extra column detailing my cleaning sched.). I divided the height by 6 (5 weeks and one for the header).

4. Now make your lines using a marker and ruler. I used a dry erase marker and just flipped the glass around so I wouldn't smudge the lines when writing on the calendar.

5. Fill that bad boy in (days, numbers, month, etc.). Remember to schedule in my birthday....in 10 months.

Whoa ok. long post. Last ditty.

Supplies Holders (Pens, Mail, etc.)

It is the end of the month which can only mean one thing.....not a lot of money left to spend. Don't get me wrong, I like to spend but I love more to be thrifty and creative when I am poor. or rich. whatevs. So I put my noggin to use after watching 3 episodes of Bear in the Big Blue House. I had some empty food boxes I could use. I originally wanted to use mason jars but that would not be kid friendly and might be too heavy for the bitty nails I had leftover. So off to my empty granola bars box and sample cereal box.

1. Pick sweet paper..or fabric.

2. Cut flaps off.

3. Measure box on paper. I just traced each side of the box on the paper and cut them all out.

4. Spread glue or whatever adhesive you wish. I used watered down modge podge to stick it on as I am running loooow on mine. Make sure to really get it in the corners.

5. Slap on the paper and smooooth it out making sure to get the corners, again.

6. Let dry.

7. I made labels using left over scraps and stamped "OUT," "PENS," and my personal favorite "BILLS." I glued those on.

8. Using a hole punch, I made 2 holes on the each side of the back of the box.

9. I threaded some ribbon through the holes and tied a knot.

10. Hang 'em up and admire how cute those colorful papers look on your boring white walls. :)

11. Add the necessary items to their respective boxes...I must say even my "bills" look pretty now.

Sorry about the crooked papers on the message board. I was in a hurry as this was done during A's naptime. Anyway, my less than $5 message center totally beats Pottery Barn's chic and sophisticated one ;) This is a just a fun version and an idea for all of y'all with a tight budget.

signed up

2010-04-16T00:42:00.002-06:00

i finally did it!

i bought my ticket to this:
http://www.digitalscrapbookmemories.com/
http://forum.digitalscrapbookmemories.com/showthread.php?t=7694

I am soooooooo excited....and nervous! I am rooming with 6 other gals I don't know so it should be interesting. I am paying for a room because I want to make friends and not be a weirdo loner in the classes and sitting alone at lunch....yes I still worry about this stuff. maybe i should be a weirdo loner. anyway. i am excited to learn and make meeelllions of scrapbook pages...i am very behind so this will be a very productive weekend.

i will miss my baby though....2 days!! i don't know if i can do it. i think i may cry now.

wish me luck. i will be gone from the 22-24.

see ya on the flip side :)

its 1:30 am do you know where your kids are

2010-03-23T01:22:00.003-06:00

i am up keeping lorin company as he works into the night. i am actually really tired so i don't know how long i can last. it will be just my luck that ashton wakes up super early again- dang teeth! how i hate thee! also, pollen. get thee hence.

poor 23 lb baby ashton. i still love your snot filled kisses and temper tantrums on the floor. i get it, bubbs, your gums hurt like...well....a lot?

in other news....gee my life is so boring (and i am about to fall asleep) right now. i can't even think of something exciting to make up.

i will leave you with this sweet pic. is this what is to come? i am seriously contemplating potty training ashton....very soon. do i have it in me? we shall see.

photo from here.

cumpleanos

2010-03-11T23:37:00.002-07:00

i turned 25 on saturday. my dad flew out from CT to celebrate with us and the rest of my bird family came over on sunday. it was wonderful.

i love my family.

2 reasons why i didn't want to turn 25.
1. i am afraid of getting old (like really old) and not being able to do things for myself. i know i'm only 25 but its one year closer to....OLD.
2. i thought by the time i turned 25 i would have 2 kids. yeah like ignoring my 25th birthday would mean i wasn't really 25. well it came and i was overwhelmed with love for the child i was blessed with.

what more can i ask for?

no crust please

2010-03-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

this is all he would eat for breakfast.

breaking even

2010-02-03T22:50:00.002-07:00

ok i know you guys want some pics....but the camera cord is upstairs. and i am tired. and lazy. next post- promise :)

once upon a time there lived a beautiful brunette with her handsome beau and lovely little manchild. one day they decided to try out a new happening cafe in a distant land. they couldn't expect much since it was very inexpensive as it was frequented by college students. the next day, the bb (beautiful brunette) felt ill....and it got worse.....and she didn't eat for 2 days! she lived off a powerful water called the ade of gator. she felt weak and tired. by the third day her pants fit loosely and she felt it was time to eat....and eat she did! now she is back to her normal state....breaking even (lost 5 lbs and gained 5 lbs). woohoo.

i feel like getting sick was such a waste! when i lost the weight i thought it was worth it.....but nnooooo.

bball&pizza

2010-01-31T21:32:00.002-07:00

we went to the basketball game yesterday (byu vs utah). it was soo fun! i am not into sports all that much but i really enjoy watching games live. and ashton LOOOOVED it. he really loves playing with his toy balls especially his basketball one and he even has a mini hoop that he got for christmas (thanks becky!) everytime he sees a basketball he goes nuts!

then we went to pizzapiecafe with janelle, logan and lauren. i don't want to badmouth it but i honestly think it made us all sick! ashton has had the worst gas all day. like terrible. like i want to puke terrible. i was so embarrased at church. everytime ashton moved he would fart. i think people thought it was me! awkward. and the food wasn't even good. but it was cheap so i guess we can't expect much.....

ok i have to post about good food, now. i absolutely love this blog that i found last week. she makes all her meals in the crockpot and i have been using her recipes. so easy and delicious! check her out : www. crockpot365.blogspot.com

oh yeah we are watching a movie. guess what it is?
yep

batman 3

THE CHOCOLATE

2010-01-30T13:07:00.002-07:00

ok everyone in UT needs to go to this place:

the chocolate (212 s state street orem)

i loooooved it! i like sweet things but don't usually crave a piece of cake or cupcake. but this place is sweet. and very reasonably priced ($2 per cupcake). it isn't overly sweet- just perfect. i got this white cake- can't remember the name- and i had to save some for tomorrow.
can you say UH-MAYYYYY-ZING!

what i like about is it that we are always looking for a place to get dessert. just a simple date night and ashton gets to relax on the comfy couch. the ambience is so relaxing/inviting and just so darling :)

everyone should go!!!!

blahblahblah

2010-01-28T22:37:00.004-07:00

instead of writing on my own blog, i read other people's. it seems their lives are more interesting.

ashton is 16 months old.
- doesn't like to drink whole milk when i give it to him in a sippy cup but gladly drinks it when daddy gives it to him in a glass cup.
- he throws himself on the floor and hits his face with his hands when he doesn't get what he wants.
- prays sometimes and can sign "jesus"
- can say mama, dada, and babba
- i think he said ball once
- gives hugs and kisses and signs "love" when i ask him if he loves mama and dadda
- dances everytime he hears music
- jumps like a little mexican jumping bean
- usually very happy and insanely energetic

i think that's all for now.

as for lorin and me:
- attempting to do p90x everyday (so far its every other day)
- reading our scriptures together has helped our moods and our relationship :)
- im on a creating kick....everything that has to do with creating i am up for

everytime i look at ashton i can't explain what i feel. i guess it depends on when i am looking at him. when he throws food at me after i've spent a long time making him something special i think- you are such a little rat. but then he smiles at me andi think- i am so lucky you are in my life. when he slaps me after i tell him no i think- what a brat! where did he learn that!? but then i hold his hands down and tell him no again and he looks down and gives me a hug i think- i love this kid!

random thoughts:
i really liked 500 days of summer. although i am a big fan of "love" this one was more a realistic movie more than a romantic one.
i have a love/hate relationship with the batman movies. i liked them the first time but lorin puts it on all the time i have grown to HATE them.
we didn't send out christmas cards this year so i am sending out v-day ones and i am just waiting for them to get here. letme know if you want one :)
i loove music. i hate driving. put them together and you have a calm, collected and singing sensation that is me ;) if i can jam out to music, sing outloud then i can drive.
whilst singing i discovered that i can relate to some of the songs i hear.

for example: carrie underwood- before he cheats
i had a bf a long time ago that was basically a piece of crap. however i did not know it. he told me he was a "good" guy. turns out that he totally cheated on me (like not just kissed another girl) and i found out from my cousin. what a sleaze bag. needless to say, the next time i saw him i slapped him as hard as i could. and i've never slapped anyone since (not seriosly anyway). i didn't go so far as to slash his car or tires but maybe i should have......

anyone else have songs/experiences they wanna share so i don't feel like a foo?

Mama's Holiday Wish List

2009-11-16T16:12:00.002-07:00

Mama’s Holiday Wish List MemeTodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?
As this is a WISH list here you go:
- Cricut Expression
-Letterpress Combo Kit
-A Mac so I can see what I am designing more clearer and because they are the best!
-Wristlet/Clutch to fit my phone, keys, credit cards and for it to fit in my diaper bag
-Camera for my car so that I can see behind me when I am backing out (there are a lot of kids in my neighborhood and I could never forgive myself if I hit one of them)

2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
-A beautiful poem written by my husband for Valentine's Day

3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?
-a large painting

4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
-All the gifts my parents got me because I knew it was a sacrifice on their part

5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?
-laptop, vacuum

6. What is your favorite holiday food?
-Turkey...oh yum

7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
-An advent calendar and small gifts for it

8. What is your favorite holiday movie?
-The Nativity Story (we must not forget the real meaning of Christmas :))

9. Favorite holiday song?
-Jingle Bell Rock, Christmas Song by Dave, O Holy Night

10. Favorite holiday pastime?
-Spending the holidays with family as we don't get to see most of them more than twice a year!

peru

2009-11-09T14:29:00.003-07:00

My family took us to Peru 1.5 yrs ago (I was 6.5 months pregnant I think). We had such a wonderful time! We went to Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Arequipa and Lorin, my dad and brothers went to Puno, Lake Titicaca and Colcha Canyon. My mom stayed with me because it was the altitude was too high :(

In Lima we stayed in Miraflores which is super close to tons of shopping, restaurants and nightlife....although Lorin and I went to bed at like 11pm after watching movies. We aren't party people but for those that are there is tons to do.

What made it so nice was that we rented a sweet apartment in a safe part of town where most tourists stay...ok we aren't tourists but the locals totally know we are from the States. We had 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, washer/dryer, cable, internet and the most important: HOT WATER! It was sweet and made our stay that more comfortable. We could have stayed with family but none were equiped to house 8 of us :(

So why am I blogging about this you may be asking yourself...
Well my parents have an apartment in Miraflores that they are renting out and asked me to tell my friends who love to travel about this. They've rented it out numerous times but since times are tough now they needed an extra helping hand from me and my blogging friends.

Here is the link for those that are interested or know of people that may be interested. All I know is that traveling to Peru is much easier now that we know that we are going to be staying in a safe place with all that we are used to having here in the US. So for those that are planning to go to Peru (which is totally awewsome by the way......especially the food....oh my gosh don't even get me started!!!) here it is:

www.mirarentalperu.com

it really is sweet and super nicely furnished....let me know if you have questions or whatever :)

sadness

2009-11-05T23:07:00.005-07:00

I felt like this. All day yesterday. It was a terrible feeling. One I couldn't shake off. I did try but nothing helped. I fell asleep feeling miserable and woke up and immediately thought of these:

Sweet son with sweet smile.

my loves

my joy

i don't know why i felt the way i did. i didn't like it. i tried so hard to feel happy. i should have prayed. humbled myself and asked for help. i didn't. i slept and the Lord blessed me this morning for he knew what was in my heart. i wanted to feel joy and He helped me find it.

baby shower

2009-11-05T21:40:00.023-07:00

October 17, 2009 we held a surprise baby shower for my mom (due Nov 26) and my aunt (Dec 23). Two boys!!! Let me tell you it was very hard to keep this secret from my mom as we talk almost every day. I just told her I was sending Ashton to visit and would fly to CT with my brother. She bought it and was totally excited to see her favorite grand child....

The turnout was huge and my inlaws were so great to come, too!

We already have sooo many boys but I guess we just keep breeding them!

The boys playing.....

celebrating my mom's 45th birthday! she doesn't look a day over 30 :)

and there will be dancing!

my aunt had a baby boy in september and just had surgery...man she looks awesome!

my aunt looks awesome and so happy!

the games to embarass the husbands....muhahaah

the decorations and glorious fooooooood

SURPRISE!!!

the big uno

2009-11-03T23:48:00.013-07:00

ok these are out of order but blogger makes it impossible to move these around easily.

my little baby Ashton turned 1!!!! I know it went by so so fast! We celebrated this wonderful occassion on 9/26/09 because the whole Bird family would be in Utah. We had such a wonderful time and Ashton loved seeing all his aunts, uncles and cousins.

This pic is upside down...I made an Ashton nutrition label and but it around water bottles.

The birthday plate I made at Color Me Mine for the rest of the kids on their birthdays. Except I forgot to put his cake on it!!! It was right next to the cake...I'm getting old.

Decorations (all of Ashton's firsts documented)

ooo first haircut done by auntie mike

mike teaching ashton how to ride

lucas taking a turn riding....ahahaha pantless of course. that is how it is done at the bird's

(above) and we played ashtivia which was a hit! trivia about ashton....who won? i can't remember. it was close though!

the gang

ashton loving the cell phone auntie val gave him.

i made this banner..........yeah i went a little overboard

all clean! look below for the messy shots

after cake....thanks auntie lisha and shannon for bathing me
oh yeah he ate ALL of it

mmm i love it so much. you hate it compared to how much i love it. (madagascar...anyone??)

my nieces are so awesome

the cake (i got it at the lehi bakery...mmm mmm)

"thank you for coming to my party!"

i attempted to make cakepops by bakerella.....they were rough but anything for my baby

happy birthday my little one

i love you more than you can imagine.

my baby is now a toddler. a running blabber mouth. an opinionated, fist-clenching drama queen (king?). a little squirmer with a bottomless pit for a stomach. a hugger, kisser and comforter when mommy is sad (i pretend to be so he'll give me hugs). i love him more than anything. he is the reason i wake up happy every morning, the reason i want to be better. i love you, ashton.

Boo at the Zoo

2009-11-03T22:11:00.003-07:00

We went to the Hogle Zoo for their Halloween activity: Boo at the Zoo! It was really fun and Ashton was loving the fact that we let him walk around on his own. He is too cool for his parents....

These are the tiger cubs....so cute!

Lorin trying to measure up to the big ape

Ashton looking at the baby elephant

Ashton is saying something...probably yo leave me alone you old farts....

my little peter pan

he just wants to be free

mmm where'd the candy go?

needless to say we were tired of halloween by the time halloween actually came! starting the week before halloween we had a grown up halloween party at the bikman's, boo at the zoo, trick or treat at KLAS, lehi city halloween party and then halloween.....ah i am exhausted just thinking about it. ashton was a wonderful peter pan/robin hood (they look the same). he liked trick or treating only because he could walk around on the street...ah this boy is going to drive me crazy i just know it but i love him more than i can even say.

le diner d'halloween

2009-10-27T13:08:00.005-06:00

October 25: Halloween Dinner (we were supposed to carve pumpkins that we were supposed to get on saturday....)

This is Ashtivia showing off his "guns" while riding sideways on the quad. That little daredevil.

Tivia stealing the treats (haha ok I don't actually call him that. That one is for you ShanBird)

Decorating the popcorn balls Debra sent us as an activity.

This is Carly (Alisha's roommate)

This one is Alisha's. Most of the popcorn ball has been eaten....as well as the decorations.

Bryan's creation: a cornrowed vampire

closeup of leon's 5 eyed monser. He copied me....hmm so unoriginal. just joking

bffs

leon and his only friend :)

mine was deliciously vampiristic (i don't know...i am bored)

j's george washington look a like (the marshmallows look like the old school white wigs)

natalia's mohawked dude/rooster

dallin's frosted y? shannon's is a plain popcorn ball. she says "so you can use your imagination"

working hard

logan's masterpiece. that tootsie roll on the side is a black eye in case some were wondering.

till tomorrow.....as time moves backwards as i post important events...backwards

jailbirds

2009-10-26T23:29:00.005-06:00

once upon a time the bird clan wanted to go pumpkin picking.......3 weeks later we finally got together to go to the pumpkin patch....and it was closed! so we took 4 pumpkins and left money in the basket. will we go to jail? no one knows. BUT we finally got our pumpkins after several failed attempts to go to the pumpkin patch. now let's see if we finally get to carve our pumpkins. i hope these pics don't incriminate us since we were there after hours.....ashton was the only innocent one as he sat in the warm car. just kidding. we paid for the pumpkins people!

we then went to a restaurant to get a treat (which is why we didn't carve the pumpkins tonight). ashton can suck out of a straw now so he loved sucking the melted ice from the wendy's we had an hour earlier. yeah....we eat a lot.

hopefully i will have some pics of the finished product.... or just a pumpkin outside my door.

Genius

2009-09-13T23:38:00.003-06:00

I just need to keep this blog up for posterity's sake! I am awful at journaling but so-so at blogging so I'll update this more frequently.

Ashton:
He picks up the phone and puts it on his ear because he's seen us do it so many times! Except the earpiece sticks out instead of in by his ear. He's getting there. Also, since I've brushed his hair with a comb for a while he started putting the brush on his hair (wrong way of course hahah) and moving it up and down. (He did this the beginning of August so I am behind a bit). He has also been signing "naptime" for a month or so along with "eat" and most recently "finished". He has been able to wave "bye bye" and sometime "hi." He is no longer afraid of the stairs and charges them like no other! This is bad. He can go down the stairs crawling backward but he chooses to hold on to the railing and walk down, like an adult. We don't let him of course and he'll hold his arms up so we can hold him and carry him downstairs. Sometimes I won't hold him so he'll reluctantly go down the stairs the way a baby should. He also eats mostly everything except honey (obviously), egg whites, milk...I think that's it. I always feel bad so I'll just give him some of my food off my plate...even when he's already eaten. This kid's tummy has no end. He's been drinking 7-9 oz of milk every 5 hours. He also has gotten a lot more loving. He doesn't like being constrained but if he initiates it, he'll give hugs and kisses. Like today, I slept in this morning and when I came down he jumped up and down and came over with his hands outstretched and gave me a hug and kiss. Oh how I llooooovvve him!

My mom came out to visit mid August with my brother, Leon and help him get set up for his first year at UVU. He is all grown up and so responsible! Yes, I am surprised! Ashton got a terrible rash that lasted like 8-9 days. My mom washed his little bum so that the wipes wouldn't irritate him even more.....and this is how he thanks her! 6 months pregnant nonetheless!
Do you see the pee mark?

Can you see his first tooth? Yes that is a BBQ potato chip. It was the only way I could get him to open his mouth for longer than 2 seconds. I needed to capture it for my posterity!! Please don't judge me. I don't usually feed him junk :)

i love to see the temple

2009-08-27T23:23:00.002-06:00

courtesy of...a website i found on google (sorry can't remember)

i remember singing "i love to see the temple" in primary. ever since then, i've always loved seeing temples. not only are they beautiful on the outside, but inside it is spectacular. only the best is used for the temple. the temple, for me, has always been a place of refuge- of solace. my sophmore year of college was the year that i attended the temple the most- at least once a week. i loved the peace that would come from sitting, pondering and waiting my turn to go into the font. i thought of the people whose names were being read- what were they like? how were they feeling right now? i didn't want to leave because i was on this spiritual high. unfortunately, i have gotten worse at going to the temple. is it because we have a baby and don't have much time? all the excuses i make up in my head aren't really valid. we are so lucky to have all these temples nearby. the draper temple, mt. timpanogos, south jordan, provo, salt lake and now the oquirrh temple are within 50 minutes of where we live.

we were priviledged enough to see the oquirrh mountain temple dedication. i didn't enter spiritually high (i was rushed) but as the meeting progressed my heart was softened and humbled. i've heard many stories of families sacrificing to go to the temples hundreds of miles away from their homes-but this one stuck out. sorry i don't remember specific details but this group of members from ecuador planned to go to the lima, peru temple which was like 3 days drive. if y'all have been in south america you know the roads aren't all paved and people are crammed into little vans they call buses. they were supposed to arrive on tuesday night but were stopped at the border because they didn't have some paper they needed. the temple president was notified on friday in the middle of the night that this group was arriving soon (3 days after their supposed arrival). the temple president asked the janitors to turn all the lights on at the temple (which are usually shut off at night) and to get ready for their arrival. as the bus pulled up to the gate the temple was shining in all its glory and the angel moroni stood proudly on the steeple. could you imagine traveling all these days, crammed in a little van arriving in the middle of the night and seeing this majestic building- shining brightly against the dark sky....one man exclaimed "we've arrived! we've arrived!" i wonder if that is what we'll feel when we return to our Heavenly Father, to our home after the journey of life. i think this story stuck out to me because it was the lima peru temple. that is where i was sealed to my parents. where we became eternally bound. lorin and i visited the temple on our trip to peru last year. it was closed so we took a picture outside of the gates. we were in front of this beautiful temple, thousands of miles away from where lorin and i were married, but it was for the same purpose. to be bound eternally. how often do i take for granted having all these temples right near my home while thousands of faithful latter day saints plan months in advance, take work days off, hire babysitters, sacrifice other things to be able to have the finances to travel,e tc. all i have to do is call up a willing member of my family to babysit for a couple of hours while we drive 10 minutes to the temple. not only do i need to go to the temple for my own spirituality to progress but those people who have passed NEED us to do their work. When I think about the people I am doing the work for, I can feel their presence and pure joy as they choose to accept the gospel. it is a miraculous feeling, one that i need again in my life. i have never felt so close to the lord as i have when i went every week to the temple. never have i felt so much pure love for my husband as when i am in the celestial room with him while holding his hand. this dedication holds a special place in my heart- it has reminded me of what is important and i wanted to share that with you so that we can all make it a goal to go to the temple :)

any minute now

2009-08-23T13:52:00.002-06:00

any minute now....
lorin will come home and i'll give him a big smooch!
yay.

for some reason, this little hiking trip has felt longer (he has only been gone since friday). i missed him so much this weekend. i'm glad he had a wonderful time with dallin and shannon and that he is safe. i always worry that he'll fall off a cliff or get eaten by a bear or something. so happy that neither happened :)

now i must get ready to go to the oquirrh mt. temple dedication.

global warming....psh yah right!

2009-08-16T00:36:00.002-06:00

i spent hours getting ready for a nice campout with the fam.
it was cold. it rained. it stopped. rinse and repeat.
we got ready for bed. ashton was all bundled up with an uber amount of layers.
i forgot to bring a blanket.
i couldn't sleep because i couldn't feel my body.
i couldn't sleep because i thought ashton was going to die because he was overheating.
morning never came.
oh wait it did..... it seemed like forever.
and then i woke up to hail.
and rain.
in august.
in utah.

the end.

ps. we had a great time with the family, sitting by the fire, eating s'mores, and watching ashton be mesmerized by the fire.

pps. i really just don't like the cold. especially when it is supposed to be a hot desert summer

yes we still exist

2009-08-10T23:57:00.002-06:00

i have taken an unintentional vacation from blogging. there is just so much that went on!
first off. check out www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com courtesy of my bff Bev. HILARIOUS!
ok this is what happened in June:
ashton took his first steps
we went to disney world
ashton loved the princesses
we loved the rides
i conquered my fear of rollercoasters...
had an awesome time with my fam
missed ricky
did not miss the humidity in FL yuck
loved meeting the characters
July:
went to NJ
dallin and shannon got engaged!
ashton started dominating the walking thing
had a wonderful time with all the inlaws
chopped off my hair (thanks mike, i love it)
met beautiful ava for the first time
tanned and tanned some more
swam in the pool and chillaxed
ate junk at the boardwalk and loooveed it
went to CT
celebrated LG's 6th birthday with farm animals, blow up houses, kayaking, glorious food, etc.
ashton got his first ear infection (he was so clingy that i knew something was wrong- he rarely lets me hold him)
i had a sinus infection and bladder infection from my surgery- yuck
had ashton's unbirthday 2 months early courtesy of the grandparents who spoil him rotten
had a great time with the fam
bought an insane amount of shoes
delayed on the plane
finally made it to UT to see my hubby who I hadn't seen in 2 weeks (i missed him so much i cried at hallmark looking at the stupid couple statues)
got to ut and bought an insane amount of groceries....i've never seen my pantry so bare
got back to my schedule with a pleasant surprise (ashton sleeps from 8:30-10ish) while in CT he slept 8:30ish to 7am. sometimes he'd wake up earlier and cry because he could see me in the bed.....i would hide behind the pillows until my mom (wuss) came in and got him

August:
planning the bub's 1st birthday bash
planning the bub's birthday bash
planning
planning
scout stuff
p90x i am hoping to lose 10 lbs. i think i can do it. ab ripper x kicked my butt but i feel good about this intense stuff that will whip me into shape.
went skeet shooting for the first time. guns are huge in UT..who knew? i am of course an east coast girl so the shooting isn't really for me
went to the zoo and saw a snow leapord cub and baby giraffe....CCUUUTTE!

oh yeah i guess i should add pics. so tired.......how about you guys just look on facebook for now?? please :)

bird man walking

2009-06-24T19:03:00.001-06:00

ashton has taken his first steps.
look out world.

pictures to come

3 years and a baby later

2009-05-28T14:08:00.003-06:00

Anniversary: May 12

Celebrated: May 16

Posted: May 28

Happy Belated Anniversary, Babe!

I love you.

saving babies... one dollar at a time

2009-05-13T21:23:00.003-06:00

so lorin, ashton, alisha and i are signed up to walk in the march of dimes walk on saturday! we are so excited to be helping a great cause. the march of dimes helps with research and other stuff with preemies (like prenatal care and preemie care). i have had a few friends that have delivered prematurely and their babies had to be in the nicu for weeks. my bff works in the nicu and some babies don't make it. i couldn't even imagine what that would feel like. so, pick up your finger....drag it and click on this if you guys want to support us in this cause! or better yet, want to join our team?? click here! lets save some babies!

how can you say no to this?

or this?

a bbq and a bunch of animals

2009-05-09T23:03:00.005-06:00

We had such an awesome weekend. We just had so much fun that I am so exhausted right now! I should go to bed but I want to post before I let another 5 weeks slip by....
Also Lorin volunteered to go get some groceries....he's called three times in 20 minutes. Ha.

Thursday, Carrie, Eric, Janelle, Ashton and I went swimming. It was so relaxing. Unfortunately, Ashton was a little afraid of being dunked in the water or even being put on his back. He used to love it but I haven't taken him swimming for a couple of months! I ruined him! Ok, well, I think I can get him to like it again.....He would just hold on to whoever was holding him so tight so they wouldn't let him go! How sad.

So on Friday we went to Mike and Karen's home in Bountiful. We had a nice BBQ and stayed up late to play Catchphrase. 5 adults....random words.....way past bedtime....equals hysterical laughter and pure insanity. Two words guys: No problem! I am so sad I didn't get any pictures- what was I thinking? Ashton loved playing with Brooke's toys...and Brooke, too :) Thanks for having us over guys.

Saturday we went to a few yardsales (my idea- if we can go to a yardsale then Lorin can take us on a "short" drive). We found some sweeeet deals and were tempted by some offers but we really don't need more junk! Theeeeen, we went to the ZOO! I think we were more excited to see it than Ashton. He loved the Aquarium in Sandy so we just figured he'd like these live animals. Noo. He was more interested in licking the wood and Lorin's hand. We walked around, saw some cool animals and had some awesome kettle corn. Hmmm. I am not making that sound like an awesome time. We just enjoyed each others' company and enjoyed telling an 8 month old about these animals he couldn't care less about! Well, at least the adults had a blast! We came home, Lorin offered to take me to a nice restaurant to celebrate Mother's Day but I was so tired. We had a nice relaxing evening at home, made dinner and watched Dark Knight for the 80th time....Yeah, that wasn't so relaxing but whatever. You know, Janelle made a good point. Who actually reads what we post on the blog? People just want pictures. Well here you go:

oh, yes....the wood...yum

yes i got it muahahha

this metal is great....the giraffe isn't too bad either

hey mom

oooo look a little girl

wanna piece of me?

a big kitty

tastes like chicken

the "short" drive back home......how beautiful is utah?

this one is for you alisha:

the face is back.

7 days green

2009-05-06T14:48:00.004-06:00

My brother has been in the MTC for one week today. I am eagerly awaiting a letter :) Ha...we'll see. I am so happy for him and know he will do the best he can. He'll come back speaking Spanish like a native ;) I am going to mail him today a scrapbook I put together with the help of family and friends. It contains letters that will hopefully encourage and uplift him. I am excited to give it to him. I actually worked all morning on it last Wednesday to give it to him before he left but I forgot it on the stairs with the excitement of getting to the MTC early! Thank you to everyone who helped me put it together and wrote encouraging letters. As some of you know, my brother is the first missionary on our side of the family since my parents are converts. I would have gone except someone caught my eye as I was preparing.....;) To those of you that are interested in what my brother, Elder Richard Gutierrez, is teaching visit this website. I know that what he is teaching is true. I have prayed to know whether the Book of Mormon is true and whether the gospel is true. I have always known it is true.

Easter (part 2)

2009-04-13T14:12:00.008-06:00

We had a fun Easter weekend. On Friday, we went to Lehi's Easter Festival with Janelle and Bree. We saw the Easter Bunny, a golden eagle, an owl and walked through an art exhibit depicting the Savior.

Ashton was a brave boy! He was not afraid of the Easter Bunny....although when he gets scared he holds his ears....but he didn't cry!

He loves putting everything in his mouth!

These eagles have been known to pick up big horns from the mountain and drop them....and eat them... Look how little Ashton looks!

Someone gave him a Starburst package.....when Bree tried to take one out he got so mad! Ha!

You may be able to see that Ashton is looking down....well, he is looking at a little girl and smiling! What a flirt!

hahahahah i love this picture. Ashton is not amused.

balancing act. how cute do they look? they match.

ashton scoping out his next target

ashton trying to eat the chase dog.

Then on Saturday morning we went to an Easter Egg Hunt at the Hollywood Connection. There was supposed to be a hunt for kids 0-5 so we thought that may be fun for Ashton. When we got there it was PACKED! They divided the 0-5 group into 2 groups: those that need help from their parents and those that don't. We went over to the parents' side and Lorin went with Ashton when the buzzer went off. Well...we were not successful in getting even 1 egg. These parents are ruthless....this one mom saw that Lorin was trying to get Ashton to pick up 1 of 3 eggs on the floor...well she looked at him, picked them up and put them in her daughter's basket! Um....I'm pretty sure this activity is for the kids....And who steals an egg from a baby? Hahhaha. Oh my. That was funny. Well, Ashton found something better than an egg:

yes, that's right. that my friends is a wrapper.

someone threw that thing ashton is sucking on at us.....finders keepers suckas! just kidding, you snooze you lose. ok. i cleaned it off and gave it to ashton after someone through it at us. we are among very classy and civilized people.

the crowd! i think that is the mom stealing..i mean helping her little girl get the eggs.

more people

OK! almost done! Theeeennn, we went to the aquarium in Sandy. Ashton loooooved it!

So did Lorin:

I love this face.

Look! No hands! I was a little scared he would fall into the water with the fishies and stingrays...yikes.

trying to touch the fishies

he loved watching them swim!

Easter (part 1)

2009-04-13T13:08:00.007-06:00

We watched a video in Relief Society that played this song but showed different pictures. The message is the same and it touched my heart. This Easter Sunday was very special for me. The Resurrection of our Savior was more real for me as I stared at Ashton while watching this video. He slept in my arms, which he rarely does anymore, and I listened to the words of the song. Ashton is my whole world and I would do absolutely anything for him. I've never felt this kind of devotion before and as a mother I think we feel the need to protect and love our children. I can imagine to a very minute degree what our Heavenly Father felt as he watched his Son die for the rest of his children. And Jesus did so willingly- he volunteered to give His life so that we may return to our Father in Heaven. I love my Savior, my Healer, and my Heavenly Father. I cry when I think about Jesus on the cross but I know that He lives!

Wow I am super emotional. I look at Ashton when he sleeps and sometimes he smiles- I wonder if he can still remember Jesus and what it was like to be with Him. We had a nice Easter morning watching the cartoon version of the Resurrection with Ashton. We taught him briefly as he was cranky and wanting to take a nap. We had a great time at church, Lorin taught a great lesson to the Elders Quorum and then we had everyone (14 people) over for Easter Dinner. It was so fun to get together with family and friends and share an Easter message. We chatted, laughed, and decorated eggs and cookies. It was a great weekend! Thanks for coming everyone and bringing your sweet food!

brenda bird is 24 (belated post)

2009-03-30T18:30:00.001-06:00

i turned 24 this year. i know that is not old...but it feels like it. i kind of feel like an old adult....i am married and have a child of my very own. weird.....

anyway, my wonderful husband made my day very special along with janelle and bryan. we had a nice gathering at the payne's residence, had yummy cake from maggie moos (the good stuff), pizza, soda, good friends and family. i got a new diaper bag from mommy and the rest of the fam, speaker thingy for the car so i don't die while on the phone from lorin, money from dallin and shannon, sweet picture frames for the wall leading up the stairs from janelle, bryan and alisha, a nice card from val, and some more money and a scarf from my mom-in-law (i spent that so quickly that lorin couldn't take it to put into our savings account muhahaha). thank you all for the lovely gifts and well-wishes.

and now for proof of the party lorin threw:

here is ashton hanging out

alex looking like he is going to kill whoever is taking this picture

dallin and shannon posing

just hanging out

blowing out the candles.....officially 24.....yikes

ashton loves his aunt alisha

birthday couple

2009-03-30T00:33:00.006-06:00

happy birthday janelle and bryan!

we celebrated the payne's birthdays on sunday...bryan planned a surprise party and alisha did a great job executing:

great decorations.

yummy desserts and cake.

good friends.

good times.

j being surprised!

"moooooom. you're embarrassing me!"

a little too much fun with the balloons.

alex. master cake cutter

veggie tales

2009-03-29T23:51:00.005-06:00

lorin and i worked on our future garden this weekend. lorin built the box, mixed up the soil, put it all in while i supervised. i was injured so couldn't do much work....i feel UP the stairs haha. anyway. i got the idea from my friend Kate- she was so kind enough to share her calendar and notes and stuff on this new "movement" called square foot gardening. it is genius! we will be planting corn, lettuce, tomatoes, green beans, squash, strawberries, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and other stuff i can't quite remember. anyway, i am soooo excited and so grateful to kate for sharing her info! and of course, my handy husband who humors my new hobbies. my goal is to eat healthier, eat more veggies and lose the baby weight! anyway, here are some sweet pics of our work. i did help- i drilled holes and screws on 2 sides!

since i've been gone

2009-03-28T00:32:00.003-06:00

our whole family caught a nasty bug last week and ashton is just barely recovering. poor little guy. vomit and diarrhea are not fun for anyone- especially a wittle baby. we did find out that our little boy has expensive taste. he will not drink the kroger version of pedialyte. nope. he wants the real thing ($6 a bottle as opposed to $3). geez. i have never seen so much vomit come out at one time- not from a baby. and out the other end, too. lorin is convinced we have bad diapers (huggies aren't cheap!) or we suck at putting them on. we've discovered that everytime ashton has a blowout, it is after lorin has put on that diaper..... honestly, it broke my heart to see ashton in pain and not be able to do anything about it. he was not his normal happy self at all. he lied so still in his crib and slept all day monday and tuesday. he cried wednesday and thursday. today he was normal again, except his tummy didn't take his soy formula very well. we'll see how he does tomorrow. he cries everytime his bottle is empty and i try to take it from him. he sure has a strong grip! i am glad my little boy is back and smiles for mommy. but now mommy has a lot of catching up to do on service projects she signed up for and the home can get back to its normal routine!

on a lighter note-

baby ava is here! i am a little late but everything has been hectic. like i said before, lorin and i caught this nasty bug on different days so neither of us felt like doing much. ava is beautiful! she surprisingly has a lot of hair and its curly...and black! she is just so adorable. i can't wait for ashton to meet his little cousin. congratulations steve and miss. you will love being parents. it is so hard to not just stare at them all day- they are just so beautiful.

ok here is what you really came for:

this is ashton before he got sick....and before winter returned...yuck.

oh how i love my chubbs.

swimming continued

2009-03-17T15:52:00.003-06:00

here is some footage of ashton

Ashton's Swim Lessons

2009-03-11T22:43:00.006-06:00

In Feburary, Ashton had his first swimming lesson. We dunked him under the water a few times, preceeding each time with "1,2,3!" He anticipated the dunk after only a few times and even started to hold his breath. He didn't cry at all...only looked like he wanted to but stopped himself. What a brave soul!

ashtoness

2009-03-11T22:13:00.005-06:00

So.....

I am done with Ava's bows...I keep holding out because I get new ideas and want to make more for her; however, I'll let Miss take care of those... I have pics of the bows I made but I will post those after they are sent out. Don't wanna ruin the surprise!

Also, the office is done! Well...almost. I am waiting for Lorin to help me hang up this embellishment organizer thing and then I am really done.

I am currently working on Ashton's pictures and I need someone (ahem....bryanslklsahfldalsf) to help me build the sled shelf :)

Now for your enjoyment.....

Ashton's attempt at crawling....he actually did take one "crawl" but it was before I got my dang camera! He sure does like to flop around like a fish out of water. He is also cranky because he got a set of vaccinations today :(

This one is better...well the end is anyway

check

2009-03-02T22:14:00.005-07:00

I love making lists. I will write things that I have already done just so I can check it off. In my last entry I had my list of top 3 things. I realized that I have to break them down so I don't feel overwhelmed. Well here it is:

1. fabric bows for ava
Kind of. I made 4 flowery type things but I have to:
- Put buttons in middle
- Glue clippie thing
- Make 3 more flowery things
- Mail it off!

2. organize pantry!
It is done, however, I want to get some storage thingys to put crackers, cereal, etc stuff in so it doesn’t look so crowded.

3. Organize office
- Put up desks
- Attach desk to L brackets
- Organize drawers
- Mount other organizer
- Make beds
- Paint wood blocks

So now I can add something else- I want to have 3 things to work on.

3. Hang up pictures in Ashton’s room

PS Does anyone know how to do the strike-through thing? I tried doing it in Word and pasting it on here but it doesn't show up. My list doesn't look as cool now :(

Also, Lorin and my goal (which we worked on for our FHE activity) is journal writing. We worked on our personal history together and will write one thing on this list each night. It is so important to keep a journal and I am not that great at it. But, having Ashton has been such a blessing and one way is because I always write about him and want to remember everything about when he was little when he is like 14 and driving me nuts...I'll be able to go back to a happy place. But seriously, I want to be a good example to my children, grandchildren and so on. I want them to read my journal and understand and really know me and what I valued.

Elder Theodore M. Burton counseled: "As a people we ought to write of our own lives and our own experiences to form a sacred record for our descendants. We must provide for them the same uplifting, faith-promoting strength that the ancient scriptures now give us."

Here is a picture of Ashton the day of his baby blessing. This isn't a picture of the actual blessing but a posed picture of those that love him and were worthy to participate in his blessing. These men hold the priesthood and honor it.

Ashton: You are surrounded by your family. They love you so much. Your uncles on your Daddy's side traveled 3 hours to see you. You have your Dad to the left of you, your grandfathers to the right of you, and your great-grandfather right above you. Your Daddy shared our Heavenly Father's blessings for you. Those are written in my journal and will be put into your baby book so you can remember those words always. We all love you so much.

naptime

2009-02-26T11:18:00.004-07:00

so as most of you know, i have had to rock ashton to sleep every nap time and usually to bed. it would not have been that bad if he would let me rock him in my sweet and comfy rocking chair. however, he liked to be rocked up and down- so i would do some squats while "rocking" him and then lunges, etc. he weighs more than 15 lbs now so it was quite a workout for me. i just couldn't do it anymore. my MIL suggested i just stop- of course! just put him down with some music and let him cry it out. well the first few times he would roll around, get stuck, cry, roll some more and so on. but yesterday, i noticed he was getting a little sleepy so i put him down right away, wrapped him up and put some tunes on. well, he went right to sleep! and today, he only fussed once and unwrapped himself once and now he is asleep. thank you josh groban and babba!

projects i am working on:
1. fabric bows for ava (sorry miss- my house needed some tlc after darrin and your mom's visit- i was never home and it was neglected)
2. organize pantry! its driving me nuts- does anyone have a good way of going about this?
3. office- ahh! this one is huge

i'll concentrate on those for now.

oh my gosh. what a boring post!
here is something to keep you entertained.

1. he is doing that thing with his nose (he scrunches it and huffs) haha

2. he always sees the camera- he has like a 6th sense of knowing when a camera is around

random thoughts

2009-02-24T23:30:00.007-07:00

hmm what do i want to talk about?

ashton news:

-he scarfs down his oatmeal and gets mad when i take too long to put the spoon in his mouth.

-he rolls over in the middle of the night so he ends up sleeping on his tummy or his side (scary! i don't want him to suffocate!)

-his feet reach the ground when on his baby einstein activity center thing

-he sits on his bumbo although i don't think he likes it- he is always trying to get out of it

-he can't get out of his bumbo because his thighs are so huge and he gets stuck!

-he no longer is rocked to put him to sleep....i just put him down, wrap him up in his blankie, wrap him up again when he breaks free, wrap him up again when he breaks free and rolls over...for about 1 hr or so and then he'll eventually fall asleep....after grunting and crying of course

-he puts everything in his mouth

he is slowly starting to move. picture an inchworm moving....he uses his head to move and pushes with his legs

-he has been dunked under water in the Lehi pool- we are trying to teach him how to swim (video of that is on the camera- will post shortly)

-when he gets frustrated that he can't move, he moves like a fish out of water

-he likes to scrunch up his nose while breathing in and out (i think alisha has footage of that)

-he is babbling a lot more now...he says mamamama (which obviously means he loves me more) just kidding....he loves his daddy more

my life:

i would like a new diaper bag. mine is okay but not great. i think it is super cute however, it is so narrow that everything gets crammed and is hard to get stuff out without messing everything else up. there is hardly room for ashton's toys which is a major necessity. i guess i just didn't know what to look for in a diaper bag before i had a baby. in any case, there is one that i really ...like and would have gotten if they had it out when i was looking...does anyone else have any suggestions? i like big bags...i like to be overprepared....

also my mother in law came into town and she helped me get stuff for the guestroom/craft room. i have yet to set it up. we got a new bed to replace the queen we had in there- way too big for the room but needed when my parents came to stay with us when ashton was born. we bought a daybed and more of those craft cube organizers from scrapnstyle. i am working on setting it up this week so i can get some stuff done and not have to put stuff away everyday because i was working on the dining room table! thank you so much for all your help debra! you had such brilliant ideas!

lorin's life:

he works really hard. i guess he has had a lot of big projects and sometimes needs to work at home. ummmm what else does he do? i would ask him but he is still working....

Love

2009-02-16T00:58:00.003-07:00

So, many of you know that L thought Valentine's Day was a fake holiday- he didn't think people actually celebrated it. So when we were still dating, he scheduled his humanities test for that day. I figured I would make him a nice dinner to celebrate this non-holiday. Well, he ended up leaving to help his friend with his Valentine's Day plans for his wife....yeah.

I'm pretty sure he got in trouble because of that from a few people...including me. For the past 3 Valentine's Days he has had to make up for that infamous night....

This year he outdid himself. You guys know Lorin....he is not romantic, however he changed that yesterday.

First he cleaned up the downstairs, then made a sweet breakfast (and you know he does not know how to cook!), and set up the table nicely while I slept with Ashton upstairs.

When I came downstairs I saw this:

Then I got this:

and this:

And I read this beautiful poem he wrote that made me cry. It's very personal so I won't post it here. He doesn't have to do all the cliche things that are in chick-flicks to show me he loves me- he just told me what was in his heart and that's enough for me :)

Wedding

2009-02-15T22:17:00.008-07:00

Heather got married!

She looked so beautiful and looked so very happy last night. We were able to go to the reception in Sandy and joined my adopted family, the Walshes. It was so great to see them again- they have all grown up so fast.

Congratulations Eric and Heather!

unleashed

2009-02-12T15:05:00.003-07:00

i love my little boy more than anything in this world (tied with L)... which is why i take gazillion pictures of my little one. i just want to capture those moments since they seem to go by so fast.

here he is....nakie....

mmmm rice cereal

2009-02-10T22:01:00.007-07:00

Here is a clip of Ashton's 2nd taste of rice cereal (this was about 3 weeks ago). We have now learned that it upsets his tummy so he is now downing oatmeal.

I love how he clamped his mouth shut. The other video from his FIRST time eating cereal is too big so it won't load :( This will do.

the tables have turned

2009-02-02T10:55:00.004-07:00

This is a post begging for friends. Yes, I am desperate. I love being at home, hanging out with the drooliest (is that a word?) baby in the world and trying to have a clean home. However, I realized how desperately I needed friends on Friday after going to visit my Visiting Teachees. So I scheduled one for 12 and the other for 12:45. Plenty of time right? I got back home at 2:35. Who is to blame you might ask....me!!

Oh my gosh I was the one who talked to much!!

Maybe it is because I am Lorin's wife and he is rubbing off on me. Or maybe it is because I am so lonely and have no one to talk to besides Ashton. Or maybe it is because I am awesome and want to know my sisters better......

I'm pretty sure it is the latter.

Mornings are the best....

2009-01-30T15:23:00.005-07:00

So what is better than waking up to this?

(just picture Lorin in this outfit...)

This!

2009-01-29T17:17:00.007-07:00

Ashton has been sleeping since 2:30. It is now 5:20. He woke up once in between but I was able to rock him back to sleep. So it has almost been two hours of quiet, but not so much peace. When he is awake, I run out of things to do with him. You can only play peek-a-boo so many times and I don't want him to get bored of this toys. I really should be doing my dad's website instead of my own blog, but that stuff just gives me a headache. I don't know how to do a website so trying to figure it out is driving me crazy. I used to like to design but now that it is work for me I really don't like it. But that is probably because I don't know what I am doing. I would rather work on Ava's bows or Ashton's scrapbook but I have to do this website thing.

But first..............pictures of my beloved wittle baby boy.

I. Am. Obsessed. He is just so cute I cannot stand it!

Here he is eating Julia. She thought she felt something funny....

I had to sneak this one of me and the girls. Oh, how i heart them!

His first night in the crib....I don't know if we should leave him alone...he looks kinda drunk....

He woves his wittle monkey....

Ah. Must. Stop Baby Talk....

With Great-mama Dory....he usually doesn't cry hewas just sad that day.

I love nakie pics of him. He came home from the hospital in that shirt...hewould be bursting out of that likethe hulk. I guess you can't tell in the pic.

He loves this little jungle thingy. It has flashing lights and music. Thanks mom & dad.

Baby's Day Out

2009-01-20T22:54:00.005-07:00

Today marks the start of a new era. And no, I am not talking about Obama.

The monitor has been moved from our room to his room.

His clothes have been transfered out of the cubes into his dresser.

His toys have a new home now: his toy chest in his room.

He is no longer sleeping in the bassinet- he has his nice and spacious crib in his very own room.

Ashton is now sleeping in his room that was designed and decorated especially for him:

The curtains are up, his closet is almost full, his shoe collection is almost complete, his toy chest is no longer empty, his dresser is fully equiped with onesies, burp cloths, bibs, socks, hats, pants, and of course his pjs.

Tonight is bitter sweet. I miss him already but I am sure Lorin was getting anxious to have him in his own room. I am not sure how I will sleep tonight. Every night for the past 4 months (today is his 4th month birthday!)I have woken up in the middle of the night to make sure he was still breathing. Lorin set him down in his crib where he quietly looked up at his car mobile (which I will switch out tomorrow for his skier one) and he has slowly drifted to sleep. I hear nothing from the monitor and feel slightly lonely. His breathing used to soothe me to sleep. I think I need him more than he needs me, and I think it will always be like that. I am going to miss looking at this sweet little face at 3 a.m.

Why Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways

2009-01-15T13:13:00.007-07:00

Reasons why I love my husband (really!!) Besides his amazingly good looks, his charm, his fondness of making up new words and starting every word with "schn"

10. He forgets everything so when it has to do with me I don't feel as bad

9. His play by plays: He tells me what he is going to do step by step, detail by detail...."I'm going to say, Hey, How are you? I'm doing well..........and then I am going to hang up and call someone else." Ok, I may be exaggerating a little bit....

8. He befriends anyone and everyone- no judgments (including the homeless man he brought to stay at our house, and that store owner and his building manager and the building manager's dog's vet, etc.)

7. His voice. He is not ashamed and neither am I. Ashton prefers nothing more than his daddy singing to him.

6. His laugh. He finds so much joy in everything and is not afraid to show it. He is that guy in the movie theatre that finds everything hilarious. It is contagious!

5. He is ready and always willing to help other people no matter how much he has to do. He usually overbooks himself, which is why I got him a planner one time, but he forgot where he put it....

4. Which brings me to this next one: He loses everything. It is slightly annoying but mostly funny. How many pairs of gloves have we gotten you, babe? How about those books? Beanies? Should I go on?

3. He is brilliant yet totally clueless sometimes! Babe, people DO celebrate Valentine's Day! You are also supposed to be with me when I am delivering YOUR baby- not watching ESPN.

2. He'll warm me up when I am cold. He radiates heat like a furnace. He'll let me put my ice blocks of feet on his warm legs. He'll also let me wake him up in the middle of the cold night to warm me up because I am too cold to sleep. And when I am mad at him, he has a way of warming up t me that makes me forget why we even started arguing.....

1. Can I have two number ones? I can cause it is my blog. He is frugal/cheap to a T.

B: "Hey, Babe, we need a new furnace. We are freezing at home all day!"

L: "Didn't you just get some sweaters for Christmas?"

He also doesn't knoew how much things cost.

B: "Babe, we need to get the baby furniture and everything before he's born."

L: "He's a baby. He doesn't need anything."

B: "Um, actually, he does. Let's just start with the crib."

L: "That's easy. They're like ten bucks at DI."

Or this one:

L:"Hey can you find a 1500+ sq. ft home, 3+ bedrooms, 2+bathrooms, 2+ level home for under 130K?"

Realtor: "Hahaha.....oh, you're serious. No. Well, maybe in Nephi or somewhere people don't live."

Ok, those were not actual conversations but pretty darn close!

1. He IS romantic...kind of. Here is proof.

Don't the scribbles and 2nd grade handwriting make you swoon?

**Actually, I have 3 no. 1s.

1. He is an amazing father. Who else takes a three month old swimming, sledding, four-wheeling, and 2+ hour walks? And reads greek, latin and history books to him?

Love you, Lor.

Christmas Break

2009-01-14T17:05:00.007-07:00

Wow, it has been a long time. Every time I want to post I feel a little overwhelmed because it has been a while. We had such a wonderful time back East. We really miss our family out there and want to stay out there longer than we have time for. We spent Christmas with the Bird side and New Year's with the Gutierrez side. We really had a wonderful Christmas. Ashton was sooo excited to meet all his aunts, uncles and cousins. He was passed around and well taken care of all throughout our break. We received such great and generous gifts (thank you Craig and Debra! Val and Logan). Ashton had a wonderful Christmas and received such fun and thoughtful gifts! He got some great books and CDs from Aunt Val, cute clothes and books from Babba and Grandpa, and more cute clothes from Breitton. I love how Breitton calls Ashton "Baby Ashton." We had so much fun with the nieces and nephews and they really loved Baby Ashton. They'll be able to play a little more once Ashton gets a little more control of his body. He had a little bit of a rough start to the vacation- the time change and different environment confused him and he didn't sleep well through the night for a few nights. Once he got over that little hump, he asked his daddy to treat him like a big boy and take him riding! We have another Lucas on our hands. His first word is going to be "ride."

Baby Ashton's gift from Breitton

Uncle Steve with Ashton on Christmas morning

Babba and Grandpa preparing a great Christmas Eve dinner

Lucas giving Baby Ashton a sweet little kiss

Lorin and Ashton on the quad

A super cute dress from Craig and Debra

Mommy and Baby Ashton (with his sweet pjs) on Christmas morning

Grandpa cutting up the turkey on Christmas Eve

Uncle Devin and Ashton awaiting a sweet meal

Ashton is quite the adventerous one. We took him sledding right outside of our home before we left on vacation. I'm pretty sure he had no clue what was going on but he looked so cute in his puffy snow suit- just like on "A Christmas Story." He went sledding again in CT outside of our house. This kid is fearless!

Going to CT was interesting. There was no snow in Jersey but in CT there was a lot! It was fun to see the boys wrestle in the snow, go sledding, play Rockband and hear Lorin belt out classic rock tunes. I even joined in- it was soo funny! We played board games, took walks, ate ate and ate! I gained _lbs and stayed another week just so I could gain more! I just couldn't leave CT when Lorin did- everyone just wanted me to stay a little longer. And when I say me I mean Ashton. I have been put on the back burner. Everyone wanted to watch Ashton. All my little cousins would just hover over him and gasp at every move that he made. "Oh my gosh, his finger moved, that is soooo cute!" Hahah. He is the first grandchild on my side so I can understand all this enthusiasm. I was no longer the parent and had no idea what I was doing- everyone else took over. It was kinda nice to have a break but I sort of missed raising my own baby! There were tears when we left. I was so sad to leave. I missed Lorin a lot and missed my own home but if I could move there right now, I would. Family is incredibly important to me and I need to be close to my families. I grew up with my aunts and uncles and we are really close. I want the same for my little one. I want him to really know his aunts, uncles, cousins and especially grandparents. It was especially hard to say goodbye to my brothers. We didn't get along that well when I lived at home but once I left for boarding school things seemed to pick up. We get along but aren't super close because I was away for so long. I left home when I was 15 then went to college, got married, etc. But ever since I got married I think we have gotten closer, especially my relationship with Rick. He is turning 20 this month. He just turned in his mission papers and will receive his call shortly. I am so proud of him. He calls me his little sister and even though I am older, I feel like I am his little sister. I literally look up to him but he has really changed and matured (however he still has a lot more to go!). We fight one minute and are laughing together the next. I wish we could have been closer sooner. And the way he took care of Ashton! He is a natural. Leon and Ricky both changed their first diapers (both #2s hahah- I am mean, huh?) and I have never seen my brothers so enchanted with a little baby. Ashton is so lucky to have so many wonderful people in his life that love him and would do anything for him. This little guy is spoiled/majorly loved.

I can't wait to go back and see everyone again. Thank you Aunt Jessy and Uncle George for being so kind and generous with us, especially with Ashton.

how cute is this??

2008-12-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

catching up

2008-12-03T16:54:00.002-07:00

i haven't really had much time to update our blog. i know you guys all look forward to what the birds are up to hahah. well here is a quick recap
- mom came out to help me with ashton since i can't pick him up that much
- we all went to bear lake with ru, jason, brigs, barb, derek and my mom for thanksgiving (yes, i went even though i should have stayed home, but i am married to lorin so....)
- mom left and i cried because i miss her so much
- got a lot done on the sweater i am knitting ashton
- my sil, lynette, is here with me helping me out with ashton while lorin is at work. she is so sweet for volunteering to help me.
- i am much better but am still sore where the incisions are so carrying ashton hurts after a little while
- we picked out our first REAL christmas tree! we bought one last night and will hopefully start decorating it this weekend.
- we took ashton to the doc today because he was stuffy, coughing and sneezing a lot but he just said it was a cold. ashton has not slept during the day for more than an hour for like 2 weeks. but yesterday he slept for 4 hours and he's slept almost all day after feedings. my poor little baby. i feel helpless since we can't do anything for a cold.
- janelle told me about a breakfast with santa on saturday morning. if ashton is feeling better i will take him to get a pic with santa! how cute will that be?!?
- i am so excited for julia (aka jigs) to come tomorrow! i haven't seen her in such a long time and i miss her terribly!

i'm back and alive..minus my gallbladder

2008-11-23T16:59:00.004-07:00

so this week has been a rollercoaster. saturday night, after alisha's b-day dinner, i started to feel a little sick. my acid-reflux had come back to haunt me and it didn't go away. by tuesday it was really starting to hurt so i went to see my dr. and he did some blood tests and ordered an ultrasound for me on thursday. by wednesday morning i couldn't keep anything down even my anti-nausea and pain killer meds and was writhing in pain, so lorin called the dr. again and he told me to come in. he gave me a shot of morphine, an anti-nausea pill that dissolved in my mouth, some more labs and sent me to the hospital for an emergency ultrasound. well, his diagnosis was right. i had gall stones and my gall bladder would have to be removed. i was admitted to the hospital on wednesday and hoped my surgery would be on thursday. but my lipase levels were at 23,000 when they should normally be at 200-300. by thurs it went down to 22,000. this is when the dr bore me the bad news.: i would prob have to stay in the hospital 5-7 more days because i had pancreatitis and they could not operate with an inflammed pancreas. i cried because i didn't want to be in the hospital for that long and i was so hungry. the last time i ate was on monday because i started puking on tuesday.... so with pancreatitis, gall stones, hunger pains, plus the pains of my tender stomach and liver, i was a wreck on a lot of medications. everything seemed to be going wrong: my potassium levels were super low as well as magnesium, calcium, glucose, etc. i had morphine injected into my iv every 3 hours as well as anti-nausea medication. the iv fluids were the only things that were allowed to enter into my body. i could not have anything, not even an ice chip until saturday morning, when i was released from the hospital. it was such a horrible experience, especially because i was away from my baby for so long. luckily and miraculously, on friday morning my lipase levels went down to 500. my family came to visit me and then the drs. walked in to tell me they had to get me ready for surgery. i didn't even know i was going to have surgery that day! i frantically called lorin to tell him they were taking me in and he was able to be there for when i woke up. i had a nice chat with one of my surgeons wearing a utes cap and i told him that i hoped he wouldn't hold it against me if i was a cougars fan since i was in a vulnerable position. he laughed. all went well with the surgery except my throat really hurts from the tube being stuck down my throat, my vein is all swollen from the iv they took out because it was blocked, my other vein hurts from the new iv they put in and my incisions hurt pretty badly. but a few percocets and i'm feeling ok. my mom is afraid i'm going to be a percocet addict. oh yeah, luckily enough my mom had already planned a trip out here with my brother for a college tour. so thankfully my mom has been able to take care of ashton while lorin went to work and help us out while i am recovering. some of you may remember the pains i had during my pregnancy- well i'm pretty sure those pains were caused by the gallbladder starting to dysfunction.

oh well. c'est la vie.

mission accomplished

2008-11-14T13:04:00.002-07:00

so i set a goal and i got it done...almost. i went on a baking frenzy and made muffins and bread to give out to our neighbors (thanks for the idea kate). it was also a good way of meeting our next door neighbors. they were super nice and even offered to babysit ashton if we ever needed it. i made pumpkin/choc. chip muffins and bread and i am not going to lie- it is awesome. i got the recipe from www.graceviolet.com. and i kept the bread for myself.....after i ate 3 muffins in 30 minutes. hahaah oh i love being able to tack on the calories because i'm nursing. i also made a couple of keychains- geez the first one i messed up on(even though it is supposed to be super easy). i am just not good at sewing. but i will prevail. i will master this machine. anyway i need to finish up this belt, too. hopefully alisha will like/appreciate them.

so, yay. i got things done! i feel good.

on another note- i just read a few articles on what is going on in la and slc. so what is the deal?? i mean, people who claim they are being discriminated against get to discriminate others without any reprecusions?? i don't understand. these people that claim to be tolerant and call us who believe different things intolerant and bigots are allowed to harass lds temples, people and businesses who suppored prop 8 and it's okay because they are the ones who are being discriminated against. they claim its freedom of speech....um what about us? we can't voice our opinions?? so if prop 8 had not passed would we be allowed to do the same thing or would they just scream intolerance and injustice because we targeted them. anyway, this just makes me so upset. those who believe in God and have morals are not allowed to anymore.

the end.

A Selfless Act

2008-11-11T01:27:00.003-07:00

After Family Home Evening on Monday night, I realized that my life is at a plateau. I am not progressing in any aspect really. I hope this isn't a depressing post. I just finished putting Ashton to sleep and realized this is all I do. I feed him, change him, rock him to sleep and then I have a little bit of down time- that is when I'll try to eat something or clean a little and then he's up again. I feel like I haven't accomplished anything that I want to. Keeping the house tidy isn't difficult for me because it drives me crazy when things are visibly out of place. I have so many projects on my life and have yet to start on any of them. I used to read my scriptures outloud while I nurse Ashton but it was uncomfortable holding the book and holding Ashton. Anyway, my point is that it is probably my fault for not being more proactive and just letting Ashton take care of himself for a little bit. I am there when he starts to cry and play and talk to him as much as I can. Is it selfish of me to want some time to take care of me and mentally/spiritually nourish myself? Anyway, I had some downtime and I was blogsurfing and found this site:
http://sewingwithabbie.blogspot.com/. This lady was asked to make a quilt for another woman who selflessly donated her bonemarrow to a complete stranger. The quilter made it in two days (staying up to the wee hours of the night) and refused to accept anything for her sacrifice. First of all, that procedure (bone marrow) is really painful. Second of all, she went through all this pain for someone she didn't even know. And the quilter- she volunteered materials and stayed up hours to finish this quilt in time to give it to the donor. She didn't even know this woman! How unselfish can someone be to do that? That story was totally inspiring- pay it forward. There are really wonderful people in this world. I think I need to do something for someone. And I know being a mom is gratifying, and taking care of this beautiful baby boy brings me so much joy- but I just need to find someone else who needs my help. I have found that serving others fills my heart and helps bring me up spiritually- so this "selfless" act is my selfish desire to feel a little more complete. I am rambling and its almost 2 am. I needed to get this out because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep with all this junk in my head. Please don't misunderstand me- I love being a mom and taking care of Ashton. I am just in a rut and it is my own fault. Tomorrow I WILL do something. I WILL create something and I WILL search for someone to help. Does anyone need anything? Please let me help. pleasepleaseplease :)

Too Fast

2008-11-10T13:35:00.003-07:00

2 days old

5.5 weeks old

7 weeks

Moulin Rouge

2008-11-02T11:55:00.006-07:00

This may sound strange but Ashton absolutely loves the songs from Moulin Rouge. Actually one line in particular:

We can be heroes
Forever and ever

He gets this huge smile on his face whenever his Daddy sings that. We've tested this theory out. It has worked 95% of the time. And most of the time he'll coo back. I promise he loves it- maybe he's tone deaf, too :)

All Hallows' Eve

2008-11-02T10:24:00.006-07:00

Nananananananana Nananananananana....BATMAN! (I was trying to recreate the 1950s theme song)

Without further ado we present to you the star of this post (and every other post on the blog)...Ash...I mean Batman!

Batman loved Halloween. He stayed up from 6:30-9:00, took a quick catnap, and hung out from 9:30-11:30. He did not want to miss all those funny looking people. Surprisingly enough, he loved his daddy's costume (even though the Joker is supposed to be scary). He loved finally being able to see his daddy's face hahah.

It was actually very funny. I came out of the bathroom, came right up to his face, bellowed, "Why so serious?" in my deepest, darkest voice...and he smiled and laughed! Then it was just cool to make the kid laugh. It is the contrast. He can't see 20 inches past his nose and everything is blurry, and so the bright whites, blacks, and reds tickled him pink.

Ashton was having a blast! He got to chill in Brenda's arms the whole time, so what could be better. A free ride and lots of funny-looking people are the perfect recipe for a happy baby.

At 6 weeks, he can only take so much fun for one night...and so many pictures!

Oh yeah, he had the sweetest cape ever.

Batman and Robin (Ashton and I) teamed up against The Joker and defeated him...muahaha. Ok, it was all Batman. I was just his support. (The binky shot is priceless! He is looking at Lorin wondering what the heck is going on. He doesn't care, because he is just enjoying every succulent inch of that binky!)

We had a blast on Halloween. We went to Provo to visit our old neighborhood friends and to show off our new addition to the family. We were in that ward for 2 years and had gotten very close to several families but haven't seen them since April (when I was 5 months pregnant). We had so much fun catching up with the Klevens and the Sorensens (who had a new addition of their own). We really missed their kids! It also felt so great when the kids' eyes lit up when they saw us and hugged us. Those kids really are so great. We didn't get any pictures with them though. However, we did get a picture of the Sorensen's home- they always do a great job decorating....

Now you see him...

Now you don't...

Yeah...he made a lot of little kids cry and run away.

We hope you guys had a great Halloween, too! We were told we looked a little old to be trick or treating- yeah right! We had a little kid with us- we're still allowed. Brother Rowe wouldn't buy it so he made The Joker perform a trick: singing "I'm a Little Teapot."

Priceless.

Sleep when the baby sleeps.....yeah right

2008-10-27T15:14:00.002-06:00

Ok so Ashton is finally asleep again. It is 3:15. He has been up since 8:30 this morning. I fed him, changed him, got him to sleep in my arms and then I put him down and.....he wakes up after like 15 minutes! I couldn't even get a cat nap in. So, he just kinda grunts for a couple of hours (his grunts mean: mom, put my binky back in...now!) After his grunts get more frequent and more demanding, I feel like maybe he's still hungry. We start the routine again....change diaper, nurse (takes forever because he keeps falling asleep but when I try to move him he wakes up and is ravenous), sleeping in my arms and BAM! He wakes up after 10 minutes. I put him down anyway, cover my head with a pillow so I can't hear him whining (which doesn't work because then I feel guilty) and try to get a quick nap in. My dear husband calls to see how I am doing (which really means he needs me to do something) and I tell him how his son refuses to sleep. He shares some advice with me (yeah right, like he knows): go for a drive or a long walk. Um, yeah did he not just hear me almost cry about how tired I am and want to sleep. Does he not realize how much of a process it is to take Ashton out (no because I always get his things ready). I have to get bottles ready in case he starts screaming his little head off and extra clothes because he sometimes leaks through his diapers, etc. It is not a "grab my bag and leave" process. And no I do not want to walk -AKA exert energy-when I have none.

The End

Oh wait, you may have asked yourself well he's asleep now why are you blogging about not being able to sleep??

I will tell you. Because I am not tired anymore. I got out of bed exhausted and am now wide awake while my little one is fast asleep. I want his job.

P.S. Lorin is a great dad. He can actually put Ashton to sleep in less than an hour. So, I probably should have listened to him but I was upset so in my mind he is wrong about everything and I won't listen to his advice because he is not a Mom!

Tagged by Miss

2008-10-25T22:30:00.002-06:00

8 Favorite TV Shows: (in no particular order and please don't judge me based on my shows....guilty pleasures)
1.Grey's Anatomy
2.The Office
3.Ugly Betty
4.Everybody Loves Raymond
5.Friends
6.Samantha Who?
7.
8.

8 Fav Restaurants
1.Sette Bello
2.Solo Pizza (italia)
3.Macaroni Grill
4.Magelby's
5.Thai Ruby
6.India Palace
7.
8.

8 Things That Happened Yesterday
1.Received a package
2.Went on a walk to the park
3.Caught up on TV shows
4.Watched Indiana Jones
5.Changed diapers
6.Fed and put Ashton to sleep
7.Dusted
8.Washed bottles

8 Things to Look Forward To
1.A good nights sleep
2.Christmas at home
3.Seeing and spending time with family
4.Baby's blessing
5.Twilight
6.Thanksgiving dinner
7.Halloween candy
8.

8 Things I love about fall
1.Clothes!
2.colors
3.thanksgiving dinner
4.foliage
5.pumpkin pie
6.
7.
8.

8 things on my wish list
1. new clothes
2.new mac
3.new boots
4.tv
5.purse
6.cute flats
7.skinny jeans
8.warm weather

8 people I tag
1. Lupita
2.Nadia
3.Kathy
4.Julia
5.Breanne
6.Tiffeny
7.Kate
8.Lorin (ha he won't do it)

Catchups (Party/Halloween/Park)

2008-10-25T14:05:00.009-06:00

Where does time go? I have been meaning to post something but always have something else I need to do. I have so many projects and no time to do them. All a baby does is sleep so why don't I have the time? Well this baby likes to be awake at least 4 hours during the day. He'll just hang out making his funny noises and fussing. Maybe I don't have time because I just want to absorb everything he does. Yesterday, I put him in his bassinet in the morning. He stared up at his mobile for like 2 minutes. Then I wound the thing (why do mobiles always have cheesy songs- they should change that to something cool like something by Dave or Journey...) and Ashton totally loved it! I have proof. I recorded him smiling and making his happy noises. I will post that when I figure out how to do it.

What else have I missed? Ashton is finally learning to nurse with the help of a little gadget. I'll have to wean him off that eventually but for now I feel like he is learning and being patient. Yay!

Halloween Update: Ashton will be Batman for Halloween. We'll be going around Provo visiting our old neighborhood. He will be sporting his Batman costume and Batman pail. Lorin will be the Nurse Joker and I will be Robin. I have to handcraft it myself because for some reason Halloween for girls is a free pass to be scantily clad. Yeah- I can't do that so I am putting it together myself.

OK, now for some pics. On Sunday, October 20th, we celebrated Ashton's 1 Month Birthday. I should have taken pics of the cupcakes that took me hours to make and decorate but everyone ate them before I got a chance. I watched as Dallin ate the last Mummy cupcake but it was too late. Anyway, I'm sure the idea is silly for most but I was sooo excited to (and still am!) to have him with me!! I have this irrational fear of SIDS so I really am so grateful for him. I'm not going to lie, those late night feedings are rough for both Lorin and me and sometimes I would just love for him to sleep. But, being a mom is such a wonderful feeling and I would do absolutely anything for this little rat...yes, even spend hours making Mummy and Pumpkin decorated cupcakes for his one month birthday bash that he won't even remember...ha.

Here are some of our guests. We thank you all for coming out to humor me and to celebrate a non-birthday.

Here I am spending some quality time with the month-day boy on our sweet couch. I love it how he just stares at me- probably trying to figure out who the blurry blob is.

Mike, Bev, and Brooke drove from Bountiful (!) to come celebrate with us. Now those are dedicated friends! We heart you guys. I love this picture. Ashton is getting antsy because we took like a billion pictures trying to get it right. Here is Brooke trying to console him, isn't that cute??

Another take-minus Lorin because he was on the phone....sound like anyone familiar?

Dallin and Shannon joined us for some SNL: Best of Will Ferrell at the after-party. I think Ashton is semi-smiling.

Lorin is closing his eyes like always, Bev isn't looking and smothering her baby, Ashton is crying and I look like a goof and Mike is being goofy. Brooke (not the baby) is the only one that looks normal.

Brooke and Brooke.

Ashton and Erin having a nice little talk. Erin and I are friends from freshman year at BYU. He just got back from his mission in the Ukraine.

Kevin and Bree. I think Kevin is getting better at not being afraid of holding a baby- nice work!

Uncle Bryan and Aunt Janelle- so cute!

Jason and RuRu

Erin and Brooke and Ashton crying.

He is pooped from staying awake the whole party!

Here are some pics that I took at the park when we went for our walk. It was chilly out so I put on his little "chuyo" (peruvian hat) that I bought for him in Peru this summer.

I'm afraid Ashton does not like to be his mom's entertainment...at least not for a long period of time.

binky

2008-10-13T23:57:00.004-06:00

Is it bad that I have come to rely heavily on his binky to quiet him down and eventually put him to sleep??

see what happens when I take it out? That's why he holds on to it (pic above).

Currently, he is sucking on his binky and I am praying that he will fall asleep soon. But, he keeps spitting it out and then fussing so I have to put it back in and wait until his eyes start to close...only to be dissapointed again as he spits it out and wakes back up! Will this cycle ever end?

Anyone know if having him suck on his pacifier is bad? I've heard different things and I am worried that my child will suffer because of my lack of knowledge on how to soothe him!

Day 17

2008-10-06T20:22:00.015-06:00

This may seem like a super long post but it is really mostly pictures... and me bragging about Ashton.

My mom left this morning- she abandoned me in order to take care of her other children. She chose to go already missing her company and help. She was with me during everything! She walked around with me during my contractions, stayed up at night to make sure I didn't die from the pain and kept walking, kept me calm during labor, brought me breakfast in bed every morning, took care of Ashton in the mornings so I could sleep some more, took care of my home and even finished up all my nursery projects (she stayed up at night to sew the crib's bedding, my pillow cases and curtains!!) It really is amazing how unproductive a new mom's day is. All I did today was sleep, sterilize bottles, feed and change Ashton. My mom took such great care of us and did it effortlessly. I was able to rest and spend time with Ashton while my mom took care of the home. I've only been home alone one day and I feel like nothing got done (dishes in sink, eating leftovers, piling laundry baskets, etc.) Here is my mommy with her first grandchild.

These are the proud grandparents. My dad also came for the birth of his first grandchild. He was so good in taking care of me- holding me up when I couldn't take the pains of the contractions anymore. He also fixed the little quirks we had in our home and touched up the outside paint. He is a great handyman and made sure I was getting my rest and nutrition.

Ok, now I feel a need to be productive and people have been asking for updates on the little one.
Every new parent wants to think that their baby is special and smarter than the rest of the newborn babies. I will take part in that- Ashton is developing so fast right before my eyes. I'm sure all babies are like that,blah blah blah but I'm his mom and I'm going to think that he is better than the rest when I'm sure he is just average. He stays pretty alert and calm for 1-2 hours, sometimes 3 like today. He is so curious about his surroundings that he will just look around the room and look at us trying to take all this new stuff in. He has a little friend, this purple monkey toy that came with his little chair, that he just loves to look at. We have him wear little mittens because I am not quite ready, I'm scared really, to cut his fingernails. He has managed to take them off (using his mouth) and scratch himself. He is always in a boxing position (his mittens look like boxing gloves and he keeps his hand right at his chin) and that makes it really hard to feed him but he will support his bottle from time to time. He makes the funniest faces in his sleep and I wish I could capture them all but he's too fast for me. This pic is his blue steel:

annoyed

pensivecurious really annoyedcalmpeaceful
starving! this kid already chugs down 5 oz of milk. he eats like we haven't fed him in days. satisfied- the milk knocked him outmid-sneeze

He laughs and cries in his sleep which breaks my heart. We're told that he makes the sad faces and cries because his tummy probably hurts. I thought he was having bad dreams and just wanted to wake him up. I couldn't bear to see my little baby be so sad! Yes, the crazy protective instincts are here and don't expect them to go away just because I am married to Lorin. I will try to protect him from his father's crazy ways as long as I can. One more "my baby is best". When we went for his first doctor's check up, the nurse was impressed that little Ashton was so brave during the PKU test (that's when they prick baby's heel and squeeze his little heel 6+ times to draw blood out. She said most babies scream their little heads off, but no, not Ashton. He quietly whimpered (which still broke my heart and left me wanting to hurt the nurse that was hurting him) and took it like a man (just like his dad). He didn't even cry when he was circumcised- he only cried when they were undressing him because he was cold (he's taking that after his mama- I hate hate hate the cold). Ok, I am done bragging (that was for you, Steve R.) Sorry if I annoyed anyone or offended others with newborn babies that think their babies are just as good :)

So, we have also had lots of visitors stop by to take a look at our little babe.

Here he is with Uncle Dallin, Aunt Alisha and Aunt Janelle when they came to visit us in the hospital.

Uncle Eric and Kathy and Mark also stopped by. I love the look Kathy is giving Eric as he is holding a wittle baby.
Here is Auntie Brooke/expert nurse/my old roomie of forever! I heart her. She is now working in the NICU in Provo.

Aunt Janelle and Uncle Bryan.

Our new friends, Bree and Kevin. Aunt Alisha

We had Bev (heart her, too) and her little girl, Brooke. Brooke was very curious and wanted to get closer to the little guy on the bed.

My friend, Kim, from high school had a layover in SLC so we decided to meet up in the airport so she could see little Ashton. She is so great and Ashton loved being held by his new friend.

My uncle, aunt and cousin who live in Layton stopped by yesterday after conference (which was awesome) for dinner. I failed to get a group shot but this one is a closeup (we have a lot of those)of Ashton with Aunt Alida.

We also had Janelle, Bryan, Alisha, Shannon and Nat stop by last night. Here he is with Aunt Alisha, who has graciously volunteered to help me out a little by watching him while Mom gets some sleep. What a sweet aunt!

Our friends Steve and his fiancee, Tricia, stopped by, too! They were in town for conference but are heading back to Las Vegas tonight. It was so good to see Steve and meet Tricia for the first time.

Our Little Baby Bird

2008-09-22T22:13:00.006-06:00

We are now able to sleep because of the magic of the epidural.
Lorin was able to hold him first since my part was still not done.The cleanup.

After 10 months, I finally get to hold my baby. That moment and my wedding day were the best in my life. I can't even describe the love and automatic attachment I felt.
I had my little troop by my side the entire time...with the occasional disappearance of someone checking foxsports...but after 3 days of labor, I can't blame him...or her.

Baby Link

2008-09-22T16:31:00.001-06:00

You can see a pic of Ashton taken at the hospital by following this link:
http://www.utahportraits.com/hospital/index.php?action=view&BabyID=092008ahb
We've lost our card reader so we'll post our pics soon.

Ashton Hinckley Bird

2008-09-21T20:55:00.000-06:00

Baby Bird has finally arrived!!! He was born Saturday, September 20 at 2:24 a.m. He was 7.4 lbs and 19" long. Lorin hovered over Brenda the whole time, exclaiming "Wow!" and "Whoa!" and "Humph, interesting" and "Crazy!" and "Do you see that?" and "Can you believe that?" and "Holy Cow!" and "Jeez that guy has a lot of gloop" and "Ooh, man that must hurt!" and "Huh, would you look at that" and a lot of other not-so-funny-at-the-time proclamations, announcements, commentary, declarations, pronouncements, and observations. Brenda pushed for a good 3.5 hours after a pleasant contractional experience stretching from 1 PM on Wednesday and lasting until that lovely and blessed Saturday morning. Ashton Hinckley (Gordon B. and Marvin J. anyone?) Bird is beautiful little boy who has already conquered an extremely narrow birth canal, a cone head, oralized meconium (ask what that is in private please!), hepatitis b shot, low glucose, an IV for aforementioned low glucose, a mild form of jaundice, and numerous cuts for blood testing. He is now wondering why he voted yes for the plan of salvation and who sent him to this fallen and crude world and why are those writhing tentacle-like members always hitting him in the face and what he wouldn’t give to show them who’s boss! His eyes say it all- why God, why?!

photoshop

2008-09-14T01:03:00.003-06:00

It took me forever to figure this tutorial of aging photos out. But here are the finished results. These will go in the nursery. The first pic is actually of Lorin- can you see him? He is so little and in the center of the pic amongst these incredibly huge mountains.

This one is of Lorin, too, on one of his hiking trips with his buddies.
Do these look antique-y enough?

RaRa RaRaRa Goooo Cougars!

2008-09-13T22:06:00.005-06:00

As part of Lorin's birthday gift, I found tickets to today's football game. It was supposedly the biggest game of the year so I thought it would be fun to sit in the scorching sun with jeans on for 4.5 hours...it was wonderful because I got to spend some time with my darling husband and watch UCLA get slaughtered. Baby Bird was pretty good (not squirming around like a worm) only until the guys started stomping on the bleachers deafening my child. He did not like that and would stretch out and move until the noise stopped. I must say little BB is like his Mom- not a fan of obnoxious fans. Anyway, the game was fun. I drank about 40 oz of water and tried to sit in Lor's shadow. BYU beat UCLA 59-0. 0- that is right- zip, nada. I've never seen anyone get killed like that. I did enjoy reading yahoo.com's headline about BYU handing UCLA's worst loss in 80 years. I'm not really into sports, especially football, but I do have BYU pride so here's to our Cougars! Oh yeah, and there was this couple in front of us that I didn't notice until about the beginning of the 4th quarter that really astonished me. I thought I was dying of heat, exhaustion and swollen feet- these hardcore BYU fans had baby kangaroos on the entire game, holding their 2 kids who couldn't be more than a year old. I would have been done after the 1st quarter. They were cheering and singing and just went all out in order to support their team. Now that is true blue dedication. Here is a pic of that hardcore couple and their kids:

In other news, our rooms have been painted. I think our room looks really nice. I opted for a taupe color- something neutral in case I want to change our color scheme anytime soon. Now the baby's room- that took me a while to get used to. When I first went in to see the room, I looked down and could see a glowing from under the door. I did not want to open that door. I was so nervous that it would look awful- and it did. It seriously glowed like a neon green. But after a few minutes of digesting this kryptonic green I slowly started to like it. I imagined it
with the rest of my patterns and felt good about the color. I had no choice anyway- I wasn't going to repaint it. But, honestly, once I put in the curtains and other sweet ski stuff, I think it'll really look cool. Plus the dude at Lowe's suggested the color after looking at my fabric swatches and he's supposed to know what he's doing. If it looks bad, I blame him! SO here are the pics of our rooms:

Hating RC Willey

2008-09-09T12:23:00.006-06:00

Nursery Before

Before

So I really love my sleep. Like, I really really do and I am cranky when I don't get enough sleep. Well, for the past couple of months I've woken up about every hour because my bladder is the size of a quarter. It is not until Lorin leaves for work that I can sleep for 2-3 hours without waking up- it is my best sleep time! Anyway, RC Willey decides to call me at 7:45 (when my good sleep just started) to tell me they are on their way to deliver our goods. Well, first of all I hate them for waking me up as I am starting to fall asleep. Second of all, I am not at home because we are getting our rooms painted before baby comes. I am not allowed to smell the fumes so our wonderful Molly Adams offers her home to us while she and Debra travel East. Thirdly, we just detailed the Honda so we can sell it so Lorin does not want me to drive it and our efficient government makes registering our new Subaru impossible so I can't drive that car either (basically I am carless and living at Molly's). So, I am in a bad mood because RC Willey disturbed my sleep and calls the day OF- not the day before- to schedule a delivery. Carrie said I should call in to complain and get a sweet discount or even gift card (she's done this before). I'll let you all know how that goes.
Anyway, our rooms are being painted and I will post pictures of how that turns out. I took before shots so you can compare. The master is being painted a taupe color and the baby's room is a minty green. I was afraid at first because I could see the green glowing from under the door. But the longer I looked at it, the more I liked it- or the fumes could have really been getting to me. We'll see how it looks when everything is put together. For those of you that don't know, I am doing a ski theme (but not rustic) for baby. We have 3 pairs of vintage skis and a flexible flyer that we are using. If you have any ideas of how they can be used, just let me know. I know for the sled we are having Bryan and Lorin (mostly Bryan because Lorin isn't into the handy work) build shelves on it so it will be a functional yet aesthetically pleasing piece. I am either using ski poles or the actual skis to hang up the curtains. I am rambling- do people actually even read this stuff. So, yeah, leave your sweet comments to help me out with 1) Names 2) Nursery Ideas 3) To Laugh at My Misery (steve) :)

We Caved

2008-09-04T12:04:00.003-06:00

We now finally have a blog after many requests for us to get one. As many of you know, Lorin and I are not exactly great at updates but we'll try our best. I guess the biggest news is that my midwives have changed my due date like 80 times. They were worried that the baby was too small (6.15 lbs is NOT small for me) so I had to get a couple of ultrasounds done to make sure everything was alright. So now my due date is September 25 (not the 13 or 15). I guess this just give me more time to prepare the home and prepare myself mentally and physically for this new baby. However, I am not looking forward to 2 more weeks of peeing every hour, waddling and not being able to sleep. Ah, the joys of motherhood. I am just now getting furniture for our new home (pics to come). We got the sweetest couch in the world and a coffee table that goes perfectly with it. Also a super cute entry table and mirror. I will tell you all about Osmond Designs and my obsession with it later.