Wall Art.

I put up some wall art this weekend in the nursery and Presley's room! It was easy and fun (and mom helped) and best of all was that Presley actually noticed the flowers and now likes to "smell" them before she goes to bed at night (a pretty cute sight).

The words and butterflies are in the nursery and the flowers are above Presley's bed. I am really happy with the way vinyl wall stickers went up (except the pink is a little brighter than I would have liked, but it is ok) and they seem like they will be easy to remove when the time will come. I still have a few ladybugs and butterflies to put up in the bathroom downstairs--it is great how well they already match with the art and pictures I currently have in there.

Happy Birthday Little P!

I cannot believe that 2 years ago today I was admitted into the hospital, where I lay "resting and descending" for 10 hours before Presley was born a healthy, happy, beautiful baby girl! It has been an amazing couple of years and ever time I look at Presley I can't believe she is ours. I am constantly in awe of all the things she is learning and the person she is becoming.

Here are a few shots from her birthday party we had on Sunday. Chris is on a camping trip with the scouts so we held the event a few days early. Presley had a great time of course and especially loved all the attention from the family.

This year I made P's cake myself--cupcakes that is. Cherry Chip with vanilla icing and white cake with chocolate frosting. If you need a good frosting recipe let me know--it tasted good and held its shape (I particularly liked the chocolate version). The recipe is from my sister Krista's sister in law Kristin.

This year we practiced holding 2 fingers up so Presley could do it in a photo. This isn't her best attempt. The best part is she talks herself through the process, "These two fingers down, this finger here, two fingers up!".

Birthday dinner consisted of chicken salad croissants (or cro-skunks as pronounced by Presley) and fresh strawberries and pineapple with dip. Presley of course ate the fruit.

The presents were definitely a highlight for Presley. The goodies included cloths, books, markers with paper, a pony, a card game (matching), a bunny doll house (thankfully a small one), princess dress up clothes, and a stroller for her dolls.

Not as into the cake as she was last year, Presley was content to lick the frosting off the cupcake--she didn't even make a mess!

The next morning Presley woke up asking for "More birthday parties please mom." Today the two of us will have to do something special for her birthday so it feels like she is having another party.

North Carolina (part two).

No, it really didn't take me a week to unpack I have just been busy with all the things you come home to after you've gone on a vacation. Anyway, here are more pictures of our fun little jaunt to North Carolina . . .

Discovery Place is a children's museum of sorts. The first floor was full of a toddler exploration area with sand boxes, water area, and a fort. Also on the first floor was an aquarium, wildlife area, and weather center. The second floor was like a giant science lab--experiments, teachers, building stations, and dinosaurs. We also visited the Norman Rockwell exhibit which was pretty hands-on and fun to wander through (Presley even got a chance to be an artist at one of the drawing stations).

On Easter we headed to Krista's in-laws, Tom and Sylvia, for dinner and an impromptu egg hunt. We had such a fun time with the nice weather and the beautiful backyard and thanks to Sylvia's cooking we were all so full by the time we headed home that evening--thank you!

Well, we lucked out on our little trip to North Carolina--my parents went out there this weekend and the weather was cold and rainy the whole time. Hopefully in the fall I will be able to make it out for another trip, this time with the new baby! (I think P will stay home with her dad unless I can get him to come out with us and find a sitter for Roxy)

North Carolina (part one).

The airplane ride was good--a first class seat will always help but my big belly made it difficult for me to be comfortable during the 4 hour flight. Presley was an angel (although a wiggly one) and didn't close her eyes for a second during the entire flight.



We made it to North Carolina--healthy (finally) and happy to be in a place that is actually experiencing SPRING ! These flowers were everywhere and were just what we needed to go along with a 70 degree day and a picnic with Lemon Raspberry cheesecake (our favorite from the Cheesecake Factory, of course).

It was a fabulous day that Krista, Presley, and I enjoyed outdoors shopping in Charlotte. We spent time relaxing at the new house, playing Rock Band, and getting to see Mooresville (Krista and Matt's new town just north of Charlotte).

Saturday we spent the day baking Easter cookies, experiencing the local burger joint and trying a new sport (for Presley anyway). We saw a bowling alley and thought it would be a fun thing to take Presley to do so after our afternoon nap (food induced comas) we hit the local bowling alley--which turned out to be really nice, clean, and family friendly. Matt won with Presley coming in second, Krista third, and me last (I blame it on being unbalanced because of my enormous belly, which is getting bigger by the day).

All of this and we still had 2 more days of fun! When I unpack and get out the photos from my "good" camera I will post about the Easter egg hunt, Discovery Park, and seeing Matt's Nascar Truck Series garage . . . Thanks again for the invite and showing us around! We truly had a wonderful time and hope to be back soon!

Transition.

Ok, so the room has been done for a while--we had guests for a weekend and then I got sick--so no more excuses! On Monday night Presley slept in her big girl bed! And to my delight it went smoothly. After a book, prayers, and kisses the lights were out and she only talked to her dolls and animals for about 10 minutes before I heard nothing but silence and the occasional thumb sucking on the monitor. I couldn't believe it--she didn't get up or out of bed, no crying and the only hiccup was a 6:45 AM wake up (which isn't that far from her normal 7:15 wake up time).

As I had mentioned to a few of my friends I was most nervous about nap time in the new bed. We have blinds and curtains but the room still stays fairly light with the afternoon sun. So on Tuesday after a trip with her daddy down to Provo to visit great grandma Presley was asleep when we put her in her big girl bed for a nap. About 10 minutes later I heard her softly talking to her dolls and hoped she would fall back asleep--no such luck. Presley talked for about an hour and a half before I got her up. The first nap attempt was a failure and Presley asked to go to bed at 6:30 PM that night.

Last night and tonight Presley has been an angel--book, prayer, kisses, and lights out with not even a peep. She seems to have completely forgotten about her old room and the crib. I am happy to say that this afternoon, after talking for about 1/2 hour, I went down to Presley's room and asked her if she wanted to take a nap in her crib. She said "No." and so I asked her to close her eyes, hug her monkey, hold her blanket, and to please not talk any more. To my surprise she fell right to sleep and stayed that way for just about her normal 2 hour nap.

I am not counting it as a success yet but maybe within the next week or so (after our trip to North Carolina to visit Krista) the transition will be complete. Pretty soon I will set up Presley's old room as the new baby's nursery--raise the crib, put in the new bumper, change the photos and artwork. Maybe if I am feeling ambitious I will get started on sorting through all the baby clothes.

More visitors!

Chris's cousin Kari made it up for an afternoon nature walk in Park City! We spent what turned out to be a very cold, windy and even lightly snowing afternoon walking on one of our favorite trails in Park City (we used to come up every winter when the valleys were smoggy due to the inversion--Park City would be sunny and warm compared to Provo).

We were all happy to have Kari up for the evening but I think Presley had the most fun showing Kari her new bedroom--she definitely got plenty of attention and tickles!




Presley used to look a lot more like Kari when she was first born--and Kari was excited to have a dark haired baby just like her. We all couldn't believe it when Presley's hair began turning so blonde! Kari, I am sure that someday Presley's hair will turn dark again and you will have a twin!



This is Presley (before she had her name) at about 24 hours old. This picture really makes me wonder what baby girl #2 will come out looking like!

Visitors.

My sister Becka came for a quick visit this weekend! Her little baby Lincoln is 5 weeks old today and he is still so tiny and delicate. Presley was excited to meet her new cousin and to see her aunt Becka for the first time in quite a while.




When I first asked Presley if she wanted to hold baby Lincoln she said "No, hold Lady Baby with 2 hands." I explained to her that she could hold the new baby as soon as she came out of mom's tummy but for now she could practice with Lincoln. Presley was a pro at holding the baby and she was so interested in his clothes and his hands--she even gave him a few kisses and hugs!

It was good to see you Becka!

I'm back, almost.

After coming down with what ever Chris had I have been pretty much useless since the 1st of March (yes, 17 days). I have never been sick for so long (nor do I intend to be ever again!). It started out with just a cold and cough which of course developed into congestion and tons of sinus pressure--meaning sleepless nights with lots of Sudafed to help with the pressure. After 1 1/2 weeks of no sleep I finally had developed a sinus infection and went on antibiotics to clear it up.

At my prenatal appointment my doctor assured me the baby probably didn't even know I was sick and prescribed me a cough medicine and Afrin for the congestion at night so I could finally get some sleep. It worked! The sinus infection cleared up and the Afrin was a miracle--12 hours with the ability to breathe through my nose and the first of 5 nights of actual SLEEP I have now had.

Thanks to an awesome hubby who took care of Presley and all the friends, neighbors, and family who helped (dinners and babysitting) I think I am finally on the mend. Today I can even breathe through my nose just enough to notice an improvement over the complete blockage I have felt the past few weeks.

Presley had fun with all the things she did with her dad--mostly she loved being out of the house and doing anything with the snow, even shoveling!

Shadows.

Presley has discovered her own shadow! With the sunnier days we have had we are finally getting a little afternoon sun peeking through the windows. And at the right time the sun is at just the right height for P to play with her shadow.

Presley had a series of poses ranging from waving to jumping and hands on her hips. The sun didn't last long but we sure had fun watching her interact with her shadow. Cross your fingers the sun keeps coming out--maybe spring is on its way!

My Picasso.

This is from Presley's "Blue" period. It a portrait of someone she misses but gets to see very soon . . . .

Aunt Krista, this is you! If you look closely you can see a round-ish head with two eyes and a nose. Presley has been very into coloring lately and loves to draw (mostly scribble) on every sheet of paper in a notepad before she is done. Her favorites include drawing a volleyball, Roxy, and tracing her hand (though she usually needs help with this).