Welcome to our new life of love and laughter.

Duluth

2011-09-29T18:14:00.001-07:00

Earlier this summer we traveled north to go to a city called Duluth. It is located on Lake Superior, which is one of the great lakes.

Here is a picture from our trip. (Maybe we will add more later.) We hope to go again!

Photo Book

2011-09-21T23:21:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

26 Week Update

2011-09-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

I have given up on trying to catch up on the whole summer. I think I am going to start with the now, and maybe work my way back.

Last Friday I went in for my 26 week check-up. I had to do the blood glucose test, but at least I got to choose my flavor this time! :) I went for the lemon-lime fruit punch, and it was pretty good!

The visit went pretty much like normal--I am measuring 26 cm, and weigh about 5 lbs more than I did at the beginning. By the end of the second trimester in my last pregnancy, I had gained about 17 lb, so it is interesting that I have only gained 5 so far in this one. (But I still have two more weeks until then!)

I am feeling the baby move a lot, as well. It is such a wonderful thing. We are not sure of a name yet, but are working on it! We have had some great suggestions.

Anyways, about 9 pm that night, I got a call from the Dr.'s office saying that my blood glucose test results had come back, and I was actually too low in my blood sugar. I was told that the normal range is 70-120, but mine was at 50. The nurse asked if I was experiencing shakiness, nervousness, etc. Not really, but I do feel like my brain is not always functioning as well sometimes! ;P This is not the first time in my life I have been told that I have lower than usual blood sugar levels, so it wasn't a total surprise for me. But she said I need to eat more fat, protein and carbohydrates combined, rather than in isolation. Interesting. So last night we went out and I got a bacon cheeseburger before stake conference! :)

This pregnancy is going really fast. I can hardly believe it is happening, let alone going by as quickly as it has. We are due on Christmas Eve, and while that seems far away, I wonder if it will be here all too soon.

That's all for now! :)

Summer Update

2011-08-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

I have been really bad about posting what we have been doing up here. For some reason, I have a hard time uploading pics half the time and then give up.

But, I am going to make another effort! One BIG event is that we had our ultrasound on Friday! So, for those of you who don't know, we found out we are having...

another BOY!!!

He looks healthy and well, so we are very grateful. He weighs about 11 lbs. so far and was moving around a lot! It is so awesome to think that Clayton will have a little brother and that they can be buddies.

I am feeling great, with the exception of needing to go to the bathroom more and more, and getting those leg cramps again. I think running would be okay, but want to be careful. And my Dr. said he would rather me not after 22 weeks. Cravings are normal-but I am loving Mexican food and bagels with cream cheese again.

Trevor finishes his internship/residency this Friday, and I am grateful we will have some time to spend as a family before school starts. Thinkin of camping and some other fun trips. We'll see.

Some of the fun things we have been doing are below:

Clayton's 1st Birthday Cake

Here again with finished frosting

Party Favors (jelly bellies)

The Treat Table minus the fruit salad

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures during the party, only video. And they are too big to upload. But we had a great time and appreciated everyone who came: grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, second cousins, etc.

We also hung out for a day with cousins Brandon and Parker.

Happy Anniversary

2011-07-23T14:21:00.001-07:00

Trevor and I were apart for our real anniversary, so we celebrated last night. We got babysitters and actually went out the two of us! I can't think of the last time we did that. (Other than to got to the temple.)

We went to Taco Bell first, for dinner. (My suggestion--hey, it was what I was craving!)

Then we saw a play at Como Park's Outdoor Pavilion: Into the Woods. It was put on my a community theater, and was pretty good. I was worried when some elementary aged kids got on stage sans costumes and props and started pantoming fairytales at the beginning and I thought it was going to be just that all night. But then the live orchestra continued to play, and some adult actors came on stage and started to perform. (The kids continued to pantomime certain scenes to the left of the stage during the evening. It was pretty hilarious. Is that mean?)

We also got ice cream to share (chocolate, yumm) & during intermission we walked around the place. There was a beautiful waterfall and a gorgeous lake that we walked to. It was very romantic.

Can we say baby bump?

It was a hot & humid night.

By the lake.

After the play, we went home talking about how great it is to do things just the two of us. I think we are going to have to reinstate date night. At least monthly.

I am grateful to be married to such a wonderful guy!

Strawberry Picking

2011-07-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went to Afton Apple Orchards for strawberry picking. It was a hot afternoon, but we managed to pick for a couple hours until we had sufficiently filled our boxes.

Clayton was a trooper. He stayed in his stroller because it was too hot and we were worried he would eat the strawberries and attack the plants.

When we got to the register, we played over-under to see who could guess how many pounds of strawberries we had. I guessed 10 lbs. Trevor guessed 15 lbs. He was closest. We had a little over 15 lbs of strawberries. (Guess Trevor's time in the weight room payed off. haha) We didn't realize we had quite so many. But at under $2 a pound, we still got a deal.

We destemmed them and washed them in cold water when we got home. It took a long time, but several packages of Sure Jell Light later, we had over 18 pints of strawberry freezer jam. Next step: find a place for them in the freezer. :)

I have raspberries coming in the fall, so I am excited for all of the homemade jam this year. Nothing like it with homemade bread. (We'll see if I get that far.)

One of the things we liked best from the day was eating the fresh strawberries right after being picked. In Trevor's words: "I've never had a real strawberry til today." I had to agree, they were really juicy and sweet, even the small ones, and were very delicious. Hooray for handpicked strawberries!

Fourth of July 2011

2011-07-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

We had a really nice fourth of July here in Minnesota. We realized that it may be our one-and-only fourth of July here, so we tried to fill it with good and fun things!

In the morning, we drove to Cannon Falls, where Trevor is working this summer, and got to be in the parade!

It was a bigger parade than I thought it would be. We were representing the Mayo Clinic Health System, and got to wear t-shirts that said "Mayo Clinic". The funniest part was that we handed out hand sanitizer wipes from old-fashioned metal bedpans!! The crowd thought it was pretty funny and we had a lot of fun doing it. I pushed Clayton in the stroller and he had a great time. He even clapped and waved occasionally at the crowd.

After the parade, we spent a couple of hours at the Cannon Falls Fair, where we walked around, ate fried cheese curds (where else can you do that??) and Trevor got a foot-long corndog (on a stick, of course.) We saw a bunch of animals, including baby animals, and considered playing some of the expensive games and riding on the rides. We had fun just walking around instead. It was a really hot day, so we were anxious to get back in the car and go home.

After we arrived home, Trevor hurried over to join in a local whiffle ball game (Yes, he is in a Whiffle Ball League this summer) and then we all went to a BBQ with a bunch of friends who live here. I brought a corn avacado dip/salsa that I got the recipe for in Utah, and it was delicious, if I may say so myself. We served it with red, white and blue tortilla chips. We also had hotdogs, watermelon, and a lot of other not-very-good-for-you-probably stuff.

Following the BBQ, we went home and packed some blankets and water bottles for the fireworks show. We went with some of our friends to the Stone Arch Bridge, which is a historical bridge here in Minnesota, and the place to be for fireworks. We had to walk a long way, but it was a beautiful walk through a scenic park and through crowds of hundreds of people. We finally got to the right bridge, crossing the Mississippi, and felt lucky because some friends had saved seats for us. We sat on blankets on the side of the bridge and visited until dark.

When the fireworks started, Clayton was wide awake, and I was worried that he would get scared from the noise, etc. However, he was just glued to the sky, watching all of the fireworks and didn't get scared at all. It was great! They had some beautiful fireworks and it was nice to be on the river watching them.

We got home pretty late, and were all tuckered out from the day. It was awesome, and we are glad that we got to celebrate it in Minnesota!

**A look back on our last two fourth of Julys:
2010 we were in St. George for Clayton's baby blessing. He was blessed that day, which was a Sunday.
2009 we were driving to Los Angeles for our honeymoon. We watched fireworks from the car as we headed to Trevor's brother Mark's house to stay before our cruise.

Quick Update

2011-06-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

So...We found out on April 22 that we are...

PREGNANT!

I think I was afraid I would spill the beans, so I waited to blog until now. :P

We are in St. George right now and are having an awesome vacay. We are enjoying being with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.

SO much has happened! We will have to share pictures later... :)

Celebrations

2011-04-16T04:51:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago, we went out as our little family to celebrate Trevor's upcoming internship. I took us to Cafe Latte, because it is one of my favorite places, and he hadn't been yet. Taking Clayton along wasn't the best idea in the world, but we managed. It wouldn't have been a celebration without him, right?

I had the tres leches cake (amazing!) & Trevor had their cheesecake. You will have to take his word for it that it was good.

Also, Clayton went to his first birthday party for a friend the other day. You can read about it here.

In other news, I am really excited because I have started a guitar class! It is through the Community College courses, and is once a week. I am so impressed so far. I have learned 5 chords and can play a couple of songs. I have to practice 20-30 minutes a day, and that has been really fun for me. Clayton enjoys hearing me play as well, and hasn't been too bad at trying to grab the guitar or climb in my lap while playing.

Other exciting news: We are starting a garden for this Summer! We applied and got a large garden plot for this Summer. We are hoping to grow: lettuce, tomatoes, watermelon, zuchinni, squash, basil, rosemary, bell peppers, and who knows what else!

We stake out our garden plot tomorrow. Hopefully it will stop snowing by then. :) (Yes, it snowed all through the night and the ground is covered in white. Still snowing.)

Supposedly, groundhogs and rabbits are a big problem for gardening here. We may need to plant chickenwire 4inches or so deep to prevent the groundhogs from digging tunnels under, and perhaps arch chickenwire over to prevent the rabbits from attacking from above. Any gardening advice? I am sure I can use some!

Easter Bunny

2011-04-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

Clayton met the Easter Bunny last week. He was hanging out at the Mall of America, of all places. :) Clayton sat with him just fine, but kept wanting to pull off his glasses and tug on his fur, of course. **I want to know how to put two pictures side by side and how to do other tricks like put a border around them. Is it by doing it first in Microsoft Word? Any tips??

And the Verdict is in...

2011-04-05T08:52:00.001-07:00

After a lot of applications and rounds of interviews, Trevor has accepted an internship for this summer! He was made a couple of offers, but we decided that closest to home sounded best. (Meaning Minnesota, home).

He will be working in Cannon Falls, MN, this summer for the Cannon Falls Medical Center-Mayo Health System. It is located about halfway between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Rochester, where the Mayo Clinic is located. We are really excited for this opportunity.

One great thing is that we don't have to move! We will be able to stay here in Minnesota, even in the same apt! That means we get to enjoy Minnesota in the summer, which is only fair after enduring through the winter, right? I am excited to go camping, go to the lakes, barbecue, etc. Maybe even plant our own garden!

In other good news, we are going out to Utah for the month of June! Trevor's brother Sterling is getting married, so Clayton and I will be there for the whole month. Trevor will unfortunately need to work, but still gets to come out for 9 days. :) We can't wait to see family & to celebrate such a wonderful occasion! Clayton will also celebrate his first birthday out there. Wahoo!

Anyways, our doors will be open to visitors all summer. Just come in July or August. :) Nice to know where we will be!

The Manslater: (Woman Language Translator)

2011-03-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

This is a hilarious video that someone shared with me recently. If you have ever had communication problems with your spouse, you will appreciate it.

Maybe it will help. But at least it will make you smile.

2 more days

2011-03-30T18:02:00.000-07:00

I have two more days to make my goal of blogging everyday in March. Yea! I also have read another book for my March book goal: The Maze Runner. It was good, but I am trying not to get hooked on the series. Right now I am working on Middlemarch by George Eliot. Other goals: I am considering signing up for 1-2 community classes. It is between guitar, yoga, and maybe a cooking class. I think I will go for guitar.

Here Comes the Sun

2011-03-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day! The sun was out, and the snow was melting. We felt like Spring is finally on its way. (Yes, we have felt that way a few times and then it snowed, but this time it is feeling more for real.)

Clayton and I went for a 1-hour walk in the sunshine and it felt great! I think he was really happy to be out of the house and enjoyed the fun sights around us. (For example, the train that we saw go over the bridge in front of us.)

We went out a second time before Trevor got home, just to walk around and ended up at the playground. Clayton swung on the swing for the first time! (Yes, the baby one with the harness-thing). He also got on a little ladybug toy that rocked back and forth like a rodeo ride. He really enjoyed that one, too. I got pictures on my phone, but don't know how to post those to blogger. Darn.

Then we went out a third time as a family, right after dinner. The sun was still up and we wanted to spend some time together as a family. We enjoyed the swings and ladybug ride again, but Trevor also sent him down a slide for his first time. I caught him at the end. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but he got used to it and liked it by the end.

We are so grateful for the sunshine. Shine on, Mr. Sun, shine on!

Clayton: 9 month update

2011-03-28T11:21:00.001-07:00

Clayton went in for his 9-month check-up today. He actually turned 9 months old 8 days ago, but his Dr. was out of town. (And we really like her, so we wanted to be sure to see her.) :) Turns out that his weight has slowed down--after being in the 95 percentile for so long, he has moved down to the 83 percentile with his weight coming in at 23 lbs. even. He height has also slowed--29 1/4 inches, which places him in the 79 percentile. His head circumference has been pretty steady all along--he measured 46.5 cm (18.31 inches) leaving him at 81 percentile. He was very healthy and did a great job despite one shot and having blood drawn for a hemoglobin test. We are so proud of our little boy! :)

Today

2011-03-27T17:47:00.001-07:00

Today I am just feeling really blessed. We are blessed to live in a nice apartment. We are blessed to live in a free country. We are blessed to have the Gospel. We are blessed to have educations. We are very blessed to be here in Minnesota. We are blessed to have a healthy baby boy. We are blessed to have good food. We are blessed to have wonderful families who love us. We are blessed with technology. We are blessed with Trevor's job. We are blessed to have had so many great experiences. We are blessed to be healthy. We are blessed with good friends: old and new. We have a lot of blessings to be thankful for!

Parables

2011-03-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Trevor and I are teaching Sunday School at church. We are studying the New Testament this year, and our lesson is on Parables. We are talking about why the Savior taught in parables, as well as the parables found in Matthew 13. (Parable of the sower, Parable of the mustard seed, Parable of the wheat and the tares, Parable of leaven, Parable of the pearl of great price, Parable of the treasure hid in the field, Parable of the net cast into the waters). It is so fun to get to teach because I feel like I learn so much in the process. I love studying the New Testament. And I love parables. There is so much you can learn that is beneath the surface. I think that we can find parables in life all around us. And I believe that if the Savior were here on earth today, He would teach us in parables that we would understand, using objects common to us and situations we are familiar with.

In studying the Parable of the Sower, I have been wondering what I can do to have more fruitful soil in my heart. Do I have stony soil? (Things that prevent me from letting the Gospel take root.) Do I have thorns that choke my tender plants and keep me from nurturing my testimony and the word of God within me? (Thorns=cares of the world, worldy pleasures, etc.) Am I like the wayside? (The birds come and eat my seeds, and they don't even have a chance to grow.) What can I do to have better soil so I can have more seeds that bring forth fruit?

What is your favorite parable?

Date Night

2011-03-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Trevor and I just enjoyed a very nice date night.

We took Clayton to a place called Punch Pizza. They have authentic Italian pizza which is cooked in a wood-burning oven. We had margherita extra style pizza: basil, mozzarella di bufalo, Mt. Vesuvio tomato. (We discovered that mozzarella di bufalo is mozzarella made from the milk of a water buffalo & Mt. Vesuvio tomatoes are grape tomatoes that they have preserved in a special way.) The pizzas are cooked at 800 degrees for 90 seconds. It was delicious. We also had a napoli neo (extra San Marzano tomatoes and olive oil) which is made with oregano.

It was fun. Then we watched Eat. Pray. Love. on Netflix after putting Clayton to bed and making breakfast for tomorrow. (A french toast with apples and toffee recipe my mom gave me.) We had mixed feelings about the movie. I loved the travel aspect of it, but didn't agree with the whole philosophy of how she went about it all. It did made me think about the wonderful experiences I had traveling before I got married: Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Italy, France, Mexico, Canada. I am grateful I had the opportunity to do those things before. And maybe someday we will again.

Domestic

2011-03-24T20:22:00.001-07:00

Confession: I bombed it today. I had some birthday cake that I baked for my neighbor...then it all went downhill as it always does. This week I have made blueberry jam for the first time (with medium sugar), made cute vinyl letter boards that spell "SPRING" & "Easter", baked a cake with homemade cream cheese frosting, made dinner for someone, etc, etc.

Here is the recipe for the Blueberry Jam:

4 c. crushed blueberries (about 6 cups whole)

1/2 c. apple or white grape juice concentrate

2 T. lemon juice

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 package low sugar pectin

Wash jars and lids.

Crush berries one later at a time, or chop in a blender and measure out 4 cups of crushed blueberries

Mix pectin with sugar

Put blueberries, lemon juice, and apple juice in heavy 6-8 quart pan and bring to a hard boil

Whisk in pectin mixture, return to a hard boil

Boil hard for about 3 minutes, remove from heat and skim foam before ladling into jars

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/8 inches headspace. Wipe rim and threads with clean damp cloth.

Adjust two piece caps until resistance is met (fingertip tight)

No Sweets Week

2011-03-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

I did a completely no-sweets day yesterday, and woke up feeling great this morning. I am considering doing a "No-Sweets" Week starting tomorrow. This diet usually works well for me because my biggest weaknesses are sweets and carbs. (& portions.)

Anyone with me?

St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention what a fun St. Patrick's Day we had! :) (Someone reminded me.)

We started it off with an amazing breakfast of green eggs and cheese, green ham, green orange juice, green french toast with green butter and green syrup. It was all really good. However, green food just feels wierd sometimes when it is not naturally green.

(Trevor made it all. He is amazing.)

We went shopping at the mall during the day. I bought some sunglasses and earrings. I always seem to lose my sunglasses. We also bought Clayton a new outfit and some other baby clothes.

We had some of our neighbors over for dinner that night. We had corned beef and cabbage, with potatoes and carrots. Again, Trevor was the main chef. He also surprised us with 4 bottles of root beer. It was so funny! We made toasts and clinked our glasses and it made us laugh. :) We finished off the evening by playing Farkle (a fun dice game) for a little while but Trevor and I weren't very lucky. :P

It was very fun. I am lucky to have such a wonderful husband who does such fun things.

Limbo Land

2011-03-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

So far I have made my goal of posting everyday this month. :) It has been kind of fun and has forced me to think of something everyday to blog about.

Unfortunately for Trevor, I have been a little grumpier than usual lately. I don't know what is going on with me, but for one, I have had a bad headache on and off for the past week or so. He thinks it is just hormones. (Hint: not pregnant) I am not sure if it is because the weather is improving and I am having "Spring Fever" or "Cabin Fever" or what!

Anyway, lately my biggest gripe has been that I don't know where we will be for the summer. Trevor has applied to several different residencies around the country, and we are waiting to hear back from a few. (The others we already know we didn't get. :( ) It is a hard waiting game. Stay tuned to find out where we'll be!

I love being a mom, but I do have days where I don't get a lot done. I don't get to do all of the projects I want. I need to remember that my biggest project is my home and family.
When I sit down and look at my schedule, however, I usually feel better.

Today:
7:30 am Woke up and did a 30 min. Pilates video
8 am Fed Clayton, changed his diaper
8:30 am Ate oatmeal (see Saturday)
8:45 Got dressed and bundled up Clayton
9:05 Got package ready to be mailed
9:15 Set up the stroller and took Clayton for a walk to the post office
10:00 Returned home and put him down for a nap; Chopped up red bell peppers and froze them
10:15 Worked on "Quiet Book"
11:00 Clayton woke up; Played with him
11:45 Ate leftovers for lunch
12:00 Fed Clayton lunch
12:30 Cleaned the apt., Played with Clayton
1:00 Took a shower; Got ready
1:30 Cleaned out the fridge
2:00 Dropped Trevor off at campus
2:30 Got the oil changed and tail light fixed
3:00 Went to CVS to check out the deals/pick up prescription
3:40 Got home; checked the mail
4:00 Put Clayton down for a nap
4:20 Checked emails, etc. & blogged (Where did the day go??)
Next: Do some more cleaning; get meals prepared for the week; organize coupons, etc.

Whew! What are your days like?

Cathedral of St. Paul

2011-03-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday we also went to see one of the cathedrals near us. It is located in St. Paul near the state capitol. It is called the Cathedral of St. Paul. The building was beautiful. Inside was so ornate and beautiful as well. There was a small group of string players and some singers practicing for a concert in there while we were there, so we also had beautiful music playing echoing off of the walls. It made it a nicer atmosphere.

Here are some of our favorite pictures of the inside. (Plus our favorite, a 100% Lego model of the cathedral.) Pretty cool. :)

Heaps of Oatmeal

2011-03-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, we got coupons from McDonald's in the mail and realized that one of them said "Free Fruit and Maple Oatmeal: No Purchase Necessary". Several of our neighbors had just dumped them in the junkmail bin by the mailbox. So we rounded up 10 or so more. Today we
went through our drive through and asked for 5 free oatmeals. (Then got 4 more inside because we were too embarrassed to ask for all 9 at the drive through. :P)
There are delicious! We ate 1-2 each and saved the rest in the fridge for breakfasts this week. Love it when it's free & healthy!

Crafty Friday

2011-03-18T17:48:00.001-07:00

Today I had some girls over to work on a really cute project. It is a Quiet Book that is made out of paper. I have a lot of scrapbook paper so it is great to be using it and feeling justified after moving it several times. :)

Here is the link to the project.

If you are looking for a fun project, this might be it!

Irish Poem

2011-03-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

*I have always had a fascination with Ireland. Growing up, my parents had this quote up. I have always loved it:

May the road rise up to meet you,
may the wind be ever at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face
and the rain fall softly on your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

Downtown

2011-03-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

One of the first things that enchanted me about Minneapolis/St. Paul is the beautiful buildings downtown. We first drove in at night, and the view was breathtaking. :) I don't have mad camera skills or a super nice camera, so I borrowed some from online.

The Mississippi River runs through here. I cross it often, and it makes me happy! Think of all the history that happened there!

Taking a Stand

2011-03-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

I took this picture this morning of Clayton standing in our room. I just love how he likes to hold on to the handles and use them to stand.

He can also stand unsupported for a couple of seconds. :)

*Other news: Clayton now has two bottom teeth.

*Yesterday we took him to Coldstone's for ice cream and let him try some. Big mistake. He liked it a little too much.

*He is able to eat a lot of "table food" now. One of his favorites is yogurt. Guess he's a lot like me! :)

How Big of a Fan Are You?

2011-03-14T18:10:00.000-07:00

I am reading a book right now that I am loving!

See how many quotes it takes before you can guess correctly the title! (Better yet, can you name which character said each?)

1. "In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

2. "Nobody can tell what I suffer!--But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied."

3. "And now nothing remains for me but to assure you in the most animated language of the violence of my affection."

4. "Of music! Then pray speak aloud. It is of all subjects my delight. I must have my share in the conversation, if you are speaking of music. There are few people in England, I suppose, who have more true enjoyment of music than myself, or a better natural taste. If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient."

5. "You could not have made me the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it...I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on the marry."

6. "Far be it from me, my dear sister, to depreciate such pleasures. They would doubtless be congenial with the generality of female minds. But I confess they would have no charms for me. I should infinitely prefer a book."

7."An unhappy alternative is before you...From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents."

8. "Ah! Jane, I take your place now, and you must go lower, because I am a married woman."

9. "Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life, as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty."

10. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Good luck! I am embarassed to say it is the first time I have read it, but it is sooooo good! Every bit as enjoyable as the movie. :)

Quote

2011-03-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

"We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love."

-Mother Teresa

Clayton's First NBA Game

2011-03-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

Last night we started Spring Break off with a bang and went to an NBA game. The Minnesota Timberwolves were playing the Utah Jazz at the Target Center. We haven't gone to any professional sports games since we moved here, so we were really excited to go! (We want to take advantage of all of the fun sports teams here!)

We arrived early, and discovered that it was a special night for kids. All children 12 and under received a free Timberwolves jersey. Clayton's first jersey! :) It is a little big, but we had him wear it anyways.

We also got several pictures before the game.

Trevor & Clayton with "Crunch" the mascot.

Clayton seeing how his feet measured compared to #31 on the team.

How about his hands compared to #14? Not quite ready to palm it, I guess.

We sat high up in the stands. Cheap tickets, but we could see great.

Clayton enjoyed the game but fell asleep by the end. The final score was 101:122, with the Jazz losing. We had fun supporting them anyways. It was a fun night!

Before the game in our seats.

Not the best picture, but you can see where we were in the Target Center.

Our View.

Very excited about the bright lights. (& a little food on his face.)

Tired near the end of the game.

Uh-oh

2011-03-11T07:24:00.000-08:00

Clayton has been perfecting his army crawl lately. He has surprised us with the speed he can use when moving from room to room. Here comes trouble...

Spring Break

2011-03-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

Today starts Spring Break for Trevor. He has no class on Fridays, so he has a 10-day break. Wahoo! We haven't made plans to go anywhere, but I think we will be relaxing at home.

I would love to go someplace like this. I can imagine laying there drinking a virgin pina colada and reading a good book. :)

Maybe we will make it to Wisconsin or somewhere else close.

Kiva

2011-03-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine introduced me to kiva.org a couple of years ago. It is a nonprofit organization that provides microfinancing for people in 58 countries around the world.

If you are looking for a way to make a difference and serve, this is a great way to start. How it works: You donate a certain amount (usually $25 or more) to a person of your choosing. You can read about them and where they are from, what type of business they are starting, etc. before deciding who to lend to. They then work to to repay the loan. Once you have been repaid (takes several months in my experience so far), you can choose to relend again. Because of that, I have been able to lend to 8 different people from Uganda, to the Phillippines, Senegal, Mexico, etc. using the same original loan amount (& a wedding gift of a kiva giftcard). Or you can choose to withdraw the amount you loaned.

I have found it to be very reliable. They have a 98.6% repayment rate. Ironically, I had 2 default on me recently (meaning they didn't pay back the loan), BUT I still feel good about the money I am still lending and have been able to thus far.

If you are interested, I will send you an invite to loan at kiva. (Or you can probably just get on yourself and sign up.) It is a great way to serve!

Exercise in Winter

2011-03-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have been noticing that I am not as in shape as I used to be. Walking around for an hour or two makes my calves sore and I spend a lot of days very sedentarily. (Is that a word?)

I went running once a couple of weeks ago, when it got above freezing and the snow had started to melt. I haven't gone since, though.

Thanks to our Netflix account, though, I have started doing work-out videos inside.

Some of my favorites include:

10 Minute Yoga

10 Minute Pilates

10 Minute Dance (it is actually a great workout & so fun!)

Hopefully, I can keep it up and be in shape like I want to be.

Green Smoothie

2011-03-07T06:37:00.000-08:00

Green Smoothie

2 c. water

2 handfuls washed spinach

1 or 2 stocks of collared greens

1 or 2 stocks of kale

1 or 2 red chard

1/3 fresh pineapple

1 banana

1/4 c. flax seed oil

3/4 c. blue agave sweetner

10 strawberries

4 c. mixed berries

(optional) handful of ice and a slice of lemon

Blend the spinach and water together and add the rest of the greens. Then add the pineapple, banana, flax seed oil, and sweetner. Pour half of the green mix into a pitcher. With the remaining green mix add 5 strawberries and 2 cups of mixed berries. Then repeat the berries with the green mix in the pitcher. Enjoy!

*I got this recipe at a Relief Society meeting and LOVED it. It doesn't taste like vegetables, but is really sweet. It is a great way to "camouflage" eating spinach and other leafy greens from your kids. When I made it, I substituted honey, I believe, for the sweetner and it was still really good. (Just not as healthy, I guess.)

Sunday Outfits

2011-03-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

Lately, every Sunday when we get home from church we change Clayton out of his church clothes first thing. This is to avoid stains on his church clothes, etc, of course. I always feel a little sad though because he looks so cute in his Sunday clothes. So, we have documented a couple this Sunday.

**(Did I mention that is around 23 lb. now? He is so big that we had to switch him to a new carseat. Whew. He is maintaining his 95% in weight, 90% in height & 80%+ in head circumference. He is our adorable boy.)

Clayton's Photos

2011-03-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, we had Clayton's pictures taken at Sears. We had gotten a TON of those free offers in the mail when he was born and decided to cash it in.

We went and had the pictures taken & I was very tempted to purchase some of them for friends and family. Then we discovered that the cheapest package was a little over our budget. So I just got the free 10x13 picture (which turned out HUGE!) When I went to pick it up they had printed some more wallets, 5x7's, etc for purchase. I didn't buy any and felt so guilty. Why? I am not sure. So, here they are for all to see. And maybe I will end up buying some of them sometime.

*Please ignore the ones of Clayton & I. I think I look awful. :P Never really good at posing for formal pics. But let me know if you have a favorite!

You Guessed It

2011-03-04T09:48:00.001-08:00

In case you've been wondering, "Whoa! Where are all of these daily blog posts coming from?!", it is true. My goal this month of March is to blog everyday.

They might be totally random or a stretch on a topic. But I am going to try it anyways.

Here is a flashback to early January. Trevor, Clayton & I went to the Walker Art Museum (a modern-art museum here). There is a famous outdoor sculpture garden. The most famous sculpture is the Cherry With a Spoon. Here we are standing outside of it. Normally there is a little pond around it. Now it is frozen over and covered with snow.

Note the U of Minnesota sweatshirts. We've got school spirit!

Girls Night Out

2011-03-03T07:02:00.001-08:00

Last week I had a Girls Night Out with some of the other MHA wives. It was so fun! We went to a place called Cafe Latte. They have excellent desserts there. It was so nice to get out with everyone and I feel lucky to have met so many neat girls. There were several who couldn't come & they were missed. Hope they can come next time! :)

DIY Nursery Decor

2011-03-02T07:21:00.000-08:00

A week and a half ago or so I finished decorating Clayton's nursery. I used a lot of your good ideas, and ended up buying canvases at Joann's Fabric (40% off, so about $5 each). Then I bought inexpensive paint (with 50% off coupon) and painted them all green.

After two-three coats, and allowing them to completely dry, I applied some vinyl sticker animals and leaves I bought from Target. (They were my splurge--about $14, but matched the bedding of his crib exactly so I thought it was a great opportunity!). I stuck them on the canvas. They didn't need mod podge like I thought, because they stuck fairly well on their own.

The result:

With the extra leaves and animals, I just applied them straight to the wall. They should come off easily when we move.

So, about $30 later and I have a cute safari-themed nursery. (I know $30 is not a major steal, but it turned out cute & was really fun!)

Visit from Grandpa Coons

2011-03-01T01:29:00.000-08:00

This weekend we had a special visit from Grandpa Coons. He was in St. Paul for a business trip, which was great for us because we got to see him! He flew in town on Friday afternoon and stayed until Tuesday morning.

It was really cold when he was here (it is still cold here) and I think it surprised him a little. He pulled a "New in Town" (great movie on life in Minnesota in the Winter) & walked out of the baggage claim at the airport without a jacket, only to turn around and try to walk back in. It was pretty funny. :) If you haven't seen the movie yet, you should. Just so you can see what it is like here in the Winter. (Although that is a little more small-townish.)

Anyways, we had a great time with him here. We went to Famous Dave's at the Mall of America again. (Yumm-yumm.) We split the trashcan lid again and did pretty well for the three of us. Clayton is able to eat more table foods right now, so he enjoyed crackers, a rib(of course, thanks again, Grandpa) & lots of little puffs (he is loving these right now from Target--knock off of Gerber graduates). It was really fun. We also walked around the Mall of America for a couple of hours. I discovered some more fun stores, like Nordstrom Rack and some others. Good thing we live 20 minutes away!

This picture is by Nickelodeon Universe, one of the three or so theme parks they have in the middle of the mall. (Also, Underwater Adventures with the world's largest jellyfish collection & LegoLand).

It felt great to walk around after being cooped up in the apartment for so long.

*It was cold outside, so we got steamers and caramel apple cider (NOT coffee, don't worry!)

That night we came back here and slept. Then Saturday morning we woke up and went walking around Target. It was also Dr. Seuss' birthday, I suppose, because they had a little reading area set up and Clayton & I listened to "Are You My Mother?" and got a bag of treats. Then we went to Costco. (Our traditional Saturday date. We love to get all of the wonderful samples and eat a cheap lunch.) That was a lot of fun, too. It was snowing, and I think got to a high in the teens.

Clayton loves sitting in the front of shopping carts now.

Then we went to lunch at our favorite Mexican place, Boca Chicas. It was none of our birthdays this time, but we took a picture with the sombreros on just for fun. I love their blackbeans. I also love their location: downtown St. Paul, across the river. Makes for a fun outing.

We were so full, we just snacked for dinner. It was also so cold, that we mostly stayed inside the rest of the time and watched movies. What a nice day!

Sunday we went to church and then headed to Rochester, MN, to see the Mayo Clinic. (Don't worry, none of us are sick. Just a husband majoring in Healthcare Administration and a father-in-law who works in Healthcare Administration.) It was about a 90 minute drive southeast and for a lot of the drive we were looking out on a white landscape that almost blended into the white skyline. Pretty in a different way.

The Mayo Clinic was very impressive on its own. I think Trevor figured out it was like 42 city blocks big. There are a couple of different hospitals there, as well as several other buildings. The main tours were closed (Mon-Fri only) so we gave ourselves a self-tour. One thing we found was an old-fashioned ambulance. It was drawn by horses and didn't look very comfortable. (Thank goodness for modern-day conveniences!) We also saw how ambulances have evolved over time.

This was on the wall in one of the hospitals. I thought it was a good mantra to live by.

I will have to go back and take the guided tour sometime. It is a worthwhile place to visit and is very impressive. We joked that the Mayo Clinic is like the "Mecca" for healthcare administrators. :) Pretty cool.

We got home and had corned beef and cabbage for dinner. I love that, seeing as I am part-Irish and have always loved St. Patrick's Day. Last year we ate it on that day and plan to this year, as well. Delicious! *I even love it out of a can.

Monday we took Grandpa Coons to his hotel for his meetings. The weather was a lot better. It got up in the 30's. The sun also came out. We did our errands, etc. and then joined him for "Family Home Evening" around 5. We ate dinner at the hotel (I had salmon, and Trevor had steak.) Then we went swimming in the hotel pool. Unfortunately, the pool itself was freezing so we spent most of our time in the hottub. (Which was just warm.) I think Clayton enjoyed it, after getting over the first shock. (He always does with swimming.) We also ate cookies and milk in the hotel room.

Tuesday morning Grandpa Coons had to fly back to St. George. We are going to miss him! The Winter has been better in a way then I imagined it, but also worse in a way. It is long and cold and we don't get very adventurous because it is so hard to do things in the snow. (Like get to and from the car.) SO it was a nice break in our routine and brightened up our month.

We are always open for visitors so consider coming out! (But I would recommend Spring.) :)

Thanks, Grandpa Coons, for all of the fun things we did & for visiting us! We love you!

Clayton sporting Grandpa Coons' reading glasses. Pretty smart kid.

Best.Valentines.Day.Ever.

2011-02-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

Okay, so maybe the Valentines day when we got engaged was a little more important, but this Valentines day is up there in the rankings of "best Valentine's Day!"

It started out with this.

And this.

Leading up to this.

A 100 things that Trevor likes about me written across 100 cut-out paper hearts.

At the end of the trail, a jar of Jelly Bellies (my fav!), some tulips that are waiting to blossom, & the movie Enchanted. I was enchanted.

Add to this that it was 40 degrees outside (felt so warm!) & that when I got on the scale in the morning, I was the lightest I have been since pregnancy (-1 more lb.) and it was a great start.

It then got even better. Trevor took Clayton & I to a place that I have been mouthwatering over for a couple of months, now. The Finnish Bistro, which is down the street. (I had to pull a picture off of their website--sorry.)

Look at all of the pastries, etc. I will definitely need to come back!

Trevor's french toast on raisin bread

My crepe.

Our happy little family.

Clayton wore the V-Day onesie that I made for him. (Easy--little wonder under & some simple sewing)

Then we delivered cupcakes and valentines to some of Trevor's classmates and teachers and people in the office. They love seeing little Clayton.

The afternoon was fairly uneventful, but then made homemade heart-shaped pizzas for dinner and ate them after Clayton went to bed. Nothing like homemade pizza. Yumm yumm.

Barbecue chicken.

Ham & Cheese with tomato sauce.

We then watched Enchanted. We enjoyed it and it was nice and romantic to be home together.

I am thankful for such a wonderful day!

Here it is...my first review!!

2011-02-11T18:46:00.001-08:00

So, today I got a package containing the item I was to review! It was amazingly fast delivery, considering I had just ordered it late Wednesday night and it shipped yesterday.

We opened it up and let Clayton explore it for a little while in the box. He wasn't sure what to think of it, but sure enjoyed playing with it. (Have you ever noticed how kids often prefer playing with the box/wrapping/etc. more than the toy?)

Finally, we opened it and let him explore the toy inside~A 1-5 Ring Counter.

It says it is for ages 2+, but we figured he would enjoy playing with it now as well. It advertises being:

color-coded numbers on base

teaches basic counting skills and color recognition

develops hand-eye coordination

all-wood construction

Clayton really enjoyed banging the pieces together, tasting the different parts, taking the rings off of the dowels, etc. We think it will be a great toy that he will enjoy for a long time.

New Year's Resolutions Recap

2011-02-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

So, Trevor and I went over our goals from 2010. (What a great year!)

Once Clayton was born, I kind of stopped recording the books I was reading for my 1 book a month goal.

Books I read since I last wrote them are:

Mockingjay (third book in the Hunger Games series)

Fablehaven

The Forgotten Garden (LOVED this one! It is a story of a girl who is trying to discover who she is and where she came from after she was discovered on a boat. Told from several different perspectives. Kind of a mystery.)

The Red Pyramid (by Rick Riordan)

SO, I made my goal! I am continuing the goal for this year.

January--I read Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. IT was awesome! I really loved it and felt it coincided with the counsel we have received from modern day prophets to stay out of debt and live within our means.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (Alexander McCall Smith) Cute.

February--I have on reserve at the library The Millionaire Next Door. You can tell I am in the mood to learn about finance and money management!

I am up for other suggestions. Some I am considering are: Gods and Generals and Killer Angels.

My Family Tree

2011-01-30T21:04:00.001-08:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Best Bedtime Stories

2011-01-27T08:00:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite times of day is storytime. We read stories everynight before going to bed. I love seeing this:

And this:

AND this:

Some of our favorite bedtime stories are here. We thought we would share them for anyone who may be in the business of reading to children.

1. How Do Dinosaurs Clean Up Their Room, by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague. In this story, the author playfully asks questions about how a dinosaur would clean up their room. First she gives bad examples that exaggerate what the wrong way is to clean up. Then she gives good examples that show what the right way to clean is. The illustrations are hilarious, with naughty and nice little dinosaurs demonstrating the wrong and right way to clean. A good intro to ask your children if they are cleaning the right way. (Or your husband.) jk We love the ending: "Good job, good job, little dinosaur."

2. How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague. This came in a boxed set with the book above, and follows a lot of the same patterns. Again, the author uses bad examples at first ("Do they not give their friends any tricycle rides?") before giving examples of the right way to be a friend. The illustrations, again, are hilarious. The ending is again a favorite: "Good friend, good friend, little dinosaur." A good way to discuss the type of friend your child is being.

3. The Big Wide Mouthed Frog, by Ana Martin Larranaga. We LOVE this story. Set in Australia, it follows a "big wide mouthed frog" as it obnoxiously goes up to each creature and asks "Who are you, and what do you eat?" He then loudly proclaims who he is and what he eats. We have all met people like this--who ask you a question without really wanting the answer, only to tell you all about themselves. At the end, though, he meets a surprising animal and decides maybe it isn't best to tell everyone who you are.

4. I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry. Another obnoxious animal goes about the ocean comparing himself to every creature around him. He smugly thinks he is the biggest thing in the ocean, until he meets someone larger than himself. And may just end up as a tasty snack.

5. Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton. A good book to read to help make getting ready for bed fun. All about the different kinds of pajamas "Now some are old, and some are new. Some are red and some are blue." But set to a rhythym that feels strangely like cheerleading. "Pajama to the left, pajama to the right. Jamma-jamma-jamma-jamma-P-J!" It is a really fun story to read and a great lead into bedtime.

Happy bedtime reading!

My First Review: A Peek

2011-01-24T14:14:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered a site called CSN stores that has 1,000's of products and over 200 websites. Allmodern.com, CSNBaby.com, and Cookware.com were a few that caught my eye right from the start. I will be doing a review soon on one the products from their website. (Possibly something to put on the walls in the jungle-themed nursery?)

You can find anything from a fire pit, to a wooden spoon, to a wooden swing set! It may turn out to be a great place to go to find {almost} everything you need in one online shopping visit!

Watch for my upcoming review!

Clayton in the Snow

2011-01-20T11:48:00.001-08:00

Clayton and a girl we were watching for the day.

Not too happy for the ride to be over.

Welcome to the Jungle!

2011-01-20T11:18:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to put up pictures for a long time of Clayton's nursery and bathroom. Okay, it is really everyone's bathroom because we only have one. But you will see it matches quite well.

Forgive the personal items left in the picture (i.e. Huggies, baby lotion, etc.) I think professional people usually take these things out before they take pics.

Clayton's crib & rocker. You may note the lack of pictures on the wall. I am working on that. Any affordable ideas on how to find cute jungle pics?

My favorite: Clayon's bookshelf. We love to read.

Blocks I made for his nursery. The cradle underneath has sentimental value for me: it was made by my grandfather and has my initials carved in the side. I have been using it to hold burp cloths and receiving blankets.

One of my former students gave this to me. It says "Let him sleep for when he wakes he will move mountains." I love this. Trevor, however, likes to tease me and change it to: "Let him sleep, for when he wakes he will thrash the nations!" I guess that's a dad for ya.

Of course we need the star of the show! Here in his crib. Where he sleeps now.

This is in the bathroom, obviously. Our favorite monkey rug.

. Shower curtain

Getting creative with vinyl.

A friend helped me make this. Love it.
And this. Placed above the towel racks.

We have lots of monkeys hanging around.

And more monkeys.

Catchin' Up

2011-01-19T17:59:00.001-08:00

Sorry in advance if the next several blog posts are totally boring. I have a lot of catching up to do on the happenings in our life the last couple of months.

For example, {not-so-boring}, Clayton started eating solid foods about a month ago! He is 7 months old now, and it came so quickly!

{oops--wrong video! But I finally got one to work, so I will leave it and try for another.}

Some likes:

*bananas *baby cereal *mangoes *strawberry-banana *peas *applesauce *apple-cherry

Some dislikes:

*green beans (darn) *sweet potatoes (like his mom) *"vegetable medley"

Another big milestone for him is that is finally sleeping in his crib! He wouldn't sleep in his nursery, let alone his crib, before the holidays. That was the deciding factor that is was time to start Baby Bootcamp. We planned to spend the two weeks after we got home to start toughening up and letting him cry through the night. I braced myself for weeks of painful crying, etc. BUT, unplanned, we started Baby Bootcamp while we were in Texas. We let him cry it out, but eventually he started to get used to it. He would see me and then be able to go to sleep. Ever since we got home, he has gone to bed at 8PM and is sleeping through the whole night! Miracle of miracles! It has made a big difference for sure.

He is sitting up unsupported really well and likes to roll around the house. We will wait for the crawling...and the teeth. No rush for either, really. :)

He is a happy little guy and we are so glad to have him!

Christmas continued

2011-01-13T08:30:00.000-08:00

All of our stockings

Christmas Eve: Trevor & Clayton (**note Trevor's moustache after a month of growth)

Christmas Eve Tradition: Opening one present each

Second Christmas Tradition: New Pajamas!

Decorating gingerbread cookies

Christmas Morning: Trevor's Stocking contents

Clayton in his new penguin hat from his Grandma

Our lovely gingerbread cookies (frosted with marshmallow cream--a first, which held up well, except after the first 20 minutes)

New Year's Eve in Dallas
Clayton with Joren and Brooklyn

Christmas in Texas

2011-01-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

The Clayton Clan with grandkids (Clayton, Brandon & Parker)
Clayton & Parker: only 5 months apart

Brandon & Clayton

Uncle Chad with Clayton

Matt & his newest addition: Parker

I haven't blogged in quite awhile, due to the fact that we were in Texas for the holidays. We spent the first week in Austin and then a night in Kerrville. Following this, we spent the New Year's in Dallas. Trevor got to see three major Texas cities in one trip, which isn't bad. (We drove through a part of San Antonio.)

We enjoyed being together with my family for the first time in a long time. We enjoyed playing the Wii, making and decorating gingerbread cookies, eating, seeing Tron in 3D, eating at a great Chinese place, playing Nintendo Monopoly (the guys), playing darts, building Lego sets, & just being together.

More pics to come.

Christmas: Meeting Santa and Our First Blizzard

2010-12-14T11:01:00.000-08:00

Clayton met Santa for the first time last Friday night. He was really brave and didn't even cry. He just smiled at the people around.

We're not sure where Santa was from. He had an accent...I say South American, Trevor says Indian. Not sure. Feliz Navidad!

We will post some pics of our first blizzard on here later. Basically it snowed ALL day Saturday, supposedly around 15 inches or so. All of our evening plans were cancelled and the farthest I ventured outside was to the hallway doors.

Sunday church was cancelled and there were almost no freeways open near us. The Metrodome, home of the Vikings, had a roof cave-in and had to move their game. It was crazy! Trevor dug our cars out of the snow and we were finally able to leave the apt. on Monday. Two days in the apartment was kind of fun, but also made us appreciate fresh air and being able to go places. There are still mounds of snow all over that are taller than I am and snowplows all over the place. Welcome, Minnesota winter!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-04T18:03:00.001-08:00

With Love Chartreuse Christmas 5x7 folded card

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Minnesota Zoo

2010-12-01T08:30:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned before, the library system here is awesome and they have free passes to local museums and other attractions that you can check our for free.

The one I have been wanting to check out the most, but is never available, is the pass for the Minnesota Zoo. It normally costs $16 a person to get in. Well, last week the pass was finally there! To top it off, it was the week of Thanksgiving, which meant that Trevor didn't have class Wednesday through Friday! So we ended up going the day after Thanksgiving with some friends who have an annual pass.

Wow! It was so impressive! They have a large portion of the zoo indoors, due to the large percentage of the year where it is freezing cold outside. The inside portion included a tropical section, an aquarium, and a portion called Minnesota Trails. They were all really incredible with animals I had never seen before, a dolphin that just had a baby (ccuuuute!) & my favorite was probably the Minnesota Trails. You walked inside and outside, which gave it a real Minnesota feel in the cold snow. They had beavers, pumas, otters, wolves, etc. which was really neat.

We also ventured to one of the outdoor portions of the zoo. There we walked a trail that led to the bears, tigers, etc. But our first stop was to the sea otters. A zookeeper on the way told us that he was glad we were heading over because the sea otter "wanted someone to play with". He wasn't kidding. When we got there, Trevor had the time of his life playing with the sea otter. It would go wherever he was and just seemed to hang around the tank wherever he was. Here is our first attempted video we took of it:

We came at a really good time of year because we were alone for most of the outside tour. Just us and the animals. It was a kind of cool feeling. Also, because of all of the snow, a lot of the animals were in hibernation. And then zoo has large windows by the animals' dens so you can see them up close. Because of this, I was closer to pumas, brown bears, tigers and other animals than I have ever been in my life. We both got to walk alongside a tiger in the snow as it paced back and forth, literally inches away on the other side of the glass.

Move Over, Movember!

2010-11-30T07:13:00.000-08:00

Trevor is participating in something called Movember this month and next. He and several of his classmates are growing moustaches to help support a worthy cause. It is called Urban Boat Builders. They help inner city kids by teaching them how to build boats and then taking them on an overnight boating trip. In the pictures from Thanksgiving, Trevor had been growing his moustache for a week. We will see how it looks on December 23, the first day he can shave it.

If you want to support his moustache (and his cause, of course) you can donate here.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T20:32:00.000-08:00

Trevor, Clayton & I

**If you want to know why Trevor is sporting a moustache, please see tomorrow's blog entry

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. I was wondering if I was going to have to cook a full Thanksgiving for the 3 (2) of us, but luckily we were able to get together with a bunch of Trevor's classmates and some neighbors and their families. There were about 30 adults and 12 kids in all. We all convened in the loft at our apartment complex, which is plenty large to accomodate large groups.
Each family signed up to bring different things for the Thanksgiving feast. We signed up for cranberries, drinks, butter & jam. Now I love cranberries, so I assumed they were a staple for everyone else. Apparently not, though. We have a lot of leftovers. :P Cranberry recipes, anyone?
We all brought table decorations and helped set up. It was so fun to talk to the people at our table.

Our fun table of fabulous people

I have so many things I am thankful for. This has been a wonderful year for us and we are feeling truly blessed.

Shutterfly 50 Card Giveaway

2010-11-22T14:59:00.000-08:00

I have only had positive experiences with Shutterfly. Recently, I ordered baby announcements (late, I know) from another company (not-to-be-named) and not only did they take a really long time to get here, the top and the bottom of the announcement was chopped off. Now I have 25 baby announcements that I can't even send because they look strange (and it has been over 5 months...err...) I may send them in with my awesome Shutterfly Christmas cards.

Speaking of their awesome cards, here are some of my favorites:

They have come up with a lot of cool new designs. I am not sure which one I am going to use yet.

Some of the other projects I have created on Shutterfly include these 2 photo books:

The top one is one we just recently ordered and is a book about Clayton's first 4 months of life. The bottom one is of Trevor's and my story with a lot of pictures of our dates, etc. Both turned out phenomenal and were really easy to create.

So, why all the hype about Shutterfly? Well, this month if you blog about Shutterfly, you can receive 50 Christmas cards for free! If you are interested in doing the same, you can, too! Just click here.

P.S. And if you haven't given me your address yet, but are interested in being a recipient of this year's Christmas letter, email me your address!

Trevor's Birthday

2010-11-15T11:35:00.001-08:00

Trevor's birthday was last Friday and we did a lot to celebrate! :) In the morning, I made him one of his favorite breakfasts: puffed apple pancakes with sausages. Then I took him to school so he could study. Poor guy, on his bday!
That night we went out to eat at Macaroni Grill. It was soooo awesome! We don't go out to eat very often these days, but we had a giftcard and wanted to celebrate. We took Clayton with us and he sat in his carseat and was PERFECT the whole time (rare). I think that was his present to Trevor. :) It was really good to be out on a date together and to talk about things other than school and household stuff and to be a couple. :) They sang Happy Birthday to him in Italian and we shared his free chocolate birthday cake. Delicioso!

Then we walked around the mall a little and went home. He opened my gift to him, and it was one of our favorite movies: The Emporer's New Groove. We watched it together (and I fell asleep on the lovesac).
Saturday he studied again while I sneakily got things ready for his surprise birthday party. One of his classmates has a birthday the day after his, so his wife & I planned a surprise birthday party. We had it at their apartment. I made a luscious four-layer pumpkin cake for him, and she made a Reeses ice cream cake which was delicious.

We invited all of their classmates over & some other friends. About 20 people came. Incidentally, it snowed that day, so more people would have come if they could have. They were really surprised!

All in all, I'd say his birthday was a success! :) Hooray for birthdays!

Grandma & Grandpa Coons' Visit!

2010-11-12T07:49:00.000-08:00

Hooray! Last weekend we had our first visitors: Trevor's parents. They were such wonderful houseguests. We had such a fun time! :)

We picked them up from the airport Wednesday night and gave them a glimpse of the city at night as we drove home. Then we stayed up talking for a little bit and they got to enjoy their grandson as we went through the rituals of bathtime and storytime.

Clayton with his Grandpa.

Thursday, Trevor had to go to school like regular so Trevor's parents took Clayton & I to IKEA. (Yipee!) We had walked around & had lunch there and I had my favorite kids' meal with meatballs, mashed potatoes & vegetables. Then, lucky day, it was buy one-get one-free chocolate cake day! (I love their chocolate cake!) We split one and took another one home for Trevor. Kim & I worked on Clayton's nursery while Chris walked across the street to explore the Mall of America. (It's right across the street.)
Then, we picked up Trevor from school & joined Chris at the MOA for dinner. We went to one of his favorite restaurants: FAMOUS DAVES. We sat where we could "people watch" people at the mall. It was really fun. The four of us split the "Trash Can Lid". (A feast for four that included 4 ears of corn, brisket, ribs, baked chicken, cornbread, baked beans, & coleslaw.) It was sooooo good. I particularly loved the brisket and cornbread. It was plenty of food.
Then we walked around the MOA and got popcorn (sweet butter flavored...yumm) & then eventually wound our way back to Coldstone's for dessert. Phew! We were stuffed! At least we walked off some of our meal at the mall. :)

Friday, Trevor took us all for a tour of the University of Minnesota campus. I had been there several times before, but had never gone inside his classrooms. We also got to take the "gopher tunnels". They connect the buildings underground so the students don't have to walk around in the cold in the winter. Kinda cool, but kinda creepy. :P Then we drove around and showed them some of our favorite places in the city. We also went to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant: Boca Chicas. Lucky for us, it was during the lunch buffet which meant lots of good food including rice pudding. AND we celebrated Trevor's birthday early so he got to wear the same sombrero I did on my b-day and got free ice cream. What fun!

Trevor & his parents

Saturday, we took them to Como Zoo. We walked around and saw a lot of interesting things, such as a gorilla that was only inches away from us. Because it is free, you don't feel a lot of pressure to stay very long. :P We also drove around some of the old houses in our area that are gorgeous. We ate at Famous Dave's again for lunch, and had leftovers for dinner. We relaxed that night and watched re-runs of Hogan's Heroes.

The "Trash Can Lid"
Like father, like son. Enjoying "Ribzilla" and a little rib.

...like grandson? Not so fast, Grandpa, he's not quite ready for ribs!

Outside Famous Dave's.
At the zoo. It wasn't that cold.

Gorilla

Outside Como Zoo

They believe in recycling out here. Here we found a squirrel helping out by eating on leftover jack-o-lanterns.

Sunday morning we had to tell them goodbye as they headed for the airport. We had so much fun with them, it was hard to see them go. But hopefully they will make it out here again next year--maybe for the state fair! (We drove them through the deserted fairgrounds during one of our scenic drives and got them pretty excited!)

We are so glad they came to visit and love them so much! Come again soon! :)

Halloween

2010-11-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

Phew! We have been busy, busy, busy! I feel like we almost missed Halloween altogether! Being on the Activities Committee in our ward helped out a lot, though, as we stayed up until 2 am one night stuffing three gigantic spiders made out of trash bags. We also entered the Annual Cupcake Contest and Pumpking Carving Contests, as well as the Best Decorated Trunk (for Trunk or Treat) Contest.

Friday night we helped set up the gym for the Ward Halloween Party, and then went to Trevor's MHA Halloween party for an hour or so.

Saturday we hurriedly carved pumpkins, got our costumes on, etc. in the midst of a busy Saturday and headed to the Ward Party. I was designated to take pictures of all of the families, and Trevor was in charge of the "Pumpkin Races" (the kids had to put a small pumpkin between their legs and race to the finish line). It was really fun.

We didn't win the Cupcake or the Pumpkin Carving contest (the winners were really talented! Theirs were amazing!) but we had a lot of fun trying.

I could only get this picture to upload sideways. We made mummy cupcakes, using marshmallows, pretzel sticks, and fruit roll-ups. We got the idea out of a magazine.

We did, however, win a prize for the best decorated trunk. I think ours was the "Cutest Trunk". The best part? Trevor did it last minute, pulling decorations from our home and placing them artistically in the back of his Caliber.

Us with the missionaries. They are awesome!

Clayton got quite a haul of candy from the Trunk or Treat. Well, a modest amount. He was gracious enough to share with his mom and dad. Thanks, little buddy. He was quite a hit in his duck costume and we were excited to share in his first Halloween. Happy Halloween!

Our little duck

Onesie Tie Project

2010-10-19T12:06:00.001-07:00

I have been meaning to do this project for awhile now, but finally got around to it yesterday. I made 3 little onesies that he can wear to church. (Layered under other items of course, as the weather gets colder.) These are onesies sized 3-6 months, so he may not fit in them for very long! Then it will be time to make some new ones.

Here he is modeling the first one I finished.

Doesn't he look thrilled?

DIY Shirt

2010-10-18T08:33:00.001-07:00

So, I decided I would try to be thrifty and make a shirt out of an old one. I followed this link from a friend:
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/64305/mens-shirt-makeover

I invited some other girls over and we got to work. (Only two of us brought shirts to work on, but we all had fun socializing. :) )

Here is the shirt I started with:

First, I used a seam ripper to take off the pocket.

Then I cut the top of the shirt off from the line where the armpit mark is.

Next, I tried it on and realized it was going to be too short! I decided to get some material to sew on the bottom and for the straps. (But haven't finished yet.)

So, I started again with a shirt I bought from the thrift store. (men's large)

(...and then I forgot to keep taking pictures.)

But the third step I did, was to cut off 1 1/2-2 inches from each side.

**I cut off a little too much--I would allow a lot of room to wiggle.

I then sewed the two sides together, right sides facing in of course.

Then I left it inside out and folded the top part where I had cut over about 1 1/2 inches. This left enough room for my 1-inch elastic. I sewed it, and left a gap to run the elastic through.

I cut off approximately 24 inches of elastic. On one side I attached a safety pin, and used it to pull it through the material with a safety pin.

**Again, I underestimated the amount of elastic I would need, even after measuring it around myself. It is better to start with too much.

Once it was pulled through, I sewed the two ends of the elastic together. Then, I sewed the remainder of the folded portion closed.

Next I tried it on, and measured how long a piece of fabric I would need for the straps. I cut them from the sleeves of the original shirt, because the pieces I had cut from the sides of the shirt weren't long enough. I wanted fairly wide straps, so I cut them about 4 inches wide.

After my straps were cut, I folded them in half length-wise and put right sides together before sewing the sides together. Once they were sewn, I turned the strap right side out and ironed it. (You don't have to do this, it just makes it easier to sew to the shirt later.)

I put the shirt on again and used my bra straps to help know where to sew the straps. You can put a pin in each spot, or whatever is easy for you.

I then sewed the straps on. Voila! I was done! Here is the result below:

Apple Orchard

2010-10-09T19:44:00.001-07:00

I have been really excited to write this post, because this was one of my favorite things we have done in Minnesota this fall!

There are several apple orchards within a one-hour radius, but we decided to go to this one because: one, it was free; and two, it was during an Apple Festival, so there were several more free activities. It was about a 45 minute drive. The temperature today was about 85 degrees (not common for this time of year here).

First, we paid $8 to fill a 5 lb. bag of apples that we got to pick ourselves. A little pricey, but comparable to the store prices anyway. (Of course to Trevor, that meant "how many apples can I fit in this plastic bag without getting a hole in it or being too obvious?")

There were 4 varieties to choose from:

We mostly picked the Honeygolds, because they were the sweetest. We also got one of each of the other three, however, so we could try them. They looked delicious!

After filling our bag, we treated ourselves to an apple brat. It was pretty good.

Educational Hay Ride

View of the Orchards

Me picking a Honeygold

Our Little Family

Trevor & Clayton picking apples

Clayton "picking" apples

We also tried fresh apple cider.

Photo Opp (Christmas card photo?)

It was a lot of fun, and I must say the apples were delicious! Organic and hand-picked within days of eating them really is better! :)

Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden & Bird Sanctuary

2010-10-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

Last week we went on another outing: this time to the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden & Bird Sanctuary. The St. Paul Library system has a free museum adventure pass that you can check out and use to see different museums and other places of interest around the city. Since the weather hsan't gotten colder yet, I thought an outdoor place might be interesting.

Again, I went with my friend Heidi and her daughter Abigail. Well, it actually turned out to be free anyways. And we felt like we were off-roading with our strollers most of the way. There were a lot of hills! It was a nice 2 hr. visit, but we had to keep it short because there was a parking meter, and we each had enough quarters to stay only 2 hours.

We also ventured around a nearby lake for a little while.

Como Zoo

2010-10-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

The weather is still nice here, so we have been going on little day trips around the city. One of our favorite places to visit is Como Zoo. It is only a mile or two down the road, and is absolutely FREE! (But they do like a donation.)

We went there with our friend Heidi & her daughter Abigail a couple of weeks ago.

Japanese Garden

Us w/ Heidi & Abigail

Orangutans

Zebra

Us in front of the zoo

Domestic Doodles

2010-10-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

I started my own etsy shop this week. I am trying to use my newly found time wisely and figured I could help our family finances as well! :) My shop has only a few items right now, but I am working on a few more things to add.

If you want to see what is in my shop, check it out here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/domesticdoodles

If they don't sell, they will make great baby gifts for all of my friends/family that are expecting! ;)

More Pics

2010-10-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

Clayton sitting up in his Bumbo seat.

Is it bad to think your child's frown is adorable?

Trevor saw these pics and asked why I haven't posted them yet. SO here are some more pictures of our beautiful baby Clayton. :)

Clayton Update: Month 3

2010-09-28T07:04:00.001-07:00

Clayton turned 3 months old last week. I can hardly believe how much he is changing! Everyday he is a little different than the day before. Some things we are noticing are:

1. He is becoming much more aware of the world around him. He is much more alert, and loves to have things to look at. One of his favorite things to do is go outside. Yesterday I took him on a walk around the soccer field in our backyard and he started laughing and making sweet baby sounds at the sights around him. I keep trying to draw his attention to the squirrels that are everywhere, but he hasn't seemed to notice them yet.

2. He is talking a lot more. He seems to be experimenting with new sounds each day. He will sit in our lap or lay on the floor and just talk away. We love when he is in these moods. He also had what I would consider his first real laugh last week. It was while he was sleeping, so he must have been having some really good dreams.

3. He smiles all of the time, although it is hard to catch it on camera. He loves to stick his little tongue out, also, which reminds me of my baby pictures.

4. He watched Baby Einstein for the first time last week and LOVED it! He will pay attention for almost the whole 1/2 hour and will giggle and chat at the tv screen.

5. He enjoys tummy time and is able to hold his head up for longer periods of time each day. Yesterday he also rotated his body 90 degrees with his tummy for an axis and pushing with his legs.

We love him so much & are treasuring each moment. :)

MHA Fishing Trip

2010-09-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about being out here is all of the wonderful people in Trevor's MHA program. Of the 39 or so students, 11 are Mormons and are mostly from Utah and Idaho. Everyone is really nice and high caliber people.

Last weekend, we went a couple hours north to Merrifield, Minnesota, where we participated in the annual "Fishing Trip". I call it that with quotations because no one really fishes. Except for one professor. This year, the weather was really cold and rainy, so I don't think any big fish were even caught. We had a great time! They assigned us to a cabin with 3 other MHA families. We had a tiny room, but it was big enough for a bed and a small crib that we borrowed from the office. There were 2 pregnant women, 1 toddler, and an 8 month old in the same cabin with us.

Friday night we were supposed to have a campfire with smores, but the weather was too bad, so we all kind of hung out inside ande played games, talked, etc. The guys all went to a local bar to hang out. The LDS guys all drank water and watched the other students drink. They went to get cheese curds, but the restaurant portion was closed, unfortunately.

Saturday the weather cleared up a little. Trevor and I took out a paddle boat on the lake. We also played some volleyball and several people played ladder ball & horseshoes. BYU was playing football that day, as well as U of M. We watched parts of both games. Unfortunately, both teams lost.

When we left that night, it was actually clearing up pretty nicely. Oh, well. It was still a lot of fun!

Our cabin

Lately

2010-09-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

I feel so blessed! :) Tonight we went to Stake Conference and I felt really uplifted as I listened to the speakers. I made a list of goals and things I want to improve in myself. (Purer heart, reading my patriarchal blessing, etc.) I got to meet the visiting general authority, Elder Gerrit Gong. It was wonderful being able to shake his hand and feeling grateful for him coming and his message.

He talked a lot about the new pilot program going on on mormon.org. The Church is encouraging members to go on and make a profile that includes their testimony, and why they are a Mormon. I feel strengthened in my resolve to go online and create a profile for my family. There are also several commercials in this area called "And I'm a Mormon". They feature ordinary members of the church who are ordinary people sharing aspects of their lives such as being an artist or a love of motorcycles. They then end with "...and I'm a Mormon". It is to show that Mormons are just regular people and to help dispel some of the myths. :)

Here's a couple of examples:

They are awesome! I love them. :)

Farmers Market

2010-09-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about Minnesota are the abundant Farmer's Markets!
I went to the local one and here are some pictures from it:

Our State Fair is the Best State Fair

2010-09-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

fried snickers... on a stick of course

cheese curds
world's largest green bean?, and other prized veggies
giant pumpkins cute family and a busy fair street

butter sculpture of a beauty queen
rodeo

cow barn

One of the biggest events in the state right now is the State Fair. And it happens to be a few blocks from where we live. This means the road we use to get to and from our apt. is full of traffic. It is hard to get anywhere without taking a detour. It also means that everynight we hear pieces if the concert that is going on that night (such as KISS or Tim McGraw or Carrie Underwood). Then between 10 & 11 PM we get a fireworks show right from our bedroom window. That is how we know it is time to go to bed. :)

We decided to go to the fair last Saturday. (Busiest day of the fair, too.) It was hot and smelly, but we had a lot of fun.

1. We went to the Swine Barn & saw the state's largest hog.

2. We saw a bunch of other animals, such as horses and sheep.

3. We visited the Horticulture Barn & bought some frozen apple cider from Minnesotan apples.

4. We ate fried cheese curds. (YUMM!) Boy, were they good! :)

5. We walked around to different booths.

6. We split a fried Snickers bar. Wow. It was okay. Not as good as we were hoping.

7. We observed all of the other fried foods on a stick: spaghetti & meatballs, pickles, ravioli, 18-inch corndogs, & pretty much anything yo could think of! Some call the state fair a "Banquet on a Stick".

8. We went home & had potluck with the missionaries & some friends.

9. We went back & observed all of the rides at night. We didn't ride any of them.

10. Saw part of the free concert at the bandshell: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

11. Bought day old cupcakes at 3/$1 to take home.

at concert
Goldie the Gopher openly welcomes all to the fair
cute baby scary gopher

Let's give them something to blog about! (Part 2)

2010-09-02T19:21:00.001-07:00

MOVING

The night before we moved out of our apt. we had one last hurrah with our favorite couple to hang out with: the Blanches. We hung out with them all year, and she had her son McKay a month and a half before I had Clayton. We got dessert at Mimi's Cafe to celebrate my upcoming birthday.

We had a lot of people come and help us pack up the moving truck before we left. We were really appreciative. We stayed in a hotel that night in Provo & left the following morning. Trevor drove the 17' Uhaul with the Beetle in-tow. Sterling & I took turns driving Trev's car and tending to Clayton (who slept almost the whole way!).

We crossed Wyoming and part of Nebraska the first day. The next day we crossed the remainder of Nebraska into Iowa and then went north from Des Moines to Minneapolis/St. Paul.

We saw 5 state capitols on the trip: SLC, UT; Cheyenne, WY; Lincoln, NE; Des Moines, IO; & Minneapolis, MN.

I was amazed at how BEAUTIFUL this state is! It is really green and the skies are big and blue. Driving into the city at night was also a dazzling sight. The buildings were all lit up and had a goldish glow. I am suprised more people don't come here--it is really pretty.

OUR HOUSING

We live in a small 2-bedroom apt., but it is nice enough. No a/c, no dishwasher, but our backyard door opens onto a large common area with a soccer field. There are clothes lines out there, too, and everyone gets their own 4' x 6' square of grass. We laugh because it is a "spacious backyard" that they promised us (ha).

It was built in the 1970's and is a split-level style. At least we don't have anyone above or below us. There are lots of squirrels and rabbits on the property so you can't plant vegetables in the front yard, but you can plant flowers. There are wall-length heaters in every room, which are supposed to work very well. (phew)

We have neighbors from several different countries.

We are in a great location. 15 minutes from the airport, 15-20 minutes from Mall of America & IKEA, very close to campus, etc. Everything we need is closeby.

MY 30TH BIRTHDAY

The Monday after we arrived, I turned 30! I don't really feel old. I am thinking 30 is the new 20. To celebrate, Trevor & I went to the Mall of America (biggest mall in the world). It is HUGE! 4 stories high, with 2 parking garages! We did some of my favorite things inside:

Split a Cinnabon

Got steamers at Starbucks (hot milk with flavored syrup)

Shopped at several stores such as H & M (I bought 1 sweater)

Walked around for at least 4 hours.

We were so tired.

Then we went to IKEA & bought a floor lamp since our living room has no lighting.

We then went out to eat at Boca Chicca's, a Mexican restaurant some friends recommended to us. It was DELICIOUS! I also got some free bday ice cream w/mango sauce. (& got to wear the bday sombrero)

Let's give them something to blog about! (Part 1)

2010-08-31T08:07:00.000-07:00

We have been in Minnesota for over a week now, and it has been quite eventful!

Isn't it ironic how when you have so much to blog about, you have so little time to do it?

The weeks leading up to moving were also eventful. Trevor graduated from B Y U, and his parents and brother Sterling came up the week of to celebrate. His sister Carly, her husband Josh, and their 3 kids were also in town. We got together several times during the week. My cousin Brock also hung out with us for a few days during this time. He was super helpful!

Some of the fun things we did included:

PIRATE ISLAND

We played arcade games and dined on the Kracken (a gigantic pizza).

TEPANYAKI

Trevor got to choose where he wanted to go for his graduation dinner, and chose to go here. It is like Benihana's. They cook your food in front of you and it is quite a show. Our cook was seriously amazing.

SUNDANCE

We rode the chairlift at Sundance. The view was breathtaking.

In front were Chris, Blaine & Beckah.

Behind them were Trevor, Brock, Clayton & I

In back were Kim, Sterling & "Cougar" (Joseph).

We had a lot of fun.

Afterwards we ate at Mi Ranchitos
& then went to the Water Park in American Fork to cool off.

GRADUATION

Trevor graduated from the B Y U Marriott School of Business with an emphasis in Marketing. I was so proud of him! It was held in the Marriott Center and was a record-breaking 1 hour long! Probably because it was an August graduation, but we were still amazed!

Clayton wore a cap & gown also to commemorate Trevor's graduation.

The joy was short-lived because Trevor knew he'd be starting grad. school in a few weeks.

Clayton: 1 month old pics

2010-08-09T12:36:00.000-07:00

He always has his little hand up by his mouth

Cute little rear shot--gotta love it!

I love his precious feet

"Hi, world! I am glad to be here!"

I hope someday he doesn't ask me why I let him have his picture taken in a bowl

A good friend of ours, Heidi Haws Payne, is a photographer and offered to take some pictures of our little Clayton for birth announcements. They were taken on July 20, 2010, which happened to be his one-month birthday. :) We really appreciated her doing this for us.

Here are some more of our favorites:

Going Private

2010-08-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog Readers,

After giving it a lot of thought, we have decided to make our blog private. This means that only those who are registered with their email address with us will be able to view our blog. We will be changing it in about a month. If you are interested in continuing to read our blog, please send me your email address.

We believe we will be able to share more with you and not be worried about posting some things.

Sincerely,

Heather

Recent Projects

2010-08-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

These are some sewing projects I started before Clayton was born, but just finished recently.

The first is a carrier tent. I got the pattern at a local fabric store and sewed it (thankfully) before Clayton was born, except for the straps. My mom finished those for me while she was here right after he was born. I have been extremely grateful for the carrier tent because it shields him from the sun, and makes me feel a little less paranoid when I take him in public places (like the movie theater, grocery store, etc.)

The flip side is polka-dotted. This is what he sees from inside his carseat.

Handles with buttons

Full view

It was so easy to make and was such a success, that I am considering selling them if we need extra income while we are in Minnesota this year. I have friends who sell on Etsy and am thinking maybe they can give me some tips. :)

The second is a baby blanket. The pattern is called "30 Minute Baby Blanket", but it took me a little bit longer. While the front was fairly easy to sew together, I struggled with sewing the back to it and deciding whether or not to put batting in between. A friend suggested using "Warm and Natural" batting, and I am so glad I used it! It is really thin, so you can sew it onto the sides with just a sewing machine. No need to tie the quilt afterward. Anyways, this is a pic of the quilt before it had the batting in it. I love it! I am even thinking I will sew a baby blanket for each kid now!

Front of the blanket

The back of the blanket can be seen here

The last project I am working on now is painting letter blocks for Clayton's future nursery. (Right now we live in a one-bedroom place so he sleeps in our room.) There are 13 blocks, so I am thinking of painting them an alternating green and cream, and then putting brown vinyl lettering that says "C L A Y T O N * A S H E R". I just need to find a good vinyl company.

We Are Family

2010-08-02T22:48:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn and Baby Clayton

Joren and Baby Clayton

We have had a very busy past couple of days. We had family come in town from London: Chris, Alisha, Brooklyn and Joren. They spent a few days in St. George and then drove up here with my mom on Saturday.

Saturday evening before dark we wandered around BYU campus. Chris had never been there before (Texas A&M grad), so we showed him some of the sites. First, we took the kids to the duck pond south of campus. When we got there, we discovered that there were hardly any ducks in the pond! There were only a few swimming around and a handful of ducklings. They didn't seem interested in the bread we were throwing them either.

When we looked to the left, however, we discovered that they were all playing in the sprinklers! Brooklyn and Joren hurried over and started to feed the ducks over there. Those ducks were way more interested in the bread crumbs. Apparently, they weren't just playing in the sprinklers. They may have been looking for worms surfacing in the water.

Chris, Brooklyn, Joren & Trevor

After that, we walked up the many steps (what a workout!) to the top of the hill to explore the campus. We took them to they Eyring Science center where we played with several of the different experiments they have. Then we went to the library, MOA statue garden, etc. It was a beautiful day and the kids even rolled down the hill for a couple of students studying in periodicals to see. Trevor and Chris saw some other buildings, too, while we were relaxing. BYU is such a great place! I am grateful for my memories there.

Brooklyn rolling down the hill

After our long tour, we went home and ate Cajun Chicken Pasta. It is a favorite recipe of ours, after we were introduced to it by my brother Matt. I also baked individual Chocolate Melting Cakes (yumm...but deadly). It was nice to eat together.

Sunday we woke up and attended church at our old ward. Then we drove to Salt Lake City. We had lunch at a park called the Brigham Young Historical Park. It was a hot day so thank goodness for the shade! Then we went to see Temple Square and the Conference Center. We enjoyed taking a tour of the Conference Center. It was Chris' first time.

When we drove home, we had taco soup and corn on the cob before going to bed.

Uncle Chris & Clayton

Monday, Trevor had school and Chris decided to work, so the girls planned on going to Park City with the kids. However, the van had car trouble so we ended up getting it fixed and going to the mall here. It was nice. Then we all met up and went to Michelle & Diego's for a BBQ. We ate in their club house and some of us went swimming. We also played Bocci ball, one of our favorite games. It was really nice to be with family. It was a little bittersweet, too, because we knew it was the last time we would be seeing almost everybody before our move. We are going to miss being close to family.

Michelle & I at the pool

Mom & "Great Aunt" Patty with Clayton

Aura Maria & her husband Eric with Sadie and Brooklyn

Quaid (soon to be Elder Arbon) & Baby Clayton

Harvest #2

2010-07-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

I went for my second time to Bountiful Baskets today. The baskets change each week, so this time mine was a little different. I received:

4 large tomatoes
2 heads Romaine lettuce
2 heads of brocolli
6 ears of sweet corn
2 cucumbers
several green peppers
3 mangoes
1 bag of gala apples
6 peaches
8+ plums
2 plantaines
1 bag of purple grapes

Again, for $15, this is quite a deal! I am excited for everything, but not quite sure what to do with the green peppers. Omeletes? If you have any ideas, send them my way! :)

Obsession

2010-07-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

Trev & I have a new obsession. Our friends got us hooked. It is a tv show called Psych. It is absolutely HILARIOUS. We have watched each episode of the first 4 seasons but 7. (It is in its fifth season.) There is a pineapple in every episode. You have to watch carefully to find it. The relationship between Sean & Gus is so funny!

Bountiful Baskets

2010-07-17T15:34:00.001-07:00

Today I went to pick up my first contribution at Bountiful Baskets in Provo. It was amazing! For $15, I received:

1 canteloupe

2 mangos

1 bag of seedless green grapes

1 carton of cherry tomatoes

1 head of Romaine lettuce

2 butternut squashes

1 head of cauliflower

11 plums

15 peaches

1 5 lb. bag of potatoes

2 bunches of bananas

5 limes

1 bunch of white asparagus

What I am really impressed with is how fresh the produce is! It is better than the grocery store. They try to get local produce, but also get some from other places. It is all wholesale.

They also sell breads like 9 grain and sourdough, but I didn't get them this time. Next time for sure.

They are located in Idaho, Arizona, Texas, Washington, Utah, Nevada, and Wyoming. If only they were also in Minnesota!

I think I will have to get them every other week!

http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

Happiness

2010-07-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

"Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God."

-Joseph Smith (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Five, 1842-1843, p. 255)

Fourth of July Weekend

2010-07-09T02:29:00.000-07:00

We went to St. George for the 4th of July weekend. We went for Clayton's baby blessing in our parents' home ward (our parents are in the same ward). It was really special because both grandfathers were able to participate, as well as all of Trevor's brothers.

Here is Mark with his daughter Madison.

His great-grandma "GG" also got to come. Here she is holding him in his blessing outfit.

Uncle Spencer & Aunt Katie & cousin Madison again.

Uncle Sterling.

Papanwa (Grandpa Clayton) & Uncle Chad. It was so nice to finally meet them!

Since the fourth of July was on a Sunday, we kind of celebrated the day before. We had a barbecue at the pool. Clayton & I couldn't swim, but we liked being outside.

Afterward, we drove up on the hill by the airport and watched the fireworks. They were amazing! You could see them coming from two different locations. I am so grateful for a wonderful country! We are so blessed to be in a land of freedom. I love America!!

We were so grateful for the opportunity to see family. Thanks, everyone, for making it a wonderful weekend! We love you!

How to Be a Hero During Delivery

2010-06-30T10:23:00.004-07:00

I found this in one of the many free sample packages we have been receiving from the hospital and in the mail lately. This one is from Similac formula:

How to Be a Hero During Delivery
Having a baby is a memory that you'll both share for the rest of your lives. Here's how to make sure she doesn't remember it for the wrong reasons.

No wincing.
She feels vulnerable enough during delivery and doesn't need you reacting like you're watching a horror movie. Remember, it's a beautiful miracle.

It's not a roast.
If she's feeling awkward, she might poke fun at herself. Don't take this as an opportunity to craft your own zingers. Tell her she looks beautiful. And stick to it.

Never say, "It's not that bad."
Some "clever" dads think that understating her discomfort will lessen the pain of delivery. Ditch the Psych 101 tactics. She needs empathy, not therapy.

Swallow your pride.
She might yell at you. She might insult you. Hey, she's scared. She's in pain. And she trusts you enough to vent. So take it like a man, big guy.

Careful with the camera.
If you want to document the delivery, great. But leave the commentary and creative camera angles to Spielberg. You're making a baby movie, not an action movie.

Happy 1 Year Anniversary!

2010-06-28T02:29:00.000-07:00

Little did we dream a year ago that we would have a little bundle of joy to celebrate our one year anniversary with.

We had a wonderful day. We were really sad to see my mom go. She has been such a wonderful help and so much fun.

We had our favorite puffed apple pancakes for breakfast. (Thanks, Linds, for the recipe!) Trevor gave me my favorite movie for my anniversary gift: Pride and Prejudice (the A & E version).

He also brought me Yozone, my favorite frozen yogurt with my favorite flavors: pineapple and coconut.

We got the top layer of our wedding cake out of the freezer and ate it for dessert. It was so fun! The top layer was actually really good. It was almond poppyseed with a buttercream frosting. The outside frosting had a bit of freezer burn, but the inside frosting and the cake were wonderful. So, we believe that not all wedding cakes taste bad after a year. :)

Happy Anniversary, dear!

Bililight Blues

2010-06-25T05:12:00.001-07:00

I guess our little guy needed more time in the oven...

He came home from the hospital with a little bit of jaundice. :( We had homecare come and bring a little suitcase for him to lay in with bililights. It's hard because we can only take him out to feed him, change him, and comfort him.

Maybe he will have a great tan.

Welcome, Baby Coons!

2010-06-24T04:09:00.000-07:00

We had the surprise of our lives on Sunday morning, Father's Day, when I woke up with contractions. I woke up about 1 am feeling sick, but not thinking they were labor pains. About 1:30 I woke up Trevor and told him I wasn't feeling well, but that I didn't think I was in labor. When I explained that I had been having "cramps" that came and went and had just had 3 in 20 minutes, he suggested we go to the hospital. At first, I didn't want to go because I didn't want to be one of those girls who goes to the hospital and is then sent home.

After another wave of cramping, however, I decided we should go and see. We texted our parents in St. George and told them to be on standy-by and we would keep them posted.

We drove to the hospital and they put me in a wheelchair. Trevor wheeled me up to the Labor & Delivery floor and I told the nurse I wasn't sure if I was in labor or not. She said they would check me and see. I went into one of the rooms and they told me I was at a "3+". I wasn't surprised, because I had been at a 3 at our Dr. appt. on Monday. But within half an hour I was at a "7+". And I was in major pain. (I have new respect for moms who do it all natural.) My contractions were like every 3 minutes and would last a long time. They called the anesthesiologist who gave me an epidural. (Wow! I love those!) The pain went away and within another half hour or so I was at a 10.

The nurses and Dr. told me I can never live more than 10 minutes away from a hospital!

I had to push for a little over 2 hours. They realized he was posterior, or he was facing up, so the Dr. had to turn him over. Finally, with a little vacuum/suction cup tool, he was out at exactly 7:00 am. 6 hours of labor and he was here!

I was not surprised to discover that he was 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. The Dr. said that if he had gone full term, he probably would have weighed around 9 1/2 or 10 lbs. That is what happens when your husband's family has 11 lb. 3 oz. babies! :)

Our moms carpooled up from St. George, and arrived at 7:20 am. They had been texting us the whole way with messages like "We are in Fillmore! We're in Nephi!Hold on!!" They got there at 7:20 am, just 20 minutes too late. They were there for the best part, however. He was all clean, and resting on my chest.

Grandma Clayton aka "Memaw"

Grandma Coons

Trevor says he was the best Father's Day gift ever!!

Father & Son

We brought him home from the hospital on Tuesday, and have so loved having him home. My mom has been here all week, and that has been wonderful. It is such a blessing to have her here. We are actually getting some sleep at night, as she keeps him out in the living room with her. We are also getting some great meals! :)
Thanks, Mom!

We love our little Clayton, and are so glad to have him here with us!

New Laptop!

2010-06-07T13:05:00.001-07:00

Trevor and I went to St. George this last weekend and enjoyed it so, so much! We loved being able to see our families. :) We even enjoyed the 100+ degree weather. (kind of)
While we were there, Spencer & Katie went with us to Best Buy where we were bought...two laptops!! WOW! While exceptionally expensive, I had to remind myself that we need them. Trevor for grad school and me for not going crazy at home. :) After having a Mac for the last 6 years, it is kind of wierd to have a PC (an Asus, which I hear are supposed to be really good. But I am having fun getting acquainted.

We drove down Thursday night and spent the night in the casita at the Coons' house. Then we went to the Clayton's house on Friday and ate yummy grilled cheese sandwiches and berry salad, played Farkle and Mexican train with my mom, Chad, & GG. We also rented Leap Year and ate pizza. It was really wonderful.

Saturday we went to an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant (unfortunately, no sushi for me) with the Kim, Chris, Spencer, Katie & Sterling. Then we shopped at Costco and Best Buy before going swimming at their neighborhood pool. WOW! Was that ever refreshing! :) I swam in Trevor's dad's work out shorts and shirt, but it was perfect. My belly bump looked quite fashionable poking over the top of the pool floatie I floated on. It felt so good, I want to go swimming everyday! If only we had a pool...

Sunday we went to church, and then our two families ate together at the Coons' house a delicious steak dinner. Yumm. It is always so nice to have our families together.

I am 35 weeks along now, and will have to post pics soon! I can't believe I have 5 more weeks to go, but at least it is coming up quickly. The weeks continue to fly by.
Now that it is summer, I have a lot of time on my hands. I am sure I will spend a lot of it reading.

I have continued in my reading goal:

April--Percy Jackson 2
The Help (A New York Times Bestseller, and really good)
Ender's Game

May--Percy Jackson 3
Percy Jackson 4
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire (the second Hunger Games)

I am sure I will be updating a lot more for the summer! Stay tuned!

Baby Shower & End of the Year

2010-05-29T19:07:00.001-07:00

Phew! The last day of school was Friday. It was a whirlwind week of field trip, kickball, 6th grade graduation, cleaning, field day, assemblies, class party, etc. This year went by really fast.

I had to turn in my computer, so I am feeling really strange. I am using Trevor's computer right now, but hopefully we will get another one sometime soon. :) What am I going to do while he is at school?

I need to be moved out of my classroom by the 8th, so I am busy going through everything and trying to consolidate my teaching stuff. It is a big job after teaching for 6 years! But it feels good to be cleansing all of my stuff. Then it will be in storage until we move in August. No room in our apt.

The girls in my ward threw a baby shower for me today and I had a couple of teacher friends come along with three of my (former) students and their moms. It was really
nice. We appreciate the kindness of so many as our special day approaches.
Hard to believe it is only a little over 6 weeks away!

We have been taking prenatal classes for the past few weeks and I had to watch "The Miracle of Life". Not my favorite, but educational nonetheless.

The last dr's visit went well. He continues to tell us I am doing fine. I don't come in again until 36 weeks. One thing, however, I have gained 30 lbs and he told me I need to be eating more fruits and vegetables, and less carbohydrates and sugars and fats. Basically, I need to be more careful.

Trevor went to LA a couple of weekends ago because his Dad's mom passed away. He got to go to Disneyland with his family the day before the funeral, and I am a little bit jealous. :P Although, I wouldn't have been able to ride the rides anyways.

We watched Chad play in the Highschool Rugby Nationals last weekend. His team placed 6th overall, but we are proud of them. We also got to watch Highland play United for their under 19 teams. That was pretty amazing--and United won.

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first "Mother-to-Be Day". I don't feel like I can fully call myself a mother just yet. :P

We celebrated with a buttermilk pancake breakfast (my Grandpa Porter's famous recipe--they are the BEST!!) and sliced strawberries and bananas. Trevor gave me a "mother-to-be day" gift: a gift certificate to Jamba Juice. Does he know me well, or what? It should last me about 8-10 trips. :P That way when I get these crazy cravings for fruit/juice/etc., I can go there!

In our ward, they had each of the girls come up in alphabetical order (like a graduation) and gave us each an envelope with a message from the bishopric and a little booklet inside about women. It was really sweet. :)

For dinner, we had my cousin Michelle, her husband Diego, and some of his family members over for dinner. It was simple--potato cheese soup, salad, cornbread, and fruit slush for dessert. It is nice to have family so close...it won't be for long!

Three more weeks of teaching school...wow. I am trying to decide what to do with all of my stuff. Sell it? Give it away?

This week we also start our prenatal classes. I am SO excited for that! I have been looking forward to it for awhile.
Baby is still doing good. We are trying to decide between names...tell us what you think.

Clayton Asher Coons OR
Clayton Porter Coons OR
Clayton Christopher Coons

Or maybe something different altogether.

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

Minnesota or Bust!

2010-05-02T05:02:00.001-07:00

Trevor went out last weekend to be interviewed by the University of Minnesota. We have kind of been putting all of our eggs in one basket, as that is the only school he applied to.

We weren't expecting to find out for a week and a half or two, but last Wednesday received an email telling us that he had gotten in! We are so excited! So, it looks like we will be moving to Minnesota near the end of August, after Trevor graduates.

I have lived in Provo for so long now, that I am a little nervous about moving. I know it sounds silly, but I have become so familiar with everything here.

I looked up some facts about St. Paul, however, and they are:
1. "The most livable city in America"
2. There are tons of running trails and bike trails (which become cross-country skiing trails in the Winter)
3. Downtown there are covered walkways that connect the buildings, because it gets so cold.
4. The biggest mall in the world is there, the Mall of America.
5. There are several sports teams there, including the Minnesota Twins (baseball), Vikings(football), Timberwolves (basketball), and Wild(hockey).

If you know anything about Minnesota, let us know! We are anxious to hear more about it!

70% Update

2010-04-24T18:05:00.000-07:00

I have had some requests to put some updated pics on. This one is kind of lame, but it was the best I could do with my photobooth on the computer, and the lighting. I will have Trevor take some other pics of me when he gets home.

This week:
glucose testing...check
rohgam shot...check
regular appointment...check, and I am still measuring right on schedule. 28 centimeters. The nurse practitioner also told me that the baby's heart rate has changed to 130 beats a minute. Still pretty fast.

It has been a little lonely with Trev gone, but I was able to spend time with his family today in honor of his brother's graduation from BYU. That was really nice. :) Nothing like a Spring BBQ! Tonight: scrapbook while watching a movie, preferably a Pride and Prejudice type.

April: Time of Change

2010-04-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

This month has been a month of change: some good, some sad.

Good Change:
-I had Spring Break the week before last. I enjoyed being in St. George with my family. :) I got to see the group Kansas perform. (Carry on My Wayward Son, Dust in the Wind.) They were awesome! My dad got Trevor & I, as well as my brother and his date, free tickets. I also got to go out to lunch with my mom & dad, attend my little bro's Sterling Scholar banquet, and just be at home with family. (Not to mention get a pedi and have a "girl's day out" with my sis-in-law Katie). It was wonderful. :)

Sad Change:
-Easter we spent with Trevor's family. It was a bittersweet day, because both my aunt Jill and Trevor's grandfather passed away. I was so thankful for the messages at Conference. There seemed to us to be a lot on death and the Resurrection. The timing coincided in a way that left us feeling reminded of the Atonement and of our Savior. I attended my aunt's funeral on Friday, and enjoyed seeing extended family. It was great to see cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. I love them all dearly! Saturday I went to Trevor's Grandpa Young's funeral in northern Utah. It was also nice to be with all of Trevor's relatives. I got to meet some that I hadn't met yet! It was a hard day, but ended nicely. They gave him a military salute, which reminded me of my own grandpa.

I am down to 6 weeks of teaching school. It is crazy to think that it is almost over.

We are also in a new ward. Our stake created 2 new wards, and we are in the BYU 247th ward now. We meet at 2:30. Crazy.

Monday I have my glucose testing done (I hear the drinks are horrid), and also get my Rohgam shot. (I have B negative blood, while Trevor has Rh postive). It will make 28 weeks of being pregnant!

I am fitting in less and less of my clothes. I bought some maternity shirts and capri's today. Still haven't bought a maternity swimsuit. It is also getting harder to get out of bed. :P

Trev is in the middle of finals, and leaves on Thursday for Minnesota for his interview. We are so excited and are really hoping that he gets accepted! :) If he gets into the University of Minnesota, he will be in the 2nd school in the nation for his MHA program. I believe our mascot will be the gophers. It will also be ReAlLy cold in the winter, but the other seasons are supposed to be really nice. We will have 22 bodies of water in our city, so be sure to come out and visit us to go kayaking, canoeing, etc. :)

There is so much we don't know about our future, but we trust that everything will work out in the Lord's timing and according to His will. We love all of you & hope you are enjoying the warm Spring days as we are.

Happy Spring!

3 am...4am...

2010-03-27T03:13:00.000-07:00

It is one of those mornings where I woke up at 3 am and lay in bed until 4 am trying to fall back asleep. Now I am eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch (my fav!) & checking the computer hoping to fall back asleep in the next hour or two. :P Too bad I finished my book yesterday! My goal this year has been to read a book each month. So far, I have read:

January--Uncle Tom's Cabin

February--Wringer (a Newbery Honor Book)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society(SO good!)

March--Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (much better than the movie)

I am thinking that this waking up in the middle of the night is training me for what is to come. :)

I went to the Dr. this week and he said I am measuring 24 cm, which is where I should be.

I also hosted a Baby Shower for a friend of mine, and that was really fun. :) We played "Guess that Baby Food" and "Baby Pictionary". That was the first time I had more than 10 people over, and it was really fun. I think everyone had a good time. :)

I have been really sad lately for my Aunt Jill. She is suffering from cancer right now, and is in her final days. I have cried about it a lot and feel like I am constantly thinking about her. She is an amazing person. She has had a lot of faith through this and even taught first grade during it up until about a month ago. She is a rock. We are keeping her in our prayers, and are going to really miss her. My heart goes out to her children, my cousins Val, Jenny, Becky and Joel. I love all of you!

Heather

March Madness

2010-03-19T13:25:00.001-07:00

I feel like March has been a month of madness. We have been busy, busy, busy!

Some highlights have included:

-Trevor getting an interview with the University of Minnesota. This is our number 1 choice for Graduate School. It is the second-ranked school in the nation for a Masters in Health Administration.
We will find out soon which day in April he will be flying out there. We are still debating if I will go with him or not.
-I officially told my school that I would not be coming back next year. It is kind of a leap of faith for us, but I believe that being a mom is my number one priority right now and that things will work out. I had to let them know this week, and so I went ahead and made the jump!
-We have gotten to see a lot of family, which has been wonderful. We went to Kaysville the first weekend in March for my cousin Sadie's baptism. She looked so pretty and was really excited to be baptized. We are thankful we were able to be a part. We also enjoyed a yummy taco salad bar afterwards and time for me shopping with my mom, aunt Patty, and grandma. (While Trevor played with the boy cousins. :) What a trooper!)
-Trevor's parents came up last weekend and we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Tucano's Brazilian Grill (my favorite) and spent the night with them in American Fork. We enjoyed seeing all of the houses Trevor grew up in and going to Costco, etc. with his dad.
-I am still enjoying being pregnant. I feel like I am really popping out now! I also get kicks several times a day, which I find strangely comforting. I really enjoy it. I look forward to every Dr.'s apptmt. just to know that everything is going well.
-I am very busy with teaching school. We have had Parent Teacher conferences, and are getting ready for End of Year testing. I have loved my class this year. They are so great and have such good hearts. I am going to miss them next year! But I am excited to see where they will go.
-Next weekend we are doing our volunteering for Disney's Give a Day Get a Day. We are hoping to go in the late summer/early Fall after the baby is born.

We feel really blessed right now. Thank you for all of your friendship and support. We couldn't do it without you!

Sugar and Spice? Snails and Puppy Dog Tails?

2010-02-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

Well, the big day came and we had our ultrasound on Wednesday. We were so excited to see the first pictures of...
our new little BOY!!! :)

We were also delighted to see a few hints of his little personality. For one, he kept his little feet crossed at the ankles, so the nurse practitioner took a picture of his little feet for us. He also had his little hands up by his face above his head, so she kept trying to take a profile picture, but was unable. The nurse even tried to get him to move around a little, and he did, rolling onto his tummy, but he still kept his hands up by his face. We're wondering if he will be a little stubborn. :P

One of the best things, of course, was being able to make sure he is healthy. We checked out his heart, bladder, etc. and everything looked good. We also found out that he weighs 14 oz, potentially pushing his due date up a little bit. His new due date, according to the ultrasound, is July 4. Wouldn't that be fun? :)

Anyways, we are very grateful for our blessings. It is fun to start shopping for little boy things and to start thinking more about names. We are so grateful for everyone's support and the love we already feel for our baby boy.

Love,

Trevor and Heather

It's Here!

2010-02-20T08:06:00.001-08:00

The baby bump is officially here. I know because I can't fit in my regular pants anymore without unbuttoning the top button, and when people see me at work they say, "Yep, I guess it's true. You really are pregnant!" I am already getting occasional tummy rubs as well. :P

It is such a miracle to know that there is actually a baby growing inside of me. It has been becoming very real this last week as the symptoms have been changing a little bit. :)

For example:
1. Leg cramps in the middle of the night. I wake up with semi-Charlie's-horses and have to flex my feet and try not to cry out in pain and wake up Trevor.

2. I feel a definite weight in my abdomen. When I shift sleeping positions or try to bend over, there is a little bulge in the way. I feel a big weight shift when I switch from laying on my right side to my left and vice versa.

3. I am--and I didn't think this was possible--going to the bathroom even more than before. Once an hour seems about right.

4. One of the most exciting of all...I can feel little movements inside me now! :) It is the neatest feeling! I am still not always sre what is baby and what is not, but I can feel a lot more movement. It is more frequent and often towards my back. (Is that normal?)

5. My belly button is taking a slightly different shape. Our biggest fear is that my "inny" will become an "outty". Can that happen???

6. My fingernails are actually growing really nicely. They are long and strong, and I am loving it! :)

7. I am starting to waddle a little bit. I walk down the halls at school and wonder what people are thinking...

8. My students are now guessing much bigger sizes for the baby. (They get to guess every Monday how big the baby is...this week it was a mango.) Some are now saying things like, "Canteloupe!" "Watermelon!" They are so honest.

9. I am eating several snacks a day. I don't seem to have much capacity in my stomach at one time, but am able to eat several smaller snacks/meals.

10. Several parts of my body keep going numb or falling asleep after a period of time. If I am sitting or laying in a certain position, or doing anything out of the ordinary, some part of my body from a finger to my feet starts to tingle. I read that my heart is working 40-50% harder from here to the end of pregnancy and I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

Anyways, I am loving being prego! :) It is so much fun, and really exciting. I am attaching some pics, but keep in mind I took them in the morning (when I am the smallest) & I am wearing a slimming outfit. Not so little looking in jeans. :P

Penne with Brocolli Rabe and Ricotta

2010-02-09T18:46:00.001-08:00

Okay, once in awhile I like to post an amazing recipe that I have had success with. :)

Here is one: (from Fitness magazine under "Fat-Fighting Meals", to those who think it sounds a little too good!)

Ingredients:
1 bunch brocolli rabe**
12 oz. whole-wheat penne
1 T. olive oil
2 lean Italian turkey sausages, casings removed
1/2 med. red onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, sliced
small pinch crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1/4 c. part-skim ricotta
2 T. grated Parmesan

**I substituted spinach. (The produce department at Macey's didn't have brocolli rabe...all I got were puzzled looks. :P)

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the brocolli rabe; cook for 4 minutes. Transfer the brocolli rabe to a colander. When it's cool enough to handle, chop into bite-sized pieces.
2. Add the penne to the same pot of boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining the penne.
3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, crumbling the sausage with a wooden spoon, until browned, 8 minutes. Add the chopped brocolli rabe and saut'e until tender, about 2 more minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring until well combined, about 1 minute.
4. Adjust the heat to low and add the pasta to the skillet. Toss to combine the ingredients, adding a little of the reserved cooking water if the mixture seems dry. Stir in the ricotta and the Parmesan, take the pan off heat, and toss well. Serve immediately.

Nutrition facts per serving:
342 calories, 18 g. protein, 47 g. carbohydrates, 8 g. fat (1.8 saturated), 2 g. fiber

Bon appetit!