That's What She Said

5 months

2012-01-26T12:41:00.001-08:00

Baby Jack is done with his surgery, thank you for the prayers! He did really well, it was described as a miracle and he is now recovering. You can read all about it here. My sis-in-law is so good at expressing her feelings, sometimes when I read her words I feel so close to the situation. I'm grateful for her updates!

Our sweet baby turned 5 months a few days ago. What a month!

She found her love for books
We started skyping with Dad in the mornings.
This girl loves her own reflection. I have a pretty good idea who she inherited that from
Drinking out of a sippy cup. I gave her a little water with her first rice cereal. She hates bottles but sippy cups seem to be a fun way to spill water on yourself.
5 month picture, still has a love for her elephant!
First rice cereal. She was all over it! We couldn't feed her fast enough. Most of it came back up on her bib but trust me she definitely got some.
Family picture after first rice cereal. Do you ever think your house is clean until you post a picture of it on a blog? I just had that thought, ah well, the people who read this blog know how clean I am anyway. This is as good as it gets most days.

We also visited Dad at work this month. Her expression pretty much sums up how much fun she had on this lunch date. This face says, "I would have rather gone shopping at union square".

Prayers please

2012-01-19T17:07:00.000-08:00

My little nephew is having surgery. I haven't met him yet but I am completely obsessed with this little guy. He and Sum are exactly one month apart so when my Sister-in-law posts about how she feels about her baby it really hits home.

As a parent I can't imagine what it feels like to have this surgery coming but I know that I want to help, this is one way I feel like I can. Asking for prayers is just a little extra step that I hope will help.

I want him to be watched over and protected, I pray every night. In fact we pray multiple times a day. With Sum, as a couple, family prayer, individually...he is constantly on our minds.

My sis-in-law's blog is here and I especially like this post. She has such a great family, we love them and hope you'll remember baby J in your prayers too. The more prayers the better!

Toes!

2012-01-16T14:20:00.000-08:00

Someone found her toes and has been in love ever since. Ten little toes are just so interesting!
Another fun thing to do with toes is suck on them which this baby does every time she finds herself in a bath or a car seat.

Cute Summer Pics

2012-01-08T19:55:00.001-08:00

Josh's brother Jared took some pictures of Sum while we were home. It was fun to see her ham it up for the camera. Isn't her dress cute!

Her shocked look
She is the most beautiful baby I've ever laid eyes on!
I love her, don't you?

First Chirstmas

2012-01-08T19:22:00.000-08:00

We had a fun Christmas in WA with our families. This first photo is of Sum all bundled up for the cold weather that WA usually gets this time of year, but this year it wasn't too bad. Summer was grateful because she couldn't put her arms down in this coat.
Playing with grammy C
Sum LOVED grandpa C! She couldn't get enough of her grandparents on both sides, we are lucky that she can see both grandparents at the same time!
Uncle JL's beard was something we had to get use to but Sum came around after a while.
Sum with Auntie Carri, they are obviously both having the time of their lives.
I love the Christmas tree and a baby fresh from the tub. There's nothing better
Seeing High School friends was a fun part of the trip too. It's so crazy to have friends with kids the same age as yours! It was fun to see you Melanie, Keldon (not pictured) and Kody!
J got to see his High School friend too. We were so excited to see Dane and his beautiful family. We love you guys and I'm pretty sure Boston and Sum will get married one day. Congrats on getting your MBA Dane!!
For Christmas Sum got a pair of baby leg warmers which she loves. They have little skulls on them, our baby is hard rock!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa P for our many amazing Christmas gifts including a camera and Kitchen Aid! We love them so much! I have more pictures on Josh's phone of his family with Sum that I need to post, so another episode of First Christmas is coming your way soon.

Tri- Cities

2011-12-20T14:46:00.001-08:00

In no particular order, here are a few things I love about my hometown. Some things I especially love around the holidays.

First things first! I get my hurr did! This four inch grow out needs to go. Praise heaven for sisters who go to hair school!
My lil' sis is master of mixing some drinks. She's all about a red party cup to make family get togethers memorable:) best part is we can still drive home at night.

7-11. The beautiful Clearwater street has a 7-11 on it that has more slurpee choices than any other 7-11 in the country. A great reason to take a trip here. That and Clearwater has this weird feeling like you're suddenly back in 1996.
Burger Ranch's Candy Cane milkshakes. J's personal fav (thats why he's holding an extra large cup)! These milkshakes aren't for those with weak stomachs or those with a low tolerance for white trash. Enter this establishment at your own risk...shoes optional. Let's just say Brittany Spears would LOVE this place. I like their lime squeezes, french fries and fry sauce myself.
Oh, Christmas tree! I love being with my family at Christmas. Love my mom and dad.
Classic kids photo in front of the tree. Mom makes us take one every year. Look at those poses, Carri and I had obviously just watched 5 hours worth of Kardashian trash on tv. We should do a Christmas card like the Kardashian's next year! Remind me to do that!

my house= quiet lounging all day throughout the Christmas break. Mostly the animals lounge wherever the person who will pet them is. My mom usually has a line of animals by her, my dad usually doesn't:)Taking my dog Kit on walks is also something I like to do. It's always a walk full of surprises and fun like the one time when Kit pooped in someones yard right as that person was coming out of the house and I had no bag to pick it up! We started jogging immediately and I pretending like I didn't see the poop, problem solved.
Cable bridge is a beaut, a must see. Except when its icy then its a death trap for reals!
Areal view of that famous river...roll on Columbia roll on!
Farm land, there's quite a bit of that around these parts to.

Love this place and all its glory, Merry Christmas all!

1 year

2011-12-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

Exactly 1 year ago this morning at 4:45am my life changed forever. I had taken what seemed like hundreds of pregnancy tests over the last 3 years only to be let down. But on this day 2010 I saw a faint line that indicated a positive test.

I can't help but remember the incredible feeling I had each time I went into my room to sneak a glance at that test throughout the next several days (it's not that gross I swear!)
The picture above was taken around 12 weeks, I was so proud of my tiny bump.

I thank and have thanked the Lord everyday for the last 365 days for my Summer blessing. A year ago I was afraid to say the word pregnant out loud for fear it would disappear and be only a possibility again. Today I watch my angel as she attempts to roll over and I am thankful for amazing things that can happen in just 356 days!

The Lords timing is the best timing and I am grateful for the little lessons of hope, faith and patience he has gone through with me in order to teach me more about his wonderful plan of happiness.

Random Christmas Deco

2011-12-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

I'm always curious about how some of my friends decorate for Christmas. Here are a few things around my home. Picture frames full of old photos from Christmas past. My Grandpa on skies and the other photo is Josh's mom on Santa's lap. I love old photos, especially the one's that pertain to the Holidays.
Love my JOY sign. the mugs don't fit in the cupboard so they end up here. The movies in the background are tacky but I didn't think this choice of entertainment center through when I was 21 and more excited about getting married then picking this thing out. Ah well.
Gingerbread houses made at Thanksgiving with friends. Then I put all my Christmas S&P shakers around. I got two sets of snowmen. Kissing moose and kissing beagle dogs in sweaters. My husband hates it, I think it's adorable so I win.
More to come, if you hate it then just be glad you don't live here. Poor husband:)

What we're up to this week...

2011-12-05T12:13:00.001-08:00

We're learning to take a pacifier. She tries to suck on everything lately. She especially likes her hands so I thought I would stick a pacifier in and see what happens. She use to hate them but now she finds them tolerable.
Action shot: a combination of rolling and sucking on a bink.
Tummy time is always fun and we're holding our head up very well nowadays. As you can see she is still somewhat bald, she doesn't let that stop her from rocking a headband. Someone asked me if she was a boy or girl the other day. She was wearing a dress mind you and luckily the baby in my arms held me back from my first reaction to slap the woman. Thankfully I kept it classy by pointing out that strange as it may seem the baby who is wearing a dress in my arms was in fact a girl.

Last but not least, baby S is sleeping in her own room!! Since Friday December 2nd Sum has been taking her naps and sleeping in her very own room. Still in her pack n play but in another room. My room now feels emptier and less fun. I must admit I miss her sleeping next to my bed but I cannot lie at the fact that I sleep much better and less stressed. Ya for the progress of babies!
Now that I have bragged and gone on about this little milestone that has lasted just 3 days I must add that if motherhood has taught me anything it's that nothing lasts forever and she could be just waiting for the right moment to hate sleeping alone again. Cheers for 3 nights tho:)

Also notice in this last picture how sprawled out the babe is. She has never liked swaddling and in fact tries to stretch her arms out as far as they will go. You try to confine this baby's arms or legs and she will scream bloody murder so don't even think about it:)

3 months

2011-11-29T08:56:00.001-08:00

Baby S turned 3 months old on Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving was a fun time with our friends in the area, Sum got to spend time with her best friend who is one day older but I didn't get pictures of them together, mainly because I was eating and also because Sum was pinching her best friend on the cheek so we had to separate them:)
This girl is doing something new everyday. She is now rolling from side to side and will soon be rolling all the way over, I can't believe it! She is also putting things into her mouth, just about anything she can lift and pull over to her goes to her mouth and this is something she started doing just two weeks ago.
Sum also laughed for the first time this month, it was like angels singing I tell you!

She started going down for a morning nap in her own crib! It lasts just a little while but it counts and is so appreciated by me:) Other than her morning nap she hates the crib, weird I know. She especially hates her crib at night, but she is still a good sleeper whether it's with me or in her crib (by crib I mean pack n play in our bedroom, we haven't graduated to the crib yet.)
She still hates pacifiers and bottles.

We also went on our first trip this month, a three day, two night stay with Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Dave in Davis, CA. I love that town and Sum did really well but developed a habit of sleeping with mom.

We also realized this month that Sum will be a talker! She is constantly talking/cooing. sometimes she talks when she eats and causes herself to choke, we are working on being more polite and waiting until we're done eating to tell stories. When we sing to her she lengthens her voice so it sounds like she is trying to sing too, that or she is just trying to talk over our singing. I love that little voice, she talks so much that she even keeps talking as she is falling asleep. It is so cute to hear the little tired coos that come from her as her eyes get heavier and heavier!

And lastly, a few days ago our baby found her hands. She stops and looks at them constantly, it is quite funny to see her play and kick and then all of the sudden she gets very still and quite as she contemplates her little hands:)
We love this little chunk of a baby! Keeping learning and growing baby S.

Family photos

2011-11-18T11:05:00.000-08:00

It was beyond fun to take family Christmas photos the other day! I remember last year being depressed and saying to J that we weren't going to send out Christmas cards because I was sick of taking pictures of just us two.
I almost cried as J held our sweet baby and I stood beside them as we posed for a shot. She did so good during the pictures too. I can't express my gratitude enough for this little drop of heaven. Thanksgiving means more now, everyday I wake up means more now because of her.
I love this picture because of the ginkgo trees in the background. My mom has one in her yard at home and I miss it. I also love this picture because J and Sum have a special bond and I swear you can see it in this picture. She is so relaxed and happy and J is gritting his teeth as he squeezes Summer's cute little foot. We grit our teeth and squeeze baby feet a lot around here.
She just looks so big in this picture. She holds her head up like a pro lately. Thanks for being my daughter Sum, I can't thank this baby enough for picking me as her mother!

As the great band The Format once sang, "I love love, I love being in love!" It is so true.

So proud

2011-11-10T08:50:00.001-08:00

I never thought I could feel such pride and love for a my baby falling asleep but I do! She is doing things on her own and it is so impressive and sometimes hard to watch how fast she is growing!

Today she fell asleep on me, ON HER OWN! this is amazing because she usually wants to be fed as she falls asleep, and she won't let me put her down most of the time. Today she nursed for a little but seemed uninterested after a little while, so I took her off and just laid her on my lap while I watched a show on the computer. She basically went right to sleep! No rocking or swaying, no nursing. She just went to sleep! I was actually really sad at first because I like nursing her and holding her while she sleeps, most of the time.

I can't believe how much she is figuring out these days. She holds onto things and then puts them in her mouth, she laughs, she sleeps really well. I am so impressed with her patience with me, I mean maybe this is how she has been wanting to sleep the whole time but I just wasn't "listening" to her? It is so hard to try and figure out what babies want or need sometimes and I love how she still loves me even though I get it wrong most of the time.

I am beyond blown away by the fact that a 2 month old can have favorite toys and has a certain way she likes to be held! It is so fun to talk to her about heaven and what she remembers and then have her coo back like she knows exactly what I just said and is trying to answer it the best she can. I marvel at her strength (so does the Doctor:) I knew she would be amazing but I never imagined how amazing! I never speculated how much I would learn from her and love her at this tiny age. She is my everything and knowing that makes me want to be better.

I am so thankful for this opportunity to feel gratitude. Gratitude is something we all take for granted sometimes. Can you imagine what it would be like to not feel gratitude for certain things you have? Sometimes it's hard to feel grateful for what we have because it's always there so today I am here writing this while glancing at my sleeping angel feeling so thankful for what I have been given and I hope I never forget it! Who knew a sleeping baby would cause me to have so much enlightenment?

Half Moon Bay weekend!

2011-11-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun weekend! We decided to go to Half Moon Bay and walk on the trail next to the Ritz Carlton (click on it, seriously it is such a pretty place!)
It was our first adventure with Summer and it went really well. Sum loved the walk and she stayed warm from the cold ocean air thanks to a lot of blankets and a good nap:)
Josh found a horse and it let him feed it which was fun to watch. We day dreamed about how rich the people were who sat outside their rooms sipping on yummy looking drinks in pretty glasses.

It was fun, the best part was realizing that we can do fun things as a family. Last year we went on ocean walks just the two of us, now we have a sweet baby to share it with. Great weekend:)

Anxiety...

2011-11-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

I have to come clean. All my life I have had anxiety attacks. It' true, any of my former or present roommates and friends can tell you that. I just get really nervous and crazy about certain things, after that I end up freaking out about said "things". These things are usually unimportant and I end up feeling stupid later on.

For example: Baby S only takes good naps on me. Have I never told you that? Anyway, she is napping on me at the moment and girlfriend (baby S) didn't sleep so well last night, I didn't either if you were wondering, and so I wouldn't wake her up from this blessed nap right now for a million bucks understand? The anxiety comes in now because we have laundry to do and our laundry units are shared with the rest of the building located in a little room on my floor. Sum and I put laundry in the washer and dryer before her nap, but it has taken a lot longer to get sweet baby girl to fall asleep.

Now I am sitting here on my couch chomping at the bit (yes thats a phrase, Josh never believes me) because I can hear someone in the laundry room and they are probably going to have to remove my clothes from the dryer!!! Oh, the thought nearly kills me! I spend most of my time trying to figure out the perfect time to do laundry so that I don't have to go through this torture! One time someone took my clothes out for me and I think I cried about it, i may need to be medicated!

Then a thought comes to me, "whats the big deal?" Well, I could go on and on about why it's a big deal but then I looked down at this face:
(those are J's legs don't worry:)

And I simply need to stop caring about things that make me crazy, and start caring about the fact that I am so lucky to do nothing but stare at this sweet chubby girl! She won't want to sleep on me forever, so screw the laundry and whomever is touching it. I have a thing about clean hands too. Oh, brother.

xoxo

11/1/11

2011-11-01T08:59:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to my amazing husband and to Sum's amazing Dad!!I have celebrated 7 birthdays with this guy. Our first real date was on his birthday and we held hands, I'll never forget it! It's exciting to think that 7 years ago we held hands for the first time and today I am bringing our daughter into his work to visit him for the first time.
Thanks for being born and for being super awesome! Also it's kinda cool that this year all the numbers for your birthday are 1's

More Summer!

2011-10-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

Thanks Grandma Corier for this amazing cross stitch! I loovvee it, so does Sum (clearly). I can't wait to hang it with the other white frames in her room! We have really talented Grandma's! I need to dedicate a post to what Grandma P has done for us too, remind me to do that!
Poor girl got shots like I mentioned last post. Her battle wounds hurt, she didn't feel well last night but she still was cute as a button. I really don't like giving her that many shots at once. I don't know what I was thinking except that I have been paranoid of her getting sick so I thought I would just try all of them at once and I now see that I might want to space them out because she was really drowsy, feverish and upset last night, it scared me a little. Look at those legs...yes I try to chew on them daily.
She likes to pose. Ps that blue toy laying next to her, ya, she picked that up and put it in her mouth today! I thought I had a genius baby on my hands but I think she was just resting her hand on it and the saliva from her hand stuck on the toy and when she went back for a taste of hand she got some toy instead on accident. But that's probably what she wants me to think...
Heading to the Dr. she obviously has no idea what was about to happen to her poor chunky legs!

In other news I swept and mopped the floors just now! First time in I'm to embarrassed to say how long! I feel like I'm on top of the world, those ugly tiles never looked almost creamier! I need to do laundry but that would require me leaping over the sleeping baby to get the clothes so I will sit here and drink my pepsi and think about how awesome I am for all the floor cleaning.

2 months!

2011-10-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? It's crazy that my baby is 2 months old already! She is the light of our lives, our worlds literally revolve around her and we love it!
She got 2 shots today and is now sleeping peacefully. Hopefully she won't have a very bad reaction to them? I didn't cry when she got her shots because I know it's good for her so I don't let myself. She on the other hand screamed for a while but she was smiley again after a little while. She is strong and I know this because the Dr. told me so.

The doctor came into the room laughing because Summer is sooooo healthy aka BIG. She said that Summer is a strong, healthy, robust baby. I didn't know Sum was so big because she doesn't have a lot of rolls, turns out she is HUGE and doesn't have very many rolls yet because she is just head and muscle.

Weight: 12 lbs 10oz.=90th percentile
length: 24 1/4 in.= 95th percentile
head: 41.7cm = 97th percentile (duh, I had a C-section right!)

She loves to suck and chew on her hand. Detests pacifiers!
She enjoys her baths, sometimes so much that she relaxes to much and goes to the bathroom which cuts the bath short, which she hates:)
She loves to coo at J and I. And when I sing she lengthens out the coo so it sounds like singing almost.
Obsession isn't a good enough word to describe her affinity for her play mat! I am grateful for this mat, she smiles and kicks and punches when she gets down on that thing. The bird at the top is seriously her best friend.
She lets me put her down for naps sometimes after falling asleep on me of course and bedtime is awesome! She fusses but once she's down, she sleeps! Last night she only got up once to feed.

yep, we love her and are so grateful for the beautiful healthy girl she is. I sometimes wonder what she's thinking and I hope she is just thinking about how happy and loved she is. My day is dedicated to making her smile, when I see it I feel like I waited my whole life to see that smile and it was worth the wait!!

I am also a little sad today. A family friend lost her fight with breast cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, especially her husband and children. I am so grateful for the knowledge we can all have of life after death and being able to be reunited with loved ones. When I look at my baby's face it makes me want to live my life like this friend did, in such a way so that we can be together forever.
Here's her blog if you're interested

Like I said...

2011-10-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

A glimpse at the balding. I sure do love that head! 3rd day in a row that I have been able to set her down for a nap and it lasts for over an hour!
Excuse me now I have a balding head to kiss:)

the baby is sleeping...

2011-10-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

this photo was taken at about 1 week old.

My sweet baby is sleeping now. She is finally starting to nap without being held, and it is bliss! Don't get me wrong, I spend hours so grateful that I can just do nothing but look at her sweet sleeping face but things need to get done around the house once in a while to.

She is so much fun. We just sit and laugh and smile at each other most days, I never want to forget this stage for her. She is starting to put up a bigger fight when we put her to bed but she is also a little easier now to put down for naps so it evens out. She is almost 2 months old and I can't believe it! Josh's mom came to visit about a week ago and it was so fun, the baby loved it. It makes me so excited to go home for some holiday fun.

Just thought I would check in and say hi. We are having fun!!

Also, just so I don't forget: Summer hates pacifiers but she LOVES her fist! She is also in the process of balding:)

First time at Church

2011-10-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

She slept most of the time.
With her proud papa

She's not a fan of hanging out in her Church clothes after Church is over. I mean let's get our comfy clothes on already:)

Smiles

2011-10-04T13:07:00.001-07:00

thinking about it...
Almost there...
there it is!
done.

1 month!

2011-09-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl is 1 month old now! We don't usually get dressed up so I thought I would try on this cute dress to see how it fits, thank goodness she will still be able to wear it over the next couple of months!

I don't get dressed or take care of myself anymore so this photo is really good in my opinion. I'm dressed, hair isn't in a bun and the babe isn't crying. Awesome!
We just love her so much! She has blue blue blue eyes (they look like blueberries!), her hair is starting to get lighter and she is losing some of it, she is way skinnier than I thought! I always thought I'd have a chunky baby, she still will get bigger but I thought she'd be a chunk right off the bat. she has skinny arms and legs so we will need to work on fattening those up:)

She is just so sweet, she LOVES her pink elephant (thanks Mrs. Wadsworth! check out her etsy, she makes great stuff!) She stairs at her pink elephant and sucks on her bink sometimes so that I can go to the bathroom or shove my face with something to eat before she gets bored and starts crying. It captures her attention longer than anything else.
She looks so little in this picture! Her 1 month appointment isn't until tuesday so I'm not sure what her stats are yet? I hope she has gained weight, she just looks so small but I guess she is a newborn baby right? Anyway a couple of mornings ago I changed her diaper and she had messed through onto her pj's so I took them off, during this time she fell back asleep so I put her next to J and covered her up thinking she would wake up but she stayed asleep! (don't worry I don't condone leaving an infant in a bed like this, it was just for the picture). She loves sleeping just like her Dad. She wakes up 2 times a night every four hours almost on the nose. She will feed for 5-8 minutes then its back to sleep! She is very efficient.

My house smels like baby!

2011-09-16T15:47:00.001-07:00

We are getting the hang of things slowly. We went for a walk today. I didn't cry today and Sum didn't cry very much either, I also made plans to write thank you's to all those who have been so kind to us the past 3 weeks:) Thank heaven for good days!
By the way, baby smell is the best and its stinking up this house:) She's pretty amazing and also I didn't know how much my world would revolve around poop but it does and we love it!

Swimsuit

2011-09-12T17:26:00.001-07:00

This baby has the cutest swimsuit ever and it is not going to fit for long, so we took some photos today to show all of you (mainly grandma) how cute she is in it.
Beach angel!
Just a little taste of what this cutie will look like next swim season

One week old

2011-09-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

We celebrated with a coconut cupcake from the tea cake bakery:) Summer was kind of bored with the celebration.
My sleeping angel! She loves to sleep, S was sleeping 6 hours a night for a couple of days and not eating very well. She was worrying me sick but now she is up every couple of hours and that has made a difference in my sanity. She is such a good girl. She never really cries, she loves the car and the doctor can't believe how alert she is! One week has been a success for miss S! We are in love!

Summer finally came August 24th!

2011-08-30T10:10:00.001-07:00

So sore, so tired and soooo happy and full of love. Taking pictures is not my thing or J's or my mom's so we don't have a whole lot yet but there are a few. The picture below is our first family photo. I can't believe she's here and I can't believe how beautiful she is!

J is in love with this little girl and he is such a great dad already.

The birth story is crazy! Woke up with cramps at 12:30am wed. had regular contractions at -1:45am but nothing I couldn't handle, went to the hospital at 3:30am because contractions were 5 minutes apart and lasted for 1 minute.
-Checked into the hospital and found out I was dilated to a 4.
-7am dilated to a 6. contractions were not bad and I didn't think they lasted very long but I guess it was the right amount of time.
-9am ish. Had my water broke dilated to a 7. contractions were hard and hurt but I was able to relieve pain by showers, back pressure and rubs.
-I was soooo hungry this whole time but because I told them I might want an epidural if the pain got worse they wouldn't let me eat anything. That was more painful then the contractions sometimes!
-11am dilated to a small 8, nurses started coming into prep for delivery so I thought I would have the baby any second...little did I know this is just what they do when women get to an 8 but not all women get to a 10 as quick as others. This is probably a duh for most of you but I didn't know?
-at this point baby S's head was still "high" and doctor said sometimes that happens and then it all of the sudden drops into place so we were hoping that would happen.
- At 1pm contractions started to slow down and I stopped progressing, super annoying because I it was happening quickly which was awesome and since I am impatient I liked the quickness. Once it slowed down I wasn't as happy and again i was still hungry.
-The rest of the afternoon was a blur. It seemed like it happened so fast but from 1pm to 3pm nothing really happened. I was in a lot of pain but the contractions would last for 10 seconds and then I would be done for a while.
-3pm doctor wants to speed things up and put me on Pitocin because baby's head still hadn't dropped and I was dilated to a big 8/little 9. At this point I had really bad bad pains in my left side and back. I asked for the epidural at this point since they wanted me on pitocin anyway.
-The epidural was good but I could only feel it working in my right side and the only pain I was ever feeling was in my left side.. the pitocin made my left side and back hurt even more. I tried to tough it out for a while before I asked for the epidural to be repositioned. The contractions in my left side and back were pretty bad and breathing, rubbing whatever didn't help at all.
-Finally at 5:45pm the doctor said I was dilated all the way with a pretty good effacement so she wanted to see if pushing would help bring baby's head down since pitocin did jack crap.
-30 minutes of pushing was pointless because I couldn't feel anything to push plus it didn't move baby at all.
-Doctor came in and said that the baby's head was too far up still in the birthing canal and baby's heart rate dropped a little so it was time to throw in the towel and get a c-section.
Crazy!!! I did not expect this to happen! first of all the pain wasn't bad for a lot of the day, that was nuts in itself. Second, a c-section was not on my radar I hardly knew what that meant but off we went to the OR.
J gave me a blessing before to calm my fears of death or whatever goes wrong in a major surgery and I said by to my mom.
-The c-section was crazy! You just lie there while people prep your naked body. A naked body you can't feel, they almost dropped me a few times and I couldn't do anything but say "um guys, I'm falling." I also felt I was naked in Antarctica because I felt so cold...chattering teeth is an understatement.
Then J came in all dressed for surgery and we just sat and waited until I heard a nurse say "look at that head!!" The doctor also mentioned how the head was probably caught on my left hip bone,(hence the pain in my side and back) no one really talked to me because they were all putting bets in on how big the baby was. 9lbs and 3oz. 21 inches told you she'd be big:)
-Oh yea, and they kept saying " look at all that hair!" This was especially good news for J's mom who has been praying for this baby to have great hair for 9 months:)
No one showed her to me because they were so obsessed with her themselves, apparently josh cut the cord and helped clean her up I didn't know what to think so I just listened to her cried while I cried.
Then I saw her and I wonder how this all happened? The drugs really messed me up, I just thought i was in a dream or a movie! She was so cute and I was in love instantly! I was mad at all the people around her and the ones holding her because she wasn't theirs, she was mine and I wanted to hold her!
After a while Josh brought her over to me so I could kiss her head and say goodbye and J took her to the nursery to get a bath and I went off to recovery. It was torture but in the end we got to be together again.
My mom almost killed herself waiting to hear if everything went well, I guess when J brought the baby into see my mom for the first time she lost it. But all is well and we're all so happy!
This is long and I hope it gave you all the great details you were looking for. The drama is all here...we went from sleep to hospital to no pain to lots of pain to unplanned c-section, this is the makings of a great nervous breakdown. I didn't even mention my high blood pressure which is still an issue.

We're home safe and sound now and I have what I wanted and she is the best!!! J loves reading to her every night and he loves to snuggle we are all so content and happy. Birth what a crazy thing, it makes me realize how real the power of creation and family really is!

Almost there!

2011-08-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

I swear my belly is bigger than this in real life but you get the idea of what almost 38 weeks looks like for baby S and me!
She doesn't look very low in these pics but I promise she is, maybe it's all in my head? This last month of pregnancy has brought lots of new feelings such as carpal tunnel, frequent trips to the bathroom at night, struggles getting up and down and nesting. Oh yeah and pitted edema! I am crazy swollen, it's pretty impressive! Baby isn't kicking as much any more, it's more of a role around the tummy feeling because she is getting so big!
We went in for our hospital visit a few weeks ago and it was really fun to think we will be in a new and nice hospital the best part is labor and recovery are the same room, I have heard that is a very nice thing!
I asked the doc if I am too big and he said "no, but you won't be having a small baby" after hearing that I am glad that I am going into this delivery situation blind it's probably better that way, still I love her and I gotta get her out and see what she looks like...hopefully sooner rather than later:)

Yea, I'm big

2011-07-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

I know you can't tell from the fat face but it's really me. These pics were taken by my friend Kristin a few weeks ago and I am even bigger now! I swore I would never do pregnancy pics but we only took a few and I didn't puke when I saw these so it worked.
She's going to be a big girl I think. It is still scary that I will be meeting her soon....and going through the worst pain of my life. j and I talk for hours about what we think she will look like, it's fun!
I went over my birth plan papers last night and the first thing I put in big bold letters was "I WANT THE DRUGS!" I just don't want anyone to forget:) J is scared of the needle so I'm afraid he will try to talk someone out of giving the meds to me so I figured I should make it clear what I want. 35 weeks, we are just two away from full term!

bb shower #2

2011-06-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

this order of photos will be very random but they are all amazing so enjoy! I got these images from my friends blog again, simplesagedesigns.blogspot.com

We made cupcake jars and they turned out sooo adorable, I love the neapolitan feel.

The sign says "welcome Summer" and we had a delicious yogurt and fruit bar.

The cake was inspired by other cake's we saw that were similar, I love the ruffle feel.
fruit kabobs, chocolate dipped strawberries and quiche
donut holes were great but the best part was the monograms and cute boxes!
Love these drinks and they went perfect with the colors.
There's Kristin herself she was the party planner, photographer, stylist...you name it she did it, thanks! also, yes I am wearing the same dress as bb shower #1 because it's all that fits me and lets me sit without having to struggle to sit lady like:)
I don't know why this pic is small but this pic is of all my bff's! I am lucky to have their support now and always! Thanks girls!

My babies nursery is almost done!

2011-06-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

head over to my talented friends blog simple sage designs and see what we worked on for S's room

http://simplesagedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/06/nursery-progress.html

It's adorable, thanks Kristin!

more pics from bb shower #1

2011-06-29T11:30:00.001-07:00

My excitement for cute baby gifts was uncontrollable!
Some of my fabulous guests, so grateful for good girl friends!
My sis and mother-in-law guessing how big my belly is...mother-in-law thinks I'm a tad bigger than I actually am:)
All three girls trying to figure out just how huge I am around the middle.
Still trying to figure out red eye on the mac so this picture is scary but it captures my joy for headbands

So grateful for my sis, mom and mother-in-law for the fun time!
cutest dress ever!
homemade hooter hider from Val Stauffer herself, it was amazing, it had pockets and everything!
My dad got baby S a cute UW outfit, he wants her to know what team to cheer for as soon as she escapes the womb:)
The loot, it was soooo fun, I never thought I would be so excited to receive gifts that weren't really for me, baby S is pretty much set!

She's coming!

2011-06-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

I love friends from college who come to visit! Kristin is visiting us from Las Vegas and we first laid eyes on each other day 1 of college in the dorms when we both knew we were the only "cool" people there..we were kind of shallow and self centered back then. But through it all we remained besties.
We both enjoy the color gray and I like Kristin because she likes to tell me how to organize my life since she is an interior designer. She likes me because I listen to her:) She's like my sister from another mister and I can't wait to spend some quality time together doing projects for the baby and getting finger nails painted. It will be heaven!

What I've been up to...

2011-06-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

Baby shower #1. And to start it off a pic of my enormous belly, this was at 30 weeks.

Banners galore!

yellow and pink are the nursery colors so we took it to the extreme here.

My sister painted Sum's name on onesies and we hung them up, it turned out so cute!

This was a lot of the food I've been craving lately. I think it went over well at the party.

One of my favorite books. I love this chalk board, thinking about putting it in the nursery!

The cake, I know white would have looked better but I was in the mood for chocolate so...

More pics to come!

Bday post!

2011-06-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would give you an update on how the big 2-6 is going. Being pregnant on my birthday makes it so great, I actually feel close to a big accomplishment instead of just feeling like time is flying. Trust me this accomplishment is going to be enormous! The baby is basically huge measuring a week bigger than she is.
I put this picture up because I got onion goggles for my bday from my mom. Coincidentally they smell like onions, ha. Also the gorgeous pillow behind me is a bday gift from my talented bestie Kristin, thanks! I love them, the green stripes are so cute!
This birthday has been great thanks to so many people for remembering me, and if you didn't remember no big deal, I am always forgetting friends birthday's so I am always amazed when people remember! Thanks!

Not all tissue is created equal!

2011-05-26T06:32:00.000-07:00

I thought I would take this opportunity to say thanks to whoever infected me with this nasty cold. Seriously haven't been this sick in years. My poor baby is being shaken like crazy, she is probably sea sick in there, because of my coughing and sneezing! I can't take this any more so I am going to the doctor today because if history serves me correctly all I have to do is call the doctor and magically my cold goes away and the doctor looks at me like I'm crazy when I get in there because nothing seems to be wrong.

Anyway, I buy generic. I don't usually pay full price for the real thing unless the real thing proves to work better than generic or will make me look cooler. Sent the hubs to the store last night to buy me more Puffs Plus Lotion tissue because it is a brand that is THE BEST! Seriously, it doesn't tear my nose up like all the other kinds. I ran out earlier in the day and had to use toilet paper (generic), my puffer was torn up to say the least! So what did the hubs come back from the store with? He came back with Kleenex with lotion because it was cheaper. It sucks and doesn't hold a candle to the Puffs, there I said it! I would pay $20 per box for puffs right now if I could!

I have been up since 5:15am because naturally I can't stop sneezing/blowing my nose and since I am sleep deprived with nothing to do I thought I would share these pearls of wisdom with you. Enjoy!

Can't help it

2011-05-23T16:58:00.001-07:00

I can't help it, I love Summer more and more every day! I feel like we have little conversations or something. I talk to her when she kicks and it's like she's responding even though that might be absurd. I have been reading birth stories on a couple of blogs and it isn't that big of a deal to read them before I was pregnant. I loved it. I love the science of it and the anatomy but since I have been pregnant it seems impossible and crazy! I feel like I can't do it. I have to though if I want to meet this sure to be cute baby!
She is all we talk about lately and she is all I want. It is becoming more and more real with every passing week (and pound:) Someone pinch me, my dreams are coming true, except for today when I had to take my glucose test, yuck. But, she's worth it.
Tonight for FHE we are writing out our goals for Summer. Not like the tiger mom or anything but just our hopes and dreams for her, things that will bring her happiness. I feel humbled to be in charge of something so perfect! You had me at the thin plus sign on the pregnancy test kid!

As many of you know "I'm not like a regular mom, I'm a cool mom." Duh. I carry this huge lovely and beautiful diaper bag around the apartment lately. It will make me and S so fashionable. As many of my friends can point out I love my beautiful purses, and now diaper bags, even if I'm wearing sweats so if people don't get the idea of coolness from my clothes or Summer's they will just have to look at the diaper bag:)

Some updates

2011-05-09T15:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the mess but I got a new corner china hutch and it actually fits pretty good in the dinning room. I already filled it with all of my china that's been packed away plus some special S&P shakers which you now I love.
Belly is getting big, I am right around 25.5 weeks. I am getting kind of sick of people telling me that 'they know someone as far along as me but I look WAY bigger than the person they know.' I am ok with getting big, I love my growing baby in my growing belly but let's stop comparing my hugeness to someone else.
Family pic
Mother's Day was fun because A: I was actually pregnant so it wasn't a sob fest this year, yay! B: I got waffles with strawberries and whip cream for breakfast, thanks to my sweet husband and C: We made pizza for dinner which was so good. Maybe that's why I'm bigger than everyone else you know who is due the same time as me?:)
I wonder if Summer will have my profile and love for kalamata olives on pizza? It won't be long now til we find out.

On this day 31 years ago...

2011-05-01T15:27:00.001-07:00

On this day 31 years ago my beautiful mom and handsome dad got married in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple. She was a size 0 knock out blond and he had a mustache, it was the perfect combo. I am so happy my parents can celebrate 31 years later just as beautiful and mustached! Another fun fact about this photo is my grandparents are in it too and I love the fashion back then. I wish J had a blue suit like my grandpa because I like it!
I'm grateful for all the good examples in our lives of eternal marriage and family.
Who knew 31 years after that great day they would be in the middle of expecting their first grandchild? You knew I was going to throw something in their about my kid right:)
Love you LC and Valbowski!

23 weeks!

2011-04-21T16:45:00.001-07:00

Belly from the front

Belly side shot

There's no hiding it that's for sure. I promised some of you belly shots and here they be but I cut out the neck and head for obvious reasons. I mean who wants there face in the same frame as their growing belly? I didn't have makeup on anyways.
The baby as you know is a girl and we have decided to name her Summer. I personally love the name and I think if you don't like it that's to bad:) She is kicking a lot this week! Mainly after I get done eating lunch and in the middle of the night. The kicking doesn't wake me up but I don't sleep very well because I HATE sleeping on my side so I am up anyways to notice the kicking. I started my new semester and already can't wait for it to be over in some classes. At least I have little baby stuff to look at on my breaks from school work. Summer is already one loved kid!

shoes!

2011-04-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

Last week my mom, sister and my aunt and some cousins came into town for a girls week! It was fun, J might not have had as much fun but that's ok plus he was working a lot. Getting the pictures off my camera is proving to be an adventure for some reasons so you are going to have to wait for those.

In other news the girls trip was a great week for TOMS shoes. I think almost half of us got some TOMS? I guess I forgot how cute the little baby TOMS are? Here's my idea:

Got to get the pink ones, duh.

Love the floral!

Some purple glitter ain't bad, plus they won't get dirty as easily.

These are the ones momma just got and I don't usually take them off!

More pictures to come from my wonderful visit with my fam! PS. I sound so happy in this post because I'm on spring break! It's amazing and the baby and I are taking an aerobic swim class in the mornings which is so fun, I especially love all the new friends who are 80+ yrs old. It's awesome!

All the photos are from Nordstroms website, happy shopping!

Sugar and spice and everything nice!

2011-03-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

My belly has a baby girl human in it! I am so excited! It was so fun for J and I to see our baby and know exactly what it was. The only problem is that we had our boy name all picked out and we have tons of girl names so it will be fun to try and agree:) I think this dress from GAP is adorable and it might even be a great blessing dress, what do you think??

Update:

2011-03-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

I am watching March Madness, can you tell? BYU did something stupid when the camera went off and I was obviously not happy!
I was attempting to show you a belly shot but this works too, you can still see the bigness of the belly:)
So, baby is right at 18 weeks and we can't wait to find out if there is a Donny or Marie in there.
Also, I think I should take a few inches off of my mop that I call hair. What do you think? It's just so long and takes up a lot of time, plus I hate it and the color. Well, it's a love hate relationship so I need some input.
Things are going well at this homestead except that I need new clothes because I have grown out of everything, luckily my hubby is in agreement, he must be embarrassed to be seen with me?

Speaking of embarrassing, I am finishing my degree online which means I have group assignments and I converse with group members through chat rooms and email. I was a group leader for a newsletter this week and one kid has really been getting on my nerves lately because he hasn't been doing his work. I sent him a nasty email last night telling him that I don't think he should get points and that I'm taking over his work...oh and that I thought he was a lazy pile.
Turns out the kid emails me back telling me his uncle is dying from cancer and had to go to his bed side during the last couple of days. Great. I feel like an idiot at least I don't have to meet him face to face right?

Media law and ethics

2011-02-24T09:34:00.000-08:00

I really don't like politics or talking about them because it gets everyone heated. Although I do have opinions I try to spare my friends in the blog world from them. I am in a media law and ethics class in school and it has been really interesting. We recently talked about Oregon's representative David Wu who has been in the spotlight many times for weird stuff. The Gop has recently asked him to step down from his position after this picture came out.

AP – FILE - In this image provided by the Willamette Week newspaper,
and taken Oct. 2, 2010 in Portland, Ore,

I feel bad for this guy, I mean seriously, look at him! This photo was taken and sent to staff members of his during a heated campaign last year after he apparently took two unknown pain killers from a unnamed donor. Now people are freaking out and wondering what's up with his mental health? I think it's kinda funny, if I worked for him I would laugh when I got the text, wouldn't you? Anyway, Wu doesn't agree and thinks that he shouldn't step down. He thinks he's a darn good rep with or without the tiger suit and to be honest, my personal feelings for Oregon say that this might be the best they can do in terms of reps:)

I mainly want to point out that I am glad J isn't in politics or running for any office because I'm sure worse pictures than this would come up of me at least and we would have been kicked out long ago! I know this is a random post but this class has me dreaming of funny ethical issues and I thought I would share one. I know have said nothing about ethics but this is too funny!

Get in my Belly!

2011-02-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

Never thought I'd be the belly pic poster but it's all that I think about besides school and that's just boring so here's what I have to share. The belly looks pretty good for 14 1/2 weeks I guess? All I want to know is why at 6pm does my belly insist on blowing up like a balloon? I swear it gets huge and very uncomfortable at night. I showed this pic to the hubby and he said that it looked small, that's probably because he only sees me after work at 7pm when I am in bed groaning from the pain of a big belly. Anyway, I love the belly and can't wait to find out who's in it? Last night at Achievement day (which I am in charge of for our ward) I made the girls decide if they think I am having a boy or girl and I wrote it down so however is right gets a treat:) Is that gambling?

A necklace and a BABY!

2011-02-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!
I love this day! My great husband gave me this amazing necklace, and he was able to surprise me which doesn't happen that often.
This Valentine's day is also special and great because we went to see our baby today!! I am pregnant and nothing could make this day more romantic or make me feel more in love with my hubby than looking at our baby kick and wave at the monitor during the ultra sound! I am due in August and we are so excited to share the news with everyone! I posted a picture of the ultra sound on facebook but I don't know how to erase the words and stuff off the ultra sound pic yet so I might not post pics of the baby on here or fb until I figure that one out.
It is such a special feeling to know that I have a baby in my belly which explains a lot of tight fitting clothing lately! J and I also know how hard it is to not be able to have a baby exactly when you want to and we are thankful for our increased faith and prayer that we have been able to experience with this little miracle.

Best sick day EVER!

2011-02-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning with the worst pain in my head and sinus area that I couldn't get out of bed. 2 complete puffs plus lotion tissue boxes later I pulled myself out of bed, took a shower and went across the street to the store to get more puffs plus lotion tissue boxes( I can't use any other kind or else my nose bleeds from being so dry and cracked.) I forgot this amazing store had a salad bar so that was #1 awesome thing that happened today.
I get home from store begin to sulk and feel sorry for myself again while watching the valentine's day episodes of Parks and Rec and The Office....Then it happened, the buzzer buzzed! I knew straight away it was a package from my sweet mom! It seems like an eternity before the UPS guy makes it to my door and I rip the packages from his hands, and yes I said Packages!! Two pretty brown packages like the one's below filled with Valentine's Day treats for me:)
I can't believe I made time to take a picture, below is what happened when I tore into them.

One of the boxes is from my sweet Aunt Sheila, she gave me the big pink bag in the back, it contains the most delicious most dangerous cookies known to man. I almost cried when I opened it! Then box #2 opens and my mom has sent us a loot! Enough Reese's candies to choke my sweet husband and tons of fun stuff for me. A make up brush I'm in desperate need of, scented drawer pillow to make my clothes smell divine, The movie of Jane Eyre, Book: The Red Tent, and a much needed lint roller. I am over joyed with this amazingness!! As I stuff my face with heart cookies with pink frosting, while laying in a pile of V-day gifts I feel so thankful for my wonderful parents and family. I miss them so much right now, maybe because I'm sick and I want them to be here to feel sorry for me? Anyway, I'm lucky and all though my head feels like a 50lb weight is hitting it in the back and front this great surprise made my day and I feel 1000% better.

Enjoying the fattening food, you can't even tell that I can't taste the goodness because of my plugged up nose:)

I know, I know!

2011-01-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been forever I know! I have missed blogging but the last few months have been a blur. I swear I just made those cupcakes! Anyway, Last semester was suicidal but I made it through somehow with passing grades. All I can say is I have battle wounds and I still hate Economics! This semester is better but still busy. J has started his busy season so I don't see him much but we are so thankful for his job!
The holidays were fun, Josh's fam came for thanksgiving which I thought was great. I learned how controlling and OCD I can be about things. To bad the fam had to witness it but I think they had some fun too? Christmas was good and I got to go home and see my family which I don't really remember because i was sick most of the time!
This gorgeous picture up top was taken during Christmas by one of my sisters friends, I need to find her name so I can give her cred. I think we turned out cute, especially the one on the right;)
Enjoy, hopefully I will get back to you soon. I've been working on some stuff so y'all definitely need to be updated. I promise I will get to it soon maybe in two weeks;)

Fall baking

2010-10-23T12:49:00.001-07:00

My camera doesn't take the best pictures but I am so happy that I was able to take a little break from studying to make pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes with cream cheese frosting! They are pretty good if I do say so myself! All I did was mix a pumpkin bread mix from Trader Joes with some chocolate chips. It was easy.I even got to use the Halloween cupcake liners that my mom sent me:) I love fall baking!

I love my job!

2010-10-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

While I try to make it through college I still have to earn my keep. Thankfully I have been able to do that by babysitting/nannying (what's the difference?). Lately, I have been hanging out with these two cute girls! We have so much fun together. We paint nails almost every time I'm with them and we get to do fun art projects, (thanks for the idea mom:)As you can see we made pumpkins with scary faces. This picture below makes me think that we have another Picasso on our hands.

We hung them on the door for all to see. The girls are laughing really hard in this pic because I would set the timer on the camera and run to get in the picture. Apparently I run funny because they laughed a lot when I did it:)

It's Fall!

2010-10-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

It feels like fall. I can tell because it is just cold enough for me to start wearing these guys around. I am happy:) I think I will even make soup tonight for dinner because that's what you do when it feels like fall, right?

Fun week!

2010-10-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

My sister came to visit us last week and although I had a terrible amount of homework and tests we managed to get a few fun things accomplished. This first picture is of my sis and I representing Standford at the USC vs. Standford game. It was so fun.

Josh especially liked the game which was neck and neck until the end when Stanford scored and won!
We went and had a fun afternoon in Sausalito. The ice cream was amazing and please notice the new side bangs courtesy of my hairstylist sis:)
My sister has a passion for street art which I have to admit is kinda fun and exciting. The famous but unknown artist Bansky, did a few street art pieces in SF so we took a little time tracking them down.
The street art is cool and the funny thing is, the art pieces are on weird alley ways and random buildings so it was fun to try and spot the art.
I love my sis, I wish she could come more often! Back to the books, boo.

What would you grab?

2010-09-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

This is a similar image that I saw while driving home last night. You could see flames from 20 miles away! A natural gas line in San Bruno, CA exploded last night leaving so much damage that it makes your stomach turn just thinking about it. I couldn't do my homework last night because I kept thinking about those poor San Bruno residents that don't have a home anymore. I am so glad to here that all of our Ward members are safe. I hope none of their homes were damaged, but with flames reaching 1,000ft in the air and 120 homes already counted as "damaged" it would be a miracle if none of their homes were in need of some kind of repair!

I couldn't sleep last night, I just kept wondering what I might grab in the seconds before I had to flee my home? I started thinking about really dumb things like my favorite pair of shoes or little keepsakes that my mom has given me over the years. Then I thought about important papers and legal documents that thankfully I have in the same place so it wouldn't be hard to grab. Even though I was up most of the night thinking about this I still don't know what would be the best thing to grab in the seconds that I might have. Hopefully I would save myself first and hopefully I will never have to find out in real life what I would grab! What would you grab? Think about it, it's not easy to answer is it?

I am grateful for my testimony of a loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. That's what I thought of the most last night. I pray for the many people affected by this terrible accident!

Picture by The Chronicle

Labor Day 2010

2010-09-06T15:56:00.001-07:00

My best friend Bobbie came with her husband to visit me and J. We had so much fun! It was a beautiful day in SF unlike last Sat. when we went to the sutro baths. Today we went to the Japanese Gardens in Golden Gate park (anytime before 10am was free, yay!)

Dave, Bobbie, Me and J at this cool fountain outside the De Young Museum. As you can see Bobbie and Dave are hard to hang out with because they are tall and beautiful:)
The rock gardens were impressive
coolest bridge ever, super hard to climb though. That's us at the top, the sun makes it hard to see.
Like I said, impressive!
So fun! Thanks for coming to visit Bobbie and Dave!

Another San Francisco adventure!

2010-09-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

This is where we begin. It's the 18 acres that Adolf Sutro (I don't actually know who he is?), anyway, he built a house and stuff on top of this cliff looking down into the ocean. This area is close to Golden Gate park. We also made our way down to the Sutro baths, a famous San Francisco land mark. Lastly, we went to this huge windmill down in Golden Gate park. This walk was really fun, even though it was kind of foggy and cold.

This is J, me and our friends Maddy and Jessica (thanks for taking pictures Thomas:) This view is from where Sutro's house use to be.
The Sutro baths look inviting
This is a picture from inside a huge rock right by the ocean. There was a cool hole where we could see the ocean.
Windmill. So in love with this! It was a great day

P.S. This is what the Sutro baths use to look like back in 1906
THen and Now.I got this picture from foundsf.org
That castle is now where the Cliff house restaurant is.

stripes!

2010-09-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

I was getting sick of our white apartment walls everywhere so I decided to do something about it. In the movie "PS. I love you," there is just one wall in Hillary Swanks character's apartment that was painted gray and white stripes. The movie was sad but all I could really focus on was the amazing wall. Years later (3 to be exact) I decided to try my own version of the gray stripes on one wall thing.These pictures aren't straight so my lines aren't going down hill, that is just how I hold a camera apparently.

I like it. J likes it so, I guess we'll keep it. I have learned to not pass up really sad romantic movies because you never know when you will get great ideas for decorating:)
ps. the amazing house plant was a home warming present from our great friends the Fishers! Thanks guys I love it and I haven't killed it so I love it even more!

A picture!

2010-08-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

Since I can't show you pictures of my life because I am lacking a camera, I will just show you my wish list for fashion this fall:) Moccasins, Moccasins, Moccasins!! I love them, always have, always will. Jcrew is my love anyways and for a small fortune I can own these babies. We will see what J says? I guess we should get a new camera first...I'll let you know how it goes.

Camera Broke:(

2010-08-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

When J and I were at his little bro's wedding I broke our camera! We were visiting the BYU campus and I really liked being there so much that I started being negligent with the camera case and it fell and broke! I am sooo angry at myself. Hopefully we will be up and running again soon!
Here's what you have to look forward too: Fun trip home to see my family, Best freinds wedding and some other stuff I can't remember but get ready because it will blow your mind:)
Thanks for being patient

2010-08-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

Utah trip!

2010-07-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

About a month ago we took a trip to Utah to see J's little bro get married. It was so fun! I got to go inside the Salt Lake temple for the first time (Amazing!), We got to hang out with good friends and family, we saw lots of road kill on the side of the highways, and we danced for the first time ever together!

Here's us at the reception, which was so cute. This picture also shows us smiling because we just got done dancing for the first time together! We didn't have dancing at my reception, but we loved it and can't wait until the next wedding when we can boogie again!
Peterson family picture. Minus pappa John.
The happy married couple. Love the girl and the dress! So happy to have another girl in the family!
I have to admit my husband looks a little too happy in this picture and the groom looks a little too crazy in this picture! (Am I using the right to, too, two?)
Me at the coolest temple ever! Loved this day!

2010-07-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st day of July! I love July and all that it stands for. This picture is so cute, I wish I could sew an American flag! Moving tomorrow, freedom is wonderful!

(got this photo from Graphicsfairy.blogspot.com)

Movin' On Up!

2010-06-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Goodbye view of the apartment's pool! And cute apartment building next store that I would frequently look at and people watch through their open drapes. Goodbye end of the hall where there was little to no foot traffic. And, to the thing that I will miss most of all the sliding glass door that opened to your death because there is not a balcony and I used the little bar holding you back from death as a holder for my potted flowers which I will miss dearly!!(pool where I would look down and judge others in their swimming wear)

(the cute apartment next door, that doesn't look so cute in this picture)

Our new home is located about 1 floor down and to the left. Yes, we are in the same complex it is a two bedroom with a drum role please...dishwasher!!! The windows don't slide open and the view will be of El Camino, the busiest street on the Peninsula. I keep telling myself it has another bedroom and a dishwasher and I try to ignore that fact that it's been treated for termites twice and it has water damage in the closets:)
Luckily we know the previous owners and they took good care of it despite all natural wear and tear that the building has gone through since 1890:) We're excited!!

25

2010-06-03T15:53:00.000-07:00

I turned 25 yesterday and it was weird. I don't really like getting older! Anyway, J and I got to go to Google in SF for lunch and it was so cool! The food was good and they have playground slides instead of stairs, so getting from floor to floor can be fun!

J and I posing with a huge google phone, which really worked:)
A few of my favorite gifts. Paul Mitchell flat iron from my sis. Having a pro hair dresser in the family is a blessing! The Julia Child cook book, I already know what I'm making first, Fonds D'artichauts Au Gratin (stuffed artichoke bottoms au Gratin:) Thanks mom. And lastly my new love, a Camelbak water bottle. I love drinking water now and I can't imagine drinking water any other way besides through a straw!! Yea, for birthdays!!

What I attempt in my spare time

2010-06-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

This is a wreath I made out of a wire hanger and an old dictionary. I think it still needs a bow but I like how it turned out. I really love wreaths, it's a disease.
I couldn't get a good picture of this but I had a shadow box laying around and of course I had a million buttons taking up space so I decided to make our apartment a little gaudy, but I still love it. Yes, I realize that the definition of gaudy says tasteless use of overly bright, or excessive ornamentation but its fabulous! Plus, I burned the shizz out of my hand trying to hot glue all the buttons so I can't waste all that burned skin that I sacrificed in order to make the thing!

Brushing up on Golf skills

2010-05-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

For our Saturday activity we went to the Burlingame driving range. It was fun but super windy! I hit 10 out of 160 balls so, maybe next time I will try hitting 20?
Don't let the scarf and sunglasses fool you I fit in and I rocked it!
He was totally serious, and I really like how he wore his basketball shoes too:)

I really like this picture. It is a couple who are about 89 years old and they were there for a Saturday driving range date too! I really want to be like them when we get old, and the lady had a magnificent scarf on! So this picture makes me want to say, "hello future!"

Mom, this one's for you!

2010-05-15T14:56:00.001-07:00

We've had our new car for about a month now and I promised my family some pictures.

We love it!

Lighthouse adventure!

2010-05-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun finding the lighthouse. It is across the Golden Gate looking out on the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I loved it! It is still working and everything, I highly recommend this little adventure to anyone!
You have to pass through a creepy tunnel but it's totally worth it.
The suspension bridge is the same one that has been there since the lighthouse was built. Oh, yeah did I mention that this lighthouse is located on it's own rock in the ocean. So to get to it you have to leave land and take a suspension bridge to a rock where the lighthouse is located!
There she be, it is a really fun place

Ok, so it's not totally on it's own rock in the middle of the ocean but it kind of feels that way!
We had so much fun, I love California!!

Mormon Helping Hands!

2010-05-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

Over 100,000 Mormons gathered around California to donate their time to a great day of service! Our stake was in charge of cleaning up parts of Golden Gate Park here in SF. It was really fun and we got to wear ugly yellow vests:)

J loves to weed!
Our group was in charge of weeding around hydrangea plants, which are my fav!
Our hard working group
I love GGB!

Six flags!

2010-04-17T23:14:00.000-07:00

So, J and I thought that six flags was all roller coasters and crazy rides. Thank goodness this six flags wasn't all rides because after the second roller coaster of the day I really thought I might loose my Jamba Juice! I thought I liked roller coasters because our honey moon to Disney Land was fun, but I forgot that most of those rides were for children under the age of 1o. So after we both thought we might throw up we headed to the animal shows and they were so fun!

Here is Shuka the killer whale, she was really cool but it freaks me out that she can be trained to do tricks!
Here is a tiger that can swim, Josh and I stayed after the show and got to see the Tigers play together. The funny thing about tigers are that their cages have signs all over them warning people that the tigers spray urine everywhere so watch out!
Another beautiful tiger in the background. A man offered to take our picture in front of the tiger as long as we acted like we were tigers. Josh did not play along:)
Dolphin show, really fun! I feel kind of bad for the animals that have to perform in shows, but the trainers say that they only do four shows a week so that's ok right?
we had so much fun! It was a great way to end busy season for Josh, I just wish we would have taken motion sickness medicine before we went:)

April 15th!

2010-04-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

Busy season is officially over, which means I get to see more of my handsome husband! During busy season my husbands favorite thing is sleep (like the picture below) so now that I have more awake time with him hopefully we will have some fun adventures to report about! Happy end to busy season to all of my accounting friends out there!:)
J has this amazing ability to sleep anywhere and in almost any position depending on how tired he is; (this was an especially hard day for him:)

My favorite things from my wedding!

2010-04-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry to show you my whole wedding album, but with no kids and busy season (so no fun), I have to show you this stuff, which btw still is exciting to me!

The most amazing thing about my wedding (except all the ferns on my cake, I told the cake lady white roses only!) A dessert bar was the best feature of the reception by far!
One of my favorite pictures! I hadn't eaten sweets in like six months, and I hadn't eaten anything all day long, so when we cut the cake I acted like a mad woman! Look how I'm holding the fork, and Josh is looking at me like "what have I gotten myself into":)

I loved my center pieces too
Making our escape, the look on Josh's dad's face is priceless! He can't wait for this night to end! If you don't know who his dad is, Just find the man who is smiling the biggest:)

Three Years!!

2010-04-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

I love thinking about my wedding day! It was amazing and I can't believe it was three years (and about 100 pounds:) ago. We're still in love, I'm so thankful for our temple marriage! Happy Anniversary to me and Mr. J!

Lazy weekend!

2010-04-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

I am recovering from a great visit with my parents! I have no good picture of myself to expresses the way I feel so I found this picture of James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor on a blog called Lolita. I love old photos of famous movie stars! Hope you're all having a great conference weekend!

My Ma and Pa are coming!

2010-03-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow my parents are coming and I can't wait! I am cleaning my house right now in preparation, that proves I love them. I also have tons of fun stuff planned so get ready for some fun pictures! This picture below is so adorable, it's a pic of my parents on their wedding day with my grandparents. I thought I would post it because they are so cute and their anniversary is coming up. So all you who know LC and Valbowskie will get a kick out of this pic:)

Isn't my mom beautiful! And I didn't realize that my dad always had a stach and a beautiful head of hair:)

Weeds!

2010-03-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

My flower box on my window was suddenly growing these really cute plants and then they bloomed and I could tell they weren't beautiful flowers!
Believe it or not I wasn't trying to take this great picture of myself, but I thought it was kind of funny.
I can't wait until my mom comes to visit so she can help me take care of these weeds and get me some legit flowers!
They are taking over my planter box! But the pool looks nice:)

Napa Valley weekend

2010-03-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

The CIA was the coolest place ever! That cooking school is pretty much in a castle
There she be, the Greystone use to be a winery. I can't wait to go back and eat at the restaurant!
There is all of us girls with the chef. We got to see a demonstration and eat the work! I felt like I was in a cooking show on the food channel!
The scenery around campus was amazing! These are really old wine barrels, I think everyone should go to Napa sometime in their lives!

Yay! They're Over!!!

2010-02-18T15:52:00.001-08:00

Mr. J passed all of his CPA tests!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so proud of him! I get a sick feeling whenever someone tells they are taking their CPA tests. Now there is No more studying all day everyday, even weekends! Those tests are so hard and now they are all over and guess what people; We are totally celebrating! Since J had to take the dumb tests he gets to decide where we're going to go and I have a feeling we're going back to Disney Land (or someplace with a roller coaster)
From looking at this picture of us in Disney Land I'd say we would have a pretty good time!

Presidents Day

2010-02-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

In honor of Presidents Day I have been reading a book about Abraham Lincoln's killer, (John Wilkes Booth) and the man hunt for him! It's a great book I recommend it to anyone. I just got done with it so I can send it back to my wonderful sister-in-law who let me borrow it:)
Does anyone have any good recommendations for books about past Presidents?

Just something to get you into the Valentine's Day Mood!

2010-02-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

Enjoy! This is a Honeymoon pic so that's why we look so much in love!

Rain, Rain, Rain!!

2010-02-01T12:33:00.000-08:00

The next 7 days are going to be rainy, which is the exact weather I need so I can wear my new rain boots!! Yes! Oh, and Happy 1st day of February!

Reno Baby!

2010-02-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

I went to Reno this weekend to see my Bestie from college and help her with Baby A's 1st Birthday Bash! It was really fun and Kristin is pretty much the best at all this cute party planning stuff. Plus, she made everything you see in these pictures,(including the baby:)

Baby A just loving life as a 1 year old! First taste of cake went really successfully as you can see
If you want to see more of the great work Kristin does with interior decorating and party stuff go to my simple sage tag under stuff I love

2010-01-27T14:41:00.000-08:00

Just got my new rain boots in the mail but...
This is what it looks like outside! Not even one cloud in the sky! I knew this would happen, ah well, next year I'll be ready!!

I can't take it anymore!!

2010-01-21T14:11:00.001-08:00

That's better! I think these cute rain boots and I could get along really well in this crazy northern California rain. Lately my feet feel constantly damp, I broke down today and went to target.com! Now if I could only figure out how to keep the power in our apartment on!?

SF with my sista!

2010-01-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

Warning: This post contains lots of close up pictures of my sis and me!

J and my little sis sippin on some good candycane milkshakes

7-11 in K-town has more slurpee options out of any 7-11 I've ever seen!

We love the Golden Gate!
Walking around Burlingame!
A wall with a surfer painted on it in Half moon bay

And we ended the whole trip with some delicious fro yo!

More christams photos

2010-01-14T10:04:00.000-08:00

My cute doggy got really sick over christmas, so when she finally got better my sis and I bought her a new peace sign collar to celebrate. Isn't it cute?
yay! She passed her boards so my sis did my hair and it turned out real cute
J and I attempting our puzzle we got for Christmas, it was a really hard puzzle!
Christmas dinner, My sis cutting the turkey
Mom and sis getting the meat ready, it was amazing! We are most definitely carnivores!

Pictures from Christmas

2010-01-14T09:56:00.000-08:00

Me and J with my rents in front of the tree
My little sis with J. He is holding one of his favorite gifts, his BYU football!
I love my new night shirt!
Christmas at J's parents house, since we are from the same town we get to have two!
Mrs. P with one of her favorite sons:) It was a fun day we got good stuff!

Dear Jeep,

2009-12-21T20:22:00.000-08:00

Dearest Jeep,
If you could keep running long enough to get us home for Christmas and back to SF safely we would truly appreciate it! We have always loved you and have treated you with lots of love and care, so we think you owe us one last long trip. We won't put a uhaul on the back of you this time and we will feed you your favorite 'plus' gas! Just think about it, ok? Thanks you're the best, (unless of course you don't make the long trip, then you are not the best and I will give you to a junk yard got it?)

xoxo,
S

Holiday baking today!!

2009-12-19T11:30:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love to put on my cute apron and bake up some sweets!! Happy Holiday baking to all!!

Some serious Gingerbread houses!

2009-12-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

This was our second annual R&P Christmas Partay. And they keep getting better! Last year we all got together and made dinner and watched Mr. Kruger's Christmas. I cried through the whole thing (I hate that movie!) THis year was better. We still had dinner but we made gingerbread houses and listened to Christmas music instead of watching weird Christmas movies.
This was our finished product and I think it looks great, especially because this was our first gingerbread house ever. Can you believe that?
J and I with our winner. I really liked my wreath and J liked his construction job (he put it together and I decorated it, you know how it goes)
Our attempt at getting together in front of the tree for a group picture, I still like it:)

'Beauty School Drop Out....

2009-12-12T19:11:00.000-08:00

Just kidding she Graduated a couple days ago! This is my sis. in the Burg Idaho. She is done with this place and I am so proud of her and I couldn't be happier that I can get my hair done for practically nothing now. She has passed all her boards and is now a licensed beautician! Here is some more fun news, she is heading this way in Jan. for a little visit and I can't wait!! P.s She can rock the "crazy bun on top of the head" way better than I ever could and pearls and sun glasses and a yellow bandanna! She's so stylish, watch out SF!

Snowman Salt and Pepper Shakers!

2009-12-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

My Salt and Pepper shaker collection is growing quite nicely thanks to my mom . She just got me these cute snowmen (actually I think one is a girl:) They look really cute on my tiny stove. The only bad thing about them is that J isn't a big fan of them. I asked him why he doesn't like them and he said it's not the snowmen, he just doesn't like my S & P collection at all. So in this holiday season the truth comes out People! But I can't stop sorry love:) Btw these are from the victorian trading co. website. My mom is a catalog freak and she orders from these people a lot. So if you need gift ideas they are good!

Christmas is coming!

2009-12-09T20:18:00.000-08:00

This is the picture we are using on our Christmas cards this year (coming to a mail box near you!) Thanks K&B Rad for taking our picture. I have nothing to blog about right now because it is the end of the semester and I am drowning in reviews and tests so hopefully I can get into a better Christmas spirit once the final is over!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-25T13:32:00.001-08:00

Can't wait to keep the Thanksgiving in Reno tradition! Pray that the passes are good for us:)

My hubby made me dinner!

2009-11-16T11:24:00.000-08:00

J thought that he wanted to improve his cooking skills last night, I must admit I was a little hesitant to let him try. He made a chicken parm. but with alfredo sauce! Exciting I know!

I quite enjoyed it! He did great, I think I could get use to someone else cooking for me!
He was pretty proud of himself, it was a fun adventure! P.s we both look a little tired in these pics because we had recently woken up from our Sunday naps

Oh Nuts!

2009-11-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

I'm going to attempt to make this wreath from Martha Stewart mag. You know how much I love making wreaths so stay tuned and I will let you know how it turns out!

Another College Football weekend!

2009-11-08T16:51:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to see the Cal vs. OSU game!
We had good seats so we were able to see all the action.
Love it
We went to Berkley's famous Fenton Creamery and had this huge ice cream sunday, it was heavenly and there was a brownie on the bottom of all that ice cream!
And we got to spend time with a cute baby! And her parents

Birthday Boy!

2009-11-01T18:22:00.000-08:00

The big 2-7. He got an iphone and that's about it, those things are spendy! Fun fact, four years ago today we held hands for the first time. I was poor back then so it was the only gift I could give him, good thing he liked it:)

They're Coming!!

2009-10-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

J's rents are coming and we are really excited. I like this picture because J's mom was my old high school debate teacher and this pic was taken in her class room, so all you K-high grads I bet you thought it looked familiar. Everyone took debate from Mrs.P right?

J's dad. This pic says it all. He is total business, and check out that hat! Literally I can't wait!

Obsession with maps!

2009-10-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

I heart maps like you would not believe so I thought I would share some of my loves from Martha Stewart. I have used this wrapping gifts with maps technique in the past and I loved doing it. I still regret not registering for a giant map wall paper for our wedding, wouldn't that have been so cool?

I'm pretty sure if I could decorate my future mansion like a library with maps like this everywhere I would. Lately I've had love affair with modge podge, old maps from National Geographic magazines, and canvases. It hasn't turned out as well as I wanted but I'm still trying. Someday though I will have dozens of old antique maps framed! Enjoy and don't worry i will post about other obsessions i have later, i know you're dying to know more of them.

My little sis is on the news!

2009-10-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

My sister was on the news!! I mean it was just the Idaho Falls Channel 3 news but still. This video of my sister captures her perfectly, every one out there who knows her will totally agree. Here is the link if you want to watch it. The link only takes you to the written article so under the picture and story heading you have to click on the video icon to watch it, http://www.kidk.com/news/local/64320397.html
The segment is called Free Hugs, only in Rexburg would they let people give out free hugs in front of a grocery store!!! This is so funny

She just looks like she could be on the news, right?

I'm crafty!

2009-10-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea for a white gourd wreath on one of my favorite blogs, armelle jewelry.blogspot, and it turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself! I had to go to the store like seven times to get more gourds but I finally got it right. I'm pretty proud of myself,and I only had to burn the dickins out of my finger from the hot glue gun like twice:) Enjoy!