Pumpkin Patch

Last Saturday, Adam and Rachael and I went to Vacaville to visit my sister and brother-in-law, and stopped at Larry's Produce to get some apples (and can some amazing applesauce), and to pick a couple of pumpkins. We failed to do this last year for Rachael's first Halloween, so I was determined to go this year. Since Larry's is really just a big produce stand, I was amazed at the selection of pumpkins and how 'pumpkin patchy' it seemed. This may have to become a tradition of canning applesauce and getting pumpkins (though next year, I'd love to throw in some spiced cider to the tradition).











Thanks for the great day, Stina and Trevor! Now it's your turn to visit us!

Goals, cloth diapers, pregnancy

I recently made a list of goals as part of the 101 things in 1001 days challenge. One of those goals is to update this blog every 2 weeks, so I will do my best to keep up with that goal. I have created a blog devoted soley to my goal challenge. You can track my progess here.

I completely finished Rachael's room a couple of days ago, and since then, Rachael has moved to her new room and has successfully transitioned to a toddler bed! She has slept in her bed for 2 nights and 2 naps so far, and there has been no crying or getting out of bed at all.
Today's nap she took a bit longer to fall asleep, but she stayed in bed the whole time.

Getting Rachael out of bed the first morning

She loves the flowers!

I am about 34 weeks pregnant, and can't wait for this baby to come! Less than a month until I start walking and trying all natural induction methods to get this baby out! Thank goodness!

I have decided to cloth diaper Michael, and now that I figured out why Rachael had such bad rash issues with the diapers last time, I have decided to cloth diaper her as well! I found a really cheap option of diapering, and will make up the cost of the cloth diapers in about 3 months of not buying disposables. I'm not exactly looking forward to all of the laundry again, but I just can't spend $100+ per month to diaper 2 kids!

Life for us is going well. Adam is a big help around the house, especially on those days that I just can't get off of the couch. My back pain is getting worse, and my stomach feels like it weighs 50lbs (even though I've only gained 12lbs)! Here's to hoping this baby comes closer to 38 weeks instead of 40+ weeks!

Quickie post

Some things Rachael does lately that I just love:

-Waves bye-bye to the house when we leave.
-Signs 'all done' to just about everything.
-Goes up/down stairs when I tell her to (so I don't have to carry her and hurt my back).
-Hands me the remote when she wants to watch a show.
-Gets excited and throws her hands in the air when Adam walks in the door after work.
-Throws her head onto her pillow when we put her in her crib at night.
-Recognizes family members and smiles (instead of cries).
-Lays down on the floor when I tell her she needs a diaper change.
-Tries on my flip flops and walks around the house in them.
-Lifts up my shirt/rubs my belly when I ask her where little brother is.


What I've been up to lately:
-Drinking massive amounts of Simply Lemonaide with Rasberry
-Painting a mural in Rachael's new room
-Watching the new fall lineup TV shows
-Enjoying the quiet of Sasha not barking due to a no bark collar
-Cross stitching
-Constantly disinfecting counters/bathrooms to avoid germs
-Watching The Dr. Oz Show (making me paranoid about getting sick/germs and bacteria)
-Going broke over my Propel water habit
-Reading The Work and the Glory/being disgusted over the treatment of the early Saints

Update

Has it really been 2 months since I last updated? Wow. Time has flown by. I've been meaning to update the blog since coming home from Utah, but we have stayed super busy and I just haven't had a chance. I've talked to a few of you since our Utah trip, but not many, so here's the info on what happened out there:

We drove about 12 hours on Sunday morning (left the house at 3:30am!), and made it to Utah around 5pm. We were staying with Kim, and it was so good to see the Youngberg family after about a year since last seeing them. That night we went to mom and dad's and saw most of the family. It was so good to finally catch up with everybody and get to relax after the long trip. I spent the last little bit over there talking to dad for awhile about the church and a lot of things, and that started my interest in finding out more info on the church, and history of the church from better sources than I had been.

The next day I hung out with Kim for a bit, and we ended up talking in her backyard for a long time (I remember how hot it was out there!) about a lot of different things; what I was feeling about the church, my history in the church and our semi-activity for the past couple of years, and a lot of her experiences in the past few years. By the end of that conversation, I knew that I wanted to come back. While I didn't have a firm testimony of the church, I had the start of one, and a desire for more. Since that afternoon, everything has been different. We have been semi-active at best for the past 2 years, and I know that played a huge role in my disbelief for those few months. As I strive to read my scriptures, pray, and keep the spirit with me throughout the day, Heavenly Father blesses me beyond what I ever imagined. I am the happiest that I can ever remember, I feel like a completely different person. So, we are back in the church, moreso than we ever were before; and even though it's only been a couple of months since coming back, we can already see a huge difference in each other. Life is very good.

As for the rest of the trip, we spent a lot of time with family. Played games, went to the cabin, made skirts and watches (too bad my watch broke!), spent a day at the lake, shopped with the girls, visited the Salt Lake Temple, went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house, had bbq's, and just hung out. It was a very laid back trip.

We only planned to stay for 1 week, but while we were there, Adam's grandma passed away, and we ended up staying for 2 weeks. It is sad that she is no longer with us, but I am so happy to know she is reunited with her husband and her family. I am so grateful for the knowledge of eternal families.

With our extra week, we had many more game/movie nights, and really just hung out with a bunch of different people every day. We had such a good time seeing everyone and can't wait to go back in April for General Conference!


Now for some pictures...











I almost forgot to add, the Coles are now dog owners! Kim had bred her dogs a couple of months before we came out to Utah, and once we saw them and spent 2 weeks with them, there was no way we could leave without one! Sasha is a Yorkshire Terrior, and is now almost 15 weeks old!

Walking!

Rachael is walking! She is still very wobbly (as you can see), but she is learning fast!



...and a cute video of her laughing.


In case you're wondering, that was a sock in her mouth. She loves to suck on her socks...but now that her mouth is bigger, she's been a bit too successful at putting that whole thing in her mouth, so her socks have now been taken away and replaced by a blanket :)

Brentwood Farms

Last Saturday Adam and I went to Brentwood to pick cherries and peaches at a U-Pick farm. We had TONS of fun there, and love our fresh cherries! Rachael was a happy girl so long as we kept giving her cherries to eat:)


Picking cherries


The Lou and I :)


Picking peaches

The REAL birthday post, with more pics!

I have been extremely lazy in not updating with all of Rachael's birthday pictures. I can't believe it's already been over 3 weeks since her birthday! That day we had a TON of people over, thanks to everyone who came! *Note to self, finish thank you cards!

Rachael was extremely fussy all day long because there were so many people in the house. The only time I could get her to smile, was when she ate her cupcake! She LOVED it (thanks for making the cake Stina!) We had a lot of fun with all of our family and friends, and can't believe our baby girl is 1!!


Uncle Trevor let Rachael play with his sunglasses to keep her happy




She loved her cupcake!


Rachael's new present from mommy and daddy!

Happy 1st birthday Rachael!

more pictures to come!

Coming this Thanksgiving...

Day at the park

Last Sunday we took Rachael to the park just down the street from us. She loved the swings, and is finally getting used to grass! (she use to cry whenever I sat her in grass) Here are some pictures and videos from the day:










Rachael made a new friend at the park!