24th of July

Today was a great day for our little family. It makes me so happy that I get to do things with my family that I did growing up. I can only hope that Olivia and our future kids love it as much as I do.

We woke up early to get ready. Bob had to be at the pharmacy at 7:45 to meet the rest of the employees   for the parade. And Olivia and I were meeting my family at the park for breakfast at the same time. My Dad and Dan met us there (Mom had to work) and we had a pancake breakfast. Dan won uncle of the year and took Olivia on the swings and down the slides.

After breakfast we found our seats and hung out with Ren and Brenda's family and Grandma and Grandpa Hales until the parade started. My Aunt Shauna and her kids showed up right before the parade started. I love sitting with my family in front of the white church each year!  Olivia hadn't seen Ren's kids since Lake Powell, and wasn't too sure of Jaxon and Nathaniel. But she definitely warmed up to Dillon and they were best friends the entire parade. He did a great job of grabbing candy thrown from the parade and sharing it with Olivia and I.

Olivia was excited to see Bob in the parade. All of the family was cheering for "Bob" and as he walked away Olivia called out "Bob!" It was so cute. She also got excited when she saw the horses. Her favorite part of the parade was the flower she was given and she didn't want to let it go. My favorite part of the parade was the fact that it was overcast and it sprinkled a little bit on us. It was the best parade weather.

We met Bob at the park after the parade and got Olivia some tickets. It was fun to take her to each of the booths although we probably did more of the work than she did. She did the duck pond, fishing, bean bag toss, bowling ball roll, plinko, and face painting. She wanted the giraffe, which was too long for her face so she got it on her arm.

After using up all of our tickets we decided to go get lunch and head home. We were on our way to Zubs to get some sandwiches when I looked back and Olivia was zonked. Waking up early and having a lot of fun does that to you. The only problem was that 20 minute catnap ended up being her only nap of the day. We tried putting her down twice later that afternoon and both times she got her leg stuck between the slats of the crib. 20 months later I am off to the store to get some bumpers to protect my baby. Ha!

We ended our day with a BBQ at my parents house with my Mom's side of the family. We had delicious food and a fun time. And that is where the 24th ended for us. We came home and were way too tired to go watch fireworks, although we definitely could hear them from our window. Maybe next year we will make it out.

And for a little comparison: July 24th, 2013 and July 24th, 2014

San Diego Trip

Bob's sister Ashley invited us to stay with her for a week while her husband Dan went on a fishing trip to Alaska. I immediately took her up on her offer. I have been wanting to do as much as possible with Olivia this summer before the baby comes. And this fit right into our summer schedule. {Ashley was the most gracious host and spoiled us to death. We had something fun planned every single day. She also accommodated both Olivia's and my nap schedule. It was so fun to spend a week with her and the boys. Since we have been home Olivia keeps asking for Ashley, Tate, & Crew. Thanks again Ash!!}

The night before our flight I went to check in and found that I could upgrade my seat to first class for $50. When I clicked on the seats available, all of first class was open. Since I was flying with Olivia on my lap, I figured this would be a good move and maybe she could get an open seat by me. I also found I wouldn't have to pay for my bags in first class, so I justified the $50, because I would've had to pay $25 for my bags anyway. When I got on the plane I asked if the seat by me was open and the attendant told me I was the only person flying first class on the flight. She said in her 30 years of flying she had never seen that happen before. Olivia and I had the royal treatment and our flight was amazing. Olivia sat in her seat the entire time with her seatbelt on. She played games on the iPad, colored, ate snacks, and put stickers everywhere. (Looking back, I set myself up to be disappointed because I know that I won't be in first class again for a long time.) But glad we could both experience it together for the first time.

When we got there we first stopped off at the Donut Bar and got some breakfast. And then we made our way to Cabrillo National Monument. We also went to see the tide pools, but the tide was too high at that point in the day. It was nice to walk around after sitting for so long. We ate lunch at Rubio's and made a stop at Trader Joe's for groceries. We came home for naps, spent an hour at the park and then we had sushi for dinner. Olivia loved the teriyaki chicken and rice that she shared with her cousins.

Tuesday we went to the Wild Animal Park and it was a lot of fun. We doubled Olivia and Crew up in Ashley's stroller and walked all over the park. Olivia loves animals and she had a great time pointing them out. We took a train ride to see more animals and that was a great break for our feet. The weather on Monday and Tuesday was super overcast and it was just perfect for this pregnant mom. I was hot, but not sweating to death hot - which I would've been if it hadn't been for those glorious clouds. If that wasn't enough, we made our way back to the park that night. Olivia mastered the biggest slide and was quite proud of herself.

Wednesday we went to the beach at Torrey Pines. We got there early and had the beach to ourselves for a couple hours. Some friends from Ashley's ward met up with us and the kids had a blast playing together. Olivia loved playing with a bucket of water by my feet. She wasn't her normal self and was pretty timid. That night we went and picked up a double stroller that I found on Craigslist. I got a great deal and have loved using it already. I am sure that will be a post of it's own.

Thursday was pool day! Olivia loved the options and we went back and forth from the baby pool to the regular pool at least 10 times. I definitely got my workout in that day. That night we went to dinner at Ashley's in law's house. We were there to celebrate Dan's mom's birthday. We had steak, halibut, squash, bread, rice, and salad. It was seriously all amazing and included peaches and pound cake for dessert.

Friday we went to the park for a picnic lunch and fed the ducks. It seemed like everywhere we went this week I could point out some sort of animal outside. She loved seeing the ducks and the fish in the water.

Saturday we made our way to Old Town San Diego. We first went on a tour at the Mormon Battalion visitors center. Olivia barely made it through the movie, but was rewarded at the end by panning for gold. Everyone was allowed to take 2 pieces, but she chose to take 2 rocks home instead. She was so funny playing with the water and picking out her favorite rocks. Then we went off to explore in Old Town. There were some booths that we looked at and one had fruit cups. We got one and it was the best decision of the day. It had watermelon, cucumbers, mango, and jicama. They squeezed fresh limes on them and then topped it off with chili powder. The best combo for me was the mango with chili powder. But I also wouldn't mind a bowl of watermelon with lime juice on top. It was a refreshing treat. Before we left we had some Mexican food for lunch.

We flew out early Sunday morning and made it home in time to go to church with Bob.

20 Months

During this last month Olivia got Hand, Foot, & Mouth disease. She was a rashy mess while we were at Lake Powell and it finally calmed down by the time we got home. The next day a new rash appeared that she was itching to the point of bleeding. I took her into the doctor's and it was just some dumb rash that appeared from all the stress her body had been under from HF&M. The good news from the appointment was that since her 18 month check up, she has gained a whole pound. She gained 3 pounds in the last year, so I was so happy to see a pound gain in the last month. We are only 1 pound away from the 20 pound mark.

I bought Olivia a little potty to have in the house, just to get her familiar with it. The first 3 days after having bought it, she woke up and went pee in the potty. But it was short lived and only lasted those 3 days. I am planning on potty training her in September.

So some of her new words include: potty, pee, poop - Yeah for us! One of my favorite words that she says right now is pizza. When she says it, it sounds like pizzia.

We took Olivia to her first movie at the theater. We saw Rio 2 at the Spanish Fork Water Gardens. We only saw the first 40 minutes or so. But she had a great time while she was there.

Even though I still think it is short, her hair has grown a ton in the past few months. I have no idea how to do it, so that is definitely a work in progress!

This month she got to hang out with her cousin Brody. He came to visit with his mom Kelsey from Michigan. While they were here we went to Seven Peaks a couple times, had a BBQ, and ate at Zupas and Swig.

She loves to say goodbye to anything and everything as she is leaving. We have an elephant as our screen on our computer and she will say 'bye elephant' as she goes to another room. It is super sweet.

Her schedule is still sleeping 8:30 - 8, which I love. She usually wakes up when Bob is finishing getting ready for work. She gets to see him for a few minutes before he leaves each day. She takes a nap everyday around 1, and it usually lasts 2 hours. Some days I am lucky and it will last 2.5 - 3 hours.

When I went to take this months picture it was right before we were leaving for church. I took this picture and my camera died right after. I am glad that the only picture I got, was actually pretty cute. Gotta love the sticker on the bottom of her shoe.

Farm with Friends

One thing that I have loved about this summer is that Olivia and I have been getting out as much as possible. After a long winter/spring of being inside a lot because of the cold and being extra tired from early pregnancy it feels so good to be out and about each day. A bunch of my friends that met in our old ward try to get to get together every week or so.

Waiting for our friends to arrive.

Today we met up at the Farm at Thanksgiving Point. This morning I told Olivia we were going to the farm to see the animals. So all morning she kept repeating farm, animals. She is a little parrot and will repeat whatever she hears people say.

It was the perfect morning for the farm, as it was overcast and warm - but not hot. I love that there were new babies born since the last time we were there a couple weeks ago. Olivia didn't love the chicks like last time, but she loved the horses, cows, and pigs.

Olivia in action - waving to the cows. 

When we were looking at the goats, she was brave and stood right next to them. One of them licked her through the fence. She thought it was pretty funny. She also loved looking at the stamp on her hand and showing it to the animals. As we left each animal she would say bye, and say hi to the next animal we saw.

All of the kids rode the ponies. This was Olivia's first time and she was pretty nervous. Part of the time she was fine and the other part she would reach out to hold on to me. I am sure that over time she will warm up and and enjoy it more.

We finished off our morning with a picnic lunch, lots of talking and catching up, and a picture of the kiddos. This picture doesn't tell the true story, because everyone had a good time. I think the boys just didn't want to sit on the bench by the girls, ha!

Grace, Jack, Oliva, James, & Hudson.

24 Weeks

This month was another great month. I have felt good and have enjoyed being out and about with Olivia each day. I am trying to get in as much as I can before I get too big and uncomfortable. I know it is way too early for it to happen, but I don't enjoy sleeping on my side.

I have a couple pairs of pants and shorts that I can still wear, but I also have been wearing some maternity shorts. I am not a lover of the band around my belly so I prefer to wear my normal clothes. Most of my shirts are maternity, because I don't want to wear an under shirt under my normal clothes. It is too hot for layers!

Food is pretty much my enemy or best friend. I have also decided to not eat treats for the next couple of months. I wasn't feeling good from having a lot of sugar and carbs back in my diet. I will have a treat on special occasions, but usually I find I feel gross the next day so I am trying to stay away.

With Olivia I already had 2 quilts made by this point, and with this baby I have considered going to the store to get material. But that is as far as it has gotten. I am sure it has something to do with having another child to take to the store with me. Maybe I need a few more weeks to jump into some sort of nesting.

Big Girl Potty

{This post is total potty talk and has potty pictures. Read on if you would like.}

On Tuesday I stopped at the store to grab a booster seat for my Mom's house. While I was there I browsed the potties and picked one up. My main goal was to have it out and get Olivia prepared to use it in a few months. That day it sat in the living room and Olivia couldn't stop playing with it.

I put it in the bathroom that night and the next morning when I was getting her ready for her bath I sat her on it. When she got out of the bath, we were leaving the bathroom and she kept saying potty. I unwrapped her from her towel and sat her down. I only let her sit there for a minute because she started shivering from being wet. I wrapped her back in her towel and took her to get dressed. Later when I went to clean up the bath toys, I found there was pee in the toilet. I was so surprised and excited. I gave her a treat and we celebrated, even though it was probably 15 minutes after the fact.

Totally blurry, but a pretty cute potty picture. 

The next morning (Thursday) she woke up dry and I put her on the potty, she instantly peed. But during the day I'd ask her if she needed to go at all and put her on the potty periodically but she wasn't interested at all, and I'd just be chasing a naked baby around the house.

Friday morning she woke up wet, but I still put her on the potty, and she peed a little. But that was the end of that. Since then, she hasn't wanted to go - and I am not going to force her. We are going to San Diego to stay with Bob's sister in a couple weeks and then have Lake Powell at the beginning of August. I want to enjoy these summer vacations without worrying {selfish, I know} and I don't think that she is totally ready.

Back to my original plan of potty training in September - when I can stay home and focus just on that. Plus she will be a little older. My Mom had all of us potty trained by the time we were 2, so I am hoping my daughter will follow in my footsteps!

4th of July

We all slept in on the 4th, it was so nice to wake up later than normal. After breakfast we cleaned our house. Then we went to Zubs and picked up some sandwiches to take to the park. We went to the park by the White Church and there was one other family there. It was so crazy to be at the park on a holiday and for it to be empty. It was really hot, so we didn't play on the playground. I didn't want to disappoint Olivia, and she didn't mind running around the grass. We all came home and took a long nap. {Bob finds out what we really do while he is working on his days off.}

We also went downstairs to visit Grandma, Grandpa, and BoBo. While we were visiting, we saw the goat and llama wondering around in the backyard. Somehow the gate got left open and they got out of the pasture. Unfortunately they went straight to the garden and were grazing away at my Grandpa's hard work. We got them out of the garden and back into the pasture. It was quite the excitement.

That evening we went to my parents house for dinner. My Mom tried out a new recipe and we had BBQ chicken that had a curry marinade. We also had grilled pineapple, coconut rice, and broccoli. It was all so good. Olivia loved the rice and pineapple. Dan had just got home from Costa Rica the night before so it was fun to have him and his date Tessa there for dinner. We had berries and Mom's hot fudge served over pound cake for dessert. We had to run right after dessert to take Olivia to the babysitters we could make it to the Stadium of Fire in time.

We picked Kelsey up from her sister's here in Mapleton and drove over to BYU. Bob parked by Brick Oven and we started walking across campus. We walked and walked and walked. I am pretty sure we walked for almost 45 minutes before we made it to the stadium. I'll just put it out there, but I complained a lot of the way. We passed a bajillion open parking spots as we walked. It was super hot, my sandals weren't the best walking shoes and my feet hurt, and my pregnancy hormones got the best of me. (I can blame it on that right?)

When we got to the stadium Kelsey went to meet up with her family and we went to get a drink and go to the bathroom. The lines for the bathroom was out of control. I told myself I couldn't have a drink if I couldn't go to the bathroom, so I grumpily went up to our seats. I seriously sat down and started crying. I had a pity party for myself at the stadium. Once I got my emotions under control I went back down and the lines had cleared out. I got some water, and a BYU brownie to make up for the fact that I had had a bad start to the night. ha ha. Seriously so embarrassing and dumb, but sometimes a girls gotta cry.

The concert was great and the fireworks were beautiful. I enjoy going to the Stadium of Fire, but it is definitely something we do once every 5 years or so.

On the way home we walked a different route and it only took us a half hour that time. The blisters on my feet were glad it was a bit shorter than the way there.

Sprinklers

When we went downstairs to visit Grandma and Grandpa, we found them outside in the backyard. Grandpa was working on the garden and Grandma was sitting on the deck. Grandpa had the sprinkler going and I told Olivia to go touch the water. She went back and forth a few times. She always got wet on the exact same side and was soaked. She loved it!

Rio2

On Bob's day off we decided to take Olivia to her first movie. We went to the local dollar theater and watched Rio2. She loves animals so we thought this movie would be a great choice. She picked out some PB M&M's and a small popcorn. We got her a little booster seat and into the theater we went. She wasn't too sure about it at first since the theater was dark until the previews came on. She loved the treats and popcorn and sat in her own seat for about 10 minutes. The next half hour she moved from my lap to Bob's. She loved the birds and excitedly told us the names of the animals she saw. After about 45 minutes she was done with sitting and being quiet, so we left. She instantly fell asleep on the car ride home and took a 3 hour nap.

Bean Museum

Today we went to the Bean Museum with some of our friends. There were a lot of people there since it just reopened from their remodel. The building is really nice and we had a good time. Parking was hard to come by, so we ended up walking from Marriott Center to the museum. Olivia loved the animals that she recognized. But for some reason was timid (maybe too many people) and I ended up carrying her again and pushing the stroller part of the time. Her favorite animals were the bears and the elephant.

After we went to the park to eat our lunch. Olivia may have had a better time at the park, she loved running around and eating her friends lunch.