The Third Month

You know what I learned this year? Anyone born on the 29th, 30th, or 31st of a month doesn't have a month 'check-point' in February. Take Hannalyn for example. She was born on the 30th, therefore she would be 3 months old on the 30th of February. But wait... There are only 28 days in February. 29 every fourth year. Put simply, this means that we are celebrating Hannalyn being 3 months old today. What a good day, right?

(I never knew this because no one in my family was born on any of those days. In case you wondered.)

This has been a marvelous month of growth and fun and no feeding tube!!! We took out Hannalyn's tube a month ago and she has just flourished. At her two month check-up she was 22 1/4 inches and 10 lbs 15 ounces. That means that since the day she was born to the beginning of February (two months), she has grown 3 inches and gained 4 pounds - 5 if you count that when we got home from Primary Children's she was 6 pounds something. Woot! Plus, we weighed her on the scale at home earlier this week and she is 12.5 lbs according to that. Growing like a monster. We love it.

Hannalyn is a very happy little girl. She is almost laughing, but that doesn't surprise us with all the people constantly around her that try to help her along that road. :) She rolls onto her side often, and rolled onto her tummy the other day (helped by a slight downhill slant on the bed as she tried to roll toward me). She doesn't like tummy time if someone talks to her, but if left by herself she does just fine. And as evidenced by the pictures above, she has a lot of hair. That hasn't changed, but I haven't put it into a ponytail since the day we did it the first time. Maybe I'll do pigtails sometime... Maybe...

 

She usually wakes up twice in the night, once to eat a lot and once to get a diaper change. She naps well during the day (usually) with a nap in the morning and either a long nap in the afternoon with an evening nap before bed or a few short ones throughout the afternoon and evening. Hannalyn loves her hands and is reaching for people and toys. She loves anything with lights and music. She is very vocal and loves talking to us, or screaming when we don't understand her quick enough. ;)

 
We love our little baby so much. We are having the greatest time hanging out with her and watching her grow and develop. We are so grateful that she is doing so well and is so happy. I have never been so happy in my life. I can't stop smiling when I look at her. My heart is very full.

Three months already. Wow. :)
This kind of happy feels great.

We've found our hands!

Hannalyn has discovered her hands and she loves them. She sucks on them all. the. time. and gets very drool-covered as a result. It's adorable, as well as slimy.

She also likes grabbing her hats, and if hats are not available, she grabs and pulls on her hair. Thankfully she doesn't get a good enough hold on her hair to pull it and make it hurt. For now, it's just cute. :)

Happy Monday!!!

four and twenty

It has been one crazy year. Teaching, moving, getting pregnant, having a baby, not working, etc etc etc. It has been one amazing year.

I had a fantastic birthday. Husband took really good care of me - let me sleep in, took me to lunch, did lots of diapers, and was overall a very good man all day. I loved it.

I'm not sure what it is about February, but every year for the last five or more years, I get the strangest & strongest desire to chop my hair off. It reminds me of the movie 500 Days of Summer when it talks about how Summer loves growing out her hair and then cutting it off. I love my hair long, and I love cutting it off. It's the weirdest thing. Something about it being my birth-month must be the reason. I always feel more inclined to set goals and think about changes and a new year around my birthday than I do at New Year's.

I guess what I'm saying is... I'm ready for this next year to be awesome. I have good feelings about it. Lots of changes and happiness are coming. Yay for 24. :)

Reviewing 23

Last year, I made a list of 23 things I wanted to do during the year. You can read that list HERE if you really want. :)

I was looking at the list myself to see what awesome things I did. I have to admit that I didn't look back at the list, so looking back at it now kind of makes me laugh, but also made me feel good that I accomplished the things I did. I didn't do all of the list. Maybe half. But here are the things I did do and that I'm very proud of:

- finish my first year of teaching with a bang. CHECK.

- exercise / eat right / do what I need to do to get my body in shape and feel good about it. YUP.

- be part of stage production (either on or backstage). BACKSTAGE.

- read the Ensign & my scriptures everyday. WELL....PRETTY CLOSE.

- get a job in the fall. DIDN'T ACCEPT IT, BUT GOT IT!

- finish the baby quilt I started in high school. SEE IT HERE.

- get pregnant. OH YEAH. DEFINITELY DID THAT ONE.

- go on a road trip w/ the Husband. IDAHO. WHAT A FUN TIME.

- get our family pictures taken professionally. MY SISTER IS THE BOMB(DOT)COM.

- write in my journal more throughout the week. EVERY DAY, SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH.

- do something I've never done before. GIVE BIRTH. TOTALLY COUNTS, THOUGH NOT WHAT I HAD IN MIND ;)

 

It's been a good year.

Our Christmas Jar

This post is very delayed, but it is an important story that had a huge impact on our lives and needs to be shared.

As you know, Daniel and I had to take our baby girl to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City when she was only one week old. She spent several days in the ICU there as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with her. On one particularly trying day, we found out late in the evening that our now 11 day old baby would need throat surgery. We went to the cafeteria in the hospital to eat dinner feeling extremely discouraged and disheartened. We ate dinner in silence. Half-way through the meal, we were approached by a woman and her son. They asked if we had a child in the hospital and we told them yes. They pulled out a jar full of change and gently placed it on the table, saying, "This is to help your baby." Daniel and I had been without a paycheck for five months and ran out of savings three months earlier. We had been in the hospital for five days and didn't know when we would be going home. When the jar was placed on the table, Daniel and I both burst into tears as we felt the love of God instantly and heavily upon our hearts. The woman explained that her son had come up with the idea of saving his change all year and then bringing it to Primary Children's to give to a child in need. They had prayed before walking into the hospital that they would know who to give the jar to and when they walked in and saw us, they knew instantly that the jar was meant for us. We told them a little of our daughter's story and expressed for them our gratitude. We exchanged hugs, and then they silently walked away as Daniel and I sat back down. We couldn't eat as we stared at each other and sobbed with the realization that we and our baby are known by God and we are being watched over and taken care of. If the giver of this jar is reading this - please know that you helped us with some medical bills (our daughter is completely better now, by the way), but more importantly, you reminded us that we are loved and lifted our spirits at a time of need. Thank you.


To read about others' experiences with Christmas Jars, click HERE. It's inspirational.

Lessons Learned

I've been trying to write this post for quite some time now, but either have had inadequate time or inadequate words. So here is the best I have. I hope it's coherent and enjoyable.

The last few months fave been the happiest and hardest months I've ever experienced. The absolute, perfect joy & happiness of having a baby and then the complete horror & fear of rushing out to Primary Children's Medical Center. It has been an emotional roller coaster.

Added to the stress of being in the hospital is the fact that Cold Stone is still not open. This has been a huge blessing in a way. Daniel has been with me 100% of the time. We never had to talk about whether or not he should leave the hospital or not go back out to Salt Lake for checkups because he needs to work. He was there the entire time and we were able to work together and build each other up during the hard times we experienced. Naturally, Cold Stone not being open has also been difficult. Daniel hasn't received a paycheck since May when he left his BYU job. I received paychecks from teaching over the summer, but that ended July 31st. This means that we are short on funds. Very short.

I don't tell you this to get you to feel sorry for us, but simply to give you an idea of our situation so that as I tell you the following stories, you will understand where I am coming from.

I have learned several very valuable lessons over the last few months. For example, I have learned that it's not enough for me to say that I am faithful and patient, I have to BE faithful and patient. Most importantly, I have learned that God answers prayers in His way not in mine.

I cannot count how many times I have prayed that we will have what we need - money to pay our bills & buy necessities, strength to go on when we feel we can't, and faith that we will make it through these trials. All of these prayers have been answered, but I never could have imagined how.

One night after a particularly trying day in the hospital, we were sitting in the cafeteria when a woman and her son brought us our very own Christmas Jar (I'll share more details of that particular story some other time) and since arriving home, we have received countless gifts. We have received cards of concern & sympathy, money & gift cards, clothes & diapers for Hannalyn, and even food. I thought that God would answer our prayers by giving us jobs to do or helping us get Cold Stone open faster.

At first, I felt guilty that people were giving us things. People we don't even know - like someone from Mapleton who anonymously sent us $150. They put their return address on the envelope, but not a name. Or like the woman & her son who gave us more than $200 in our Christmas Jar. Or taking us grocery shopping. Even smaller things, like a woman in our ward who has many medical expenses of her own gave us a beautiful Christmas ornament and $10. It reminded me of the widow's mite and her thoughtfulness and care means the world to us. We haven't had to buy diapers for Hannalyn since she was born, or anything else for that matter. She has plenty of toys and clothes - more than we thought she would - thanks to the generosity of family, friends, and ward members. Every night for a week after eating dinner with my parents, we would return home and find some gift on our doorstep.

I learned that there are more Angels doing God's work on the earth than I realized. I learned that God always answers prayers, even if it's not in the way that we expect. I learned that I need to be more humble and accept the generosity of others. I need to allow others to serve and help me without feeling guilty about it - because this is how God is answering my prayers. God has blessed us so abundantly - through the acts of others - and I am so grateful.

These have been hard lessons to learn. We have learned to be so patient and know that, eventually, God will provide us a way to meet our needs. Even if it's the day before rent is due, our needs will be met. God is so generous and so benevolent. I feel so much gratitude for the multitude of angels - known and unknown - that have blessed our lives and continue to do so every day.

With every diaper I change, I remember that this came from someone giving of him or herself in answer to a prompting from God to meet our needs and answer our prayers. It has been a lengthy process, and I know that I still have more to learn. But the lessons that I have learned so far, and the blessings my small family has received have been more than I could have imagined.

We still have a long way to go. Hannalyn is very healthy and doing fantastic. She grew 3 inches in two months and gained 5 pounds in a month and half. We are so proud and loving our sweet baby. However, we still have many bills to pay & diapers to buy. Cold Stone is still not open, and won't be for at least 6-8 weeks after we order equipment.

But we have learned some valuable lessons. Patience & faith pays off. God will always answer our prayers. I shouldn't have preconceptions about how those answers will come, however. Love conquers all. And God's Earthly Angels manifest themselves in the most unexpected of ways.

If you have been one of those angels - thank you. We wouldn't be here without you.

Valentine's Day

I feel so grateful to have many things to LOVE on this day we celebrate LOVE.

I LOVE Daniel & Hannalyn.

I LOVE my parents & siblings.

I LOVE Daniel's parents & siblings & nieces & nephews (even though we don't see them often).

I LOVE the temple.

I LOVE music - piano or vocal. classical or pop.

I LOVE my friends.

I LOVE puzzles.

I LOVE warm houses & hearts.

I LOVE my Savior.

I LOVE love. :)

I am so blessed. I am so grateful. I feel so loved.

Happy Day of Love.

Book Review: A Timeless Romance Anthology (Love Letter Collection)

Fun. Clean. Romantic. Fantastic.

When you have an amazing collection of stories like this, it has to be given a five star rating.

Reading love letters on their own is always a joy, but reading them in this collection was especially awesome. Each story was cleverly written so that the theme of love letters didn't get old. In fact, it made me want to write more love letters of my own. Each Timeless Romance Anthology has been great in its own way, but this may have been my favorite Collection that I've read so far. There wasn't a story I didn't like, and each of the characters & plots were well-developed and exciting. Well done, ladies! I hope to read more romances like these.

Maggie's Song by Karey White - If you're in love with your best friend and they don't know, how do you tell them without risking losing the friendship that you share? That is what Maggie has to decide on a week-long hike. This adorable story had one of my favorite versions of 'love letters' that I've ever read about. It made me laugh out loud.

Just Fly by Krista Lynne Jensen - After her grandpa dies, granddaughter Wren finds a mysterious letter that leads her to meet a woman in Portland and doing his bucket list for him. She learns that love and living takes courage, but that living life without regrets is the best and only way to really live.

How to Rewrite a Love Letter by Diane Darcy - When Julie's students come up with an idea for a fundraiser that involves selling candy bars - and adding love letters for an additional price - she is thrilled. Until the principal shoots her down because of a misunderstanding the two of them had over a love letter. Can the two get back on the same page for the sake of the students?

A Thousand Words by Sarah M. Eden - Shannon & Patrick have been forced to live apart for six months while Patrick works on the railroad trying to earn enough money to marry Shannon. They exchange letters written with pictures since neither of them can write or read. This story was so touching. I loved the genuine feelings that were captured in its pages.

Between the Lines by Annette Lyon - Thomas poses as a pen pal from Canada writing to Jane when she is not assigned one by the local Society. Unfortunately for him, Jane falls in love with his writing persona Charles while Thomas is falling in love with Jane. Will Thomas be able to tell Jane the truth about who the letters are coming from? This story was serendipitous in nature and very exciting to read.

Blackberry Hollow by Heather B. Moore - Lucy has inherited the family estate in England. What she expects to be a two-week trip just to see the house and decide what to sell and what to take back to New York with her turns into an adventure that changes her life.


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H A I R

 

 Hannalyn has had SO MUCH HAIR. While she was being born, I got the incredible experience to feel her head and all the hair on it and look at it, too. Admittedly, I didn't appreciate it as much as I do now because I was distracted. But I was very surprised. I was born with a little hair, but lost it and was bald until I was two. I'll show you a picture sometime. She was born with a LOT of hair and hasn't lost any of it. We love love love it.

 

After her bath it is ridiculously curly on top - just like her daddy. Her hair is still really dark, but has a very slight red tint in certain light and the roots seem to be coming in a little bit lighter. We also have learned that it is long enough to do little ponytails on the top of her head. We probably won't do that too often, though since I think it makes her look too old and I want to keep my little baby for a while longer. But man it is stinkin' cute!!!

Emotional

I was always confident that I would not be a paranoid parent. I've worked with kids for so many years now that I was sure that, while I would be cautious, I would not be paranoid. You know, I wouldn't freak out the first time they ate dirt. Maybe breathe hard for a bit, but not rush to the doctor.

I think I was wrong.

For the most part, I don't feel paranoid. The things that I've noticed bug most new moms don't really bug me. For example - I am cautious about people touching my baby for now but that is because it is still flu season and RSV has hit the Uintah Basin pretty hard this year. I still take her to church, though, so I guess I'm not too worried. Also, I put her on a blanket before she goes on the floor & rinse off anything that might go on her mouth, but I don't put it in a baggy and save it to sanitize before giving it back to her. Is that wrong? Doesn't matter.

The point is, I'm a paranoid mom in other ways. And I get very emotional.

I am paranoid that we are going to go back to the hospital. I have nightmares about going for a check-up and staying for weeks. I worry about having to put the feeding tube back in. Anytime Hannalyn doesn't eat for three hours or more (unless she is asleep), I worry. Anytime she cries when I try to latch her on to nurse, I worry. Anytime she attacks her binky but stone-lips me, I worry.

I worry until I cry and then I cry because I know that being worried & crying won't help her or me. I know I have to be relaxed to have the best nursing experience, and most of the time I am. I love love love that Hannalyn can nurse. I love feeding her. I love that she has grown and improved and is healthy and can swallow. I am so grateful for where we are.

But I worry that we may backtrack. I am a little paranoid because of previous experiences. I guess now I feel a little judge-y and guilty for rolling my eyes at paranoid moms because now I get it. I get that raising a child that is your own is scary and heart-wrenching and you want the best for them. I get that you can't see the future and can't compare experiences too much because it makes you paranoid. I get that worrying is part of life now. I get it.

Now I just need to have more faith so I can stop being so paranoid & emotional.

Faith. That's always the answer. And Love. I love my baby more than anything and know that God loves her, too. And me. He loves me, too. And with my faith and our love, everything will be ok.

Even if I'm a little bit emotional.

Bath time :)

My baby loves her bath time.

The whole time she is in her penguin tub, she is either wide-eyed and calm or wide-eyed, cooing, and excited.

She also loves being bundled up in her towel, drying off, and getting all lotion-ed up.


What can I say? I love taking pictures of my most sweet & adorable baby. :) This was the first time we've taken pictures of her bath. We missed pictures of her first bath because it was mostly a sponge bath at Primary Children's Hospital. Then since we've been home I keep forgetting until after the bath is over. I'm so glad I finally remembered and got some pictures. Not her first first bath... but her first as a two month old! Drop of Awesome. Oh yeah.

Cleaning Day Fun

I'm not really sure what this little scared face is for, but it is hilarious, right? And her smile is just darling.

We have big cleaning days. I've decided we aren't messy people, so we don't deep clean extremely often. That said, I really enjoy the satisfaction of a clean house, so I make sure to do an extra good job when I can.

Hannalyn doesn't help much. She sits in her bouncer and gets mad if Daniel & I are both in a different part of the house than where she currently is. She loves watching us - and listening to the music that plays.

This was a lovely bright-green thing (ribbon? mesh-stuff?) that came wrapped around a gift for Hannalyn. Somehow it got separated from the gift and ended up in a laundry pile. I put it on and felt like a cartoon with my big huge bow and had an instant desire to document the silliness.

Do you enjoy cleaning days? What do you do to make it more enjoyable for your family?

Book Review: Victoria's Promise

Can love found on a TV show be real?

Victoria Winters works on the set of the TV show 'Vows'. After two seasons of the show, Tori has decided she doesn't like public displays of emotion and doubts that love found on screen can be real. However, when Christopher Caine - the new bachelor on the show - smiles at Tori, she gets butterflies. Is this love?

This was a fantastic story. Julie Wright delves wonderfully into the world of Tori as she explores the difference between the reality she experiences at work and the reality she craves outside of work. I loved reading about how Tori learns to focus on the important parts of life and remember that being true to herself is the most important.


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6:30 AM

Often, in the early hours of the morning I realize how much I really love my baby.

For example, the other morning, I was much too loud and woke Husband up a couple times as I laughed at my girl's antics. She was laughing and making faces and even though I was tired and part of me wished she would just finish eating and go back to sleep, I couldn't help appreciating the moment. I remembered that not so long ago, I was feeding my baby through a tube and before that we were in a hospital where I could only hold her if I was very careful with all the connected wires. I felt so blessed to have a happy, healthy baby that I didn't miss the sleep (until later) and I loved the quiet, private time for just the two of us.

I know I keep saying this, but thank you to everyone for the prayers, love, & support. We have felt God's hands in our lives and appreciate so much the blessings we've been given.

Happy February. :)