Tagged.

I will make this quick--but I will say I like "tags" that have themes or specific instructions . . . Jen, it is good to have you back, I have been missing your 'comments'.

1. Favorite pair of shoes right now: Being pregnant I slip on that same Privos everyday and they are getting completely worn out--but I have liked them. I did dig out my favs once the weather turned a bit better, a pair of off-white, slip-on, leather flats with decorative flowers (just the right size), by Aldo. I wish I would have also gotten them in bronze when I originally purchased them last summer. Like Jen I am liking the Keens and Presley is a proud new owner (see below).

2. New Year's resolution: I didn't make one but now that I am almost done being pregnant I would have to say I look forward to eating a lighter, healthier, summer-time fare. I am thinking salads with strawberries, cashews, chicken, and balsamic vinaigrette.

3. Are you listening to music right now? No. Presley is eating dinner (an apple, she is on a fruit only kick) and I am listening to Iron Chef America: Battle Tomatoes. They mentioned a BLT and I was hooked (one of my favorite ways to eat a good, garden-grown tomato).

4. If you had $200 to spend on yourself? Where to start . . . I am done buying stuff for the house for a while and I will soon be in desperate need of some summer clothes. I fear my purchases would be more practical though--a nursing bra, comfy clothes to lounge in, and anything from the new Athleta catalog that came in the mail).

5. Favorite place in the city that you live in: Midway. It is a beautiful place. One of my favorite places is my deck--it over looks the whole Heber Valley and I can see up Lime Canyon. I also love just taking off on the trail that leaves our neighborhood and works its way to Snake Creek and the Wasatch Golf Course).

6. Book you are reading: I am very ashamed to admit that I am not reading anything right now. I used to be an avid reader and the time just gets away from these days. I would love to be reading ANYTHING. I did read the Alchemist a few weeks ago (on the suggestion of a friend) and I loved it so much I made Chris read it too. It is a quick read but full of personal insight and direction.

New.

Being pregnant I haven't felt like shopping much for myself--I only purchased 4 new maternity clothes during this pregnancy (and I am hoping the jeans I wear everyday will last the next 4 weeks). So Presley has been the beneficiary of my normal shopping habits. New spring clothes and new shoes were on our list and she got them both!

I am looking forward to pulling out my spring and summer clothes from last year and getting into them as soon as I can after the baby is born (assuming the weather cooperates and we actually have warmer temperatures). Maybe by the fall I will be ready to get into shopping for myself again . . . my fingers are crossed.

Strawberry Jam.

Every spring I make strawberry jam--and LOTS of it. Enough to last until the next spring when strawberries are at their peak again. This week Presley and I have been making jam and eating tons of berries. With her little cold Presley hasn't wanted to eat much but the berries have kept her somewhat fed and happy.



We have both been a sticky mess and the freezer is now full. We will continue to eat strawberries until Costco runs out of them later in the summer!

Tick Tock.

4 weeks and counting until the arrival of "lady baby"! Presley comes with me to my now weekly doctor appointments and insists that the doctor listen to the baby's heartbeat in her belly--thankfully my doctor is great with little kids and has put her up on the table and "listened" to her belly's heartbeat each time.

The baby moves a ton and is kicking my ribs constantly (not quite as much a P did but close). She is in the right position but is still pretty high in my belly. With any luck I am going to hope the doctor is right when he says labor should be about half the time it was for Presley! I wouldn't be opposed if she decided to come a bit early . . . I am getting so uncomfortable.

We still have NO names (looks like it may be a repeat of Presley--a no name baby until we get her home from the hospital for a day or two). Any suggestions? Presley is still stuck on "Lady Baby" or a list of her friends names and today she told me she would name the baby "Mom". That might be confusing . . . we are open for suggestions.

Kids say the cutest things . . .

Presley has quite a few sayings lately that really make us laugh. Here are some of our favorites:

• If you ask her if the sun went down she replies "No, not yet!" because she knows it is bedtime.
• "I'm cryin' " anytime she is unhappy.
• "Are you kidding?"
• "My back hurts because I'm pregnant." I am sure you can guess where she picked up that one.

I will post more as they come (which is practically everyday).

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.