A Much Needed Update and Our Trip to Vegas!

Wow, I can't believe what a SLACKER I've been about updating the blog! We've had a lot of things happen over the past few months. First of all, my Mom, Dad and Sister came to Boise and our sweet baby Kate was FINALLY blessed! She was so beautiful in her dress and it was wonderful to have family in town for the occasion. I have pictures that aren't yet on the computer, so I will have to make a separate post about this!

Another big thing, Bryant and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary! It baffles me at how incredibly fast time has flown by. Never in my wildest dreams would have thought I'd be married to such a wonderful Man, who despite my many many flaws, loves me, and I never imagined the beautiful children I have. What a fantastic life! Unfortunately, I got the awful stomach flu on our anniversary. Bryant and Gracie had already had it, and I thought I was lucky enough to escape getting it, but it hit full force. Luckily our anniversary was on a Saturday and since I do have such a fantastic hubby, he took the girls while I laid in bed all day. With my parents here earlier in the week, we did go out one night to kind of celebrate at least!

Bryant finished his second 10 week internship, and has now started his 3rd and final one! Graduation is just around the corner and we couldn't be more excited! His last internship was....okay....but we're both glad it's over. This last one is going very well so far. He is at St. Luke's hospital and has to work the weekends. So he goes in Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Besides missing church for the next 10 weeks, it's not that horrible of a schedule. Plus, his Clinical Instructor has been great at this one so far!

During the break between Bry's last two internships, we headed down to Las Vegas to visit with my family. It was a WONDERFUL trip! My Mom is THE BEST GRANDMA/BUBBY IN THE WORLD! My girls (even little Kate) just love her. Gracie was like her little shadow. followed her around everywhere, and of course my Mom loved every second of it! It was so fun to watch my Mom put on the CD of toddler songs while the two of them marched around the island in the kitchen! Gracie still loves to sing "Animal crackers in my soup" and "chicken soup with rice." We went to the park several times, went shopping, watched movies, went to the Temple, and the latest favorite thing for my Gracie Girl, had lots of Tea Parties! I love my parents for so many reasons, but I have really come to appreciate and respect them on a whole new level since becoming a parent myself. And I feel so blessed that my girls have such great grandparents! One thing I really appreciated about my Mom, was that we would have a mess in the kitchen from making dinner, or toys all over the living room floor, and I would stress out about getting it cleaned up, and so many times she would say "April, lets play with the girls. The mess will be here when they're asleep and we'll clean it up then." Such a good reminder that these days with my kids will go by so fast, and I don't want to miss a thing!

While we were there Bryant, Jeff (who tagged along with us on our trip), and my Dad went to Phoenix for a few Spring Training baseball games. They had a wonderful time, and enjoyed their few days of non-stop sports! I'm so glad they went!
We took Jeff down to the Strip one night, went to the movies, had a birthday party for Kristin, and went to see the Hoover Dam and the new bridge they just built while we were there as well.

Two other highlights from the trip, Bryant and I got to sneak away together for one night! I got a fantastic deal on a hotel room, and that's what Bry got for his bday this year! It was so nice just to spend some time together without constant interruptions from the girls. It was fabulous to sleep all night without being woken up by a 2 year old who wanted to climb in bed with us, or an infant who wanted to eat! With Bryant's busy internship schedule and school projects, and 2 kids in the picture now, we have discovered more than ever how important making time for the two of us is. Thanks Mom for watching our girls so we could have some quality couple time!
And finally, we totally splurged and went to see Phantom of the Opera! It's a permanent show at the Venetian, and it did NOT disappoint! I want to go see it again sometime! If any of you are ever in Vegas and want to go see a show, I HIGHLY recommend this one! It was fantastic!

That's the last few months in a nutshell! Here are a few pictures of our fun trip to Vegas!

At the Hoover Dam: (Jeff, Gracie, Bryant)


My Mom let Gracie have a hayday with her makeup! Isn't she beautiful?!

At the Park! Kate LOVED being outside...

And so did Gracie!

Kate with her Bubby

Pretty Birthday Girl

Blowing out the candles

Finding a Balance...

So, lately it has occurred to me that I expect more from Gracie than I should....especially when it comes to other kids. Gracie LOVES LOVES LOVES playing with other kids. She craves friends, and for the most part, she is a really good little friend herself (even if she is only 2 years old.)
I have been rather strict with her since she as a little tiny thing, probably too strict to some extent, because I did not want to have one of those horrible kids that was disrespectful and defiant and the family never gets invited anywhere because you can't stand their kids. Come on, you all know what I'm talking about. Gracie has a very independent little spirit, and I just know if I don't follow through one time or let her get away with even the little things, we could have a little diva on our hands.
So, to get to the point, I have found myself getting after Gracie, and then I think--"she really didn't deserve that" or something like that, and it seems to always be with other kids involved. For example:

For Christmas Gracie got a Jesse doll (from Toy Story) that she absolutely loves. It is her favorite toy by far right now. It is a rare occasion when she doesn't have Jesse with her. I had to talk her out of having Jesse take a bath with her a few times! Jesse also seems to be every other kids favorite toy too when they come over. We've had a few play-dates with friends or kids from the ward, etc and for some reason Jesse is the hit of the toy box. So, I tell Gracie that she gets Jesse all the time and she has to let the other kids play with her. Which is true, she can let other kids play with her--but after an hour or an hour an a half or two hours, SHE would like to play with Jesse too. I have been very insistent that basically when other kids are here and want to play with her, she's kind of off limits to Gracie. And kudos to my Gracie Girl because for the most part, she has been very good about it.
But then I got to thinking...is that really fair? Shouldn't she also get to play with her favorite toy when other kids are around? I mean, she's asked to give her up for hours like 2-5 hours at a time. That's ALONG time for a little 2 year old. I wouldn't expect other kids to give up their favorite toy to Gracie for that long, so why am I expecting it of her? And where do I draw the line?
(There's more examples I could give of this kind of thing, but this gives you kind of an idea.)

Gracie is really good at sharing, but lately she's become a little more possessive AND aggressive with some things, and though it might have a lot to do with her age, I wonder if I have something to do with it. I might become a little possessive too if I knew I had to share something that I didn't really want to share.
Often I will find some of her toys (including Jesse) in Kate's crib. If Kate starts crying, Gracie sometimes gets to her before I do with handfuls of toys that she lovingly throws in the crib in hopes of making Kate happy. It's really so very sweet!

So, basically I have concluded that I have a great kid. Of course as her Mom I have a responsibility to her to teach her how to share and be a good friend, but where is the balance between teaching her that and still being fair TO HER.

If any of you other Mom's out there have any suggestions, I'd sure appreciate some help!

A Different Perspective...

This morning I got an invitation to attend a funeral. An Elder from my MTC district and his wife welcomed their FIRST child, a baby girl into the world last Monday. Unfortunately, due to some complications with delivery as well as problems the baby had in some bone formation, she was only able to live for a few hours. As I got this invitation, my heart just broke for them. It's so exciting to learn you will be bringing a child into the world. And for 9 months, you see a miracle occur as you see the baby grow, feel the baby move, and anticipate seeing his/her face. You pick out names, you buy clothes and baby gear, and prepare yourself as best as you can for parenthood. I just can't imagine going through all of that, and in the end not being able to bring the child home or watch them grow up. They are a strong couple, they have been married in the Temple, and they know that this baby girl will be theirs forever. But that does not mask the sadness they must be feeling.

This morning I had a different perspective as I got up at 4 A.M. to feed my own sweet baby girl, I didn't think "oh I'm so tired, I just want to go back to sleep" (like I usually do). I didn't get as irritated when my sweet Gracie wanted to climb in bed with us in the middle of the night and I had to take her back to her own bed (2 times). Instead, I thought of how grateful I am to have two beautiful, healthy children. I felt grateful that I got to get up with them this morning, and feel so grateful that I get to watch them grow up.

So, I will go kiss my two sleeping beauties, and try to remember what I have been given. And I will keep my old MTC friend and his wife in my thoughts and prayers as they go through this hard time and hope that sooner than later, thye too will have a baby to take home and hold.

Happy Birthday Bryant!

Today my favorite guy turns 28! I love this day every year because I think about how incredibly happy I am, and really I owe so much of it to this wonderful man! He is so loving, patient and kind, and he loves me unconditionally--even when I don't deserve it!

I hope our girls know how lucky they are to have such a great Daddy!




Happy Birthday Bry! I hope 28 is the best year yet! I love you!

Going Private....

Well, after a lot of thought, I've decided with all the changes going on with us this next year, it will probably be best to make our blog private. Keeping up on the blog can be a bit of work, and I LOVE that people look at it (and especially when they leave comments), and I realize going private may decrease the number of comments and even how much people look at the blog. However, to protect our family and to be able to feel more comfortable posting things with our girls and with Bryant's internship (and his new job wherever that may be this summer) it is time to take this next step.

So anyone that would like an invite, please give me your email addresses. Even if you only look once in a while, or if you don't know me but know Bryant, or even if we don't know each other that well--please feel free to give me your email addresses! I will plan to make the blog private the first week of February! Can't wait to hear from you all!

Our Girls

It has been pointed out to me (and rightfully so) that I need to post more pictures of our sweet Baby Kate and of Gracie of course who is growing up so fast. While Pamela (Bryant's sister) was in town, she put her awesome photography skills to work and took some great pictures of our two beautiful girls. I hope you enjoy!

Whirlwind Holidays...

Wow, I can't believe Thanksgiving and Christmas have come and gone already. I have not been very good at blogging lately, but life has been crazier than it has ever been it seems. We left Springfield Thanksgiving Day and made it to Kuna about 6 P.M. that night. It was interesting traveling/moving on a holiday. We're just glad we made it safe and sound without too many problems with the weather! The next day (Black Friday) we moved all of our stuff from the storage unit to our apartment. Over the course of the weekend, we did what we could to move in a bit, but unfortunately we left the apartment mostly still needing to be unpacked and headed down to Las Vegas Monday morning. We needed to go see my Dad, to help my Mom get stuff moved into their new house and take their truck back to them. Mostly, we wanted to go see my Dad and brighten his holiday season up a bit!
Our almost 2 weeks in Vegas went by in a flash. Bryant and Kristin headed to Yucca Valley to load up all of my parents stuff and bring it back and between trying to get the walls painted in their new house, getting a few things moved in here and there and going to the hospital to visit my Dad, there was still a lot to do after 2 weeks. But we had plane tickets back to Boise and we had to get back to make Ruth (my mother in law's) Christmas present from Dave (my father in law) complete. He flew Bry's oldest sister and her kids in from Texas so the entire family (minus Pamela's husband) could spend a few days together for Christmas. Plus, we still needed to move into OUR own apartment.
I think after almost 3 weeks we finally are settled. It's hard to get too far when you have a two year old and a two month old constantly needing something. Next time we move, I think my Mom will have to come and take the kids so we can get things done in a more timely fashion!
Two days before we came home, my Dad was released from the hospital! He FINALLY had surgery to get his gallbladder out--which was the culprit in this whole ordeal--on December 17. So far, he gets tired really fast, but he is recovering quite nicely. We are so grateful to have him home and on a good road to recovery. His body has been through a horrible ordeal, so it may take a while, but we know he'll be back to his old self soon! As awful as this experience has been, we have seen so many blessings in all of this. We have seen the hand of the Lord intercede in my Dad's behalf, and because of the faith, love, prayers, fasting, hope, and friendship that has been shown by so many of you, we know my Dad was spared from worse problems. My family can't thank all of you enough for all you've done to help my Dad get well, and to boost our spirits through all of this as well.
We had a wonderful Christmas. We hope you all did too! We are hoping for a better 2011 (healthwise anyway!) and wishing you all a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!