Trying New Things

Now this is something that you don't often hear from me since I am a person that does NOT like change very much. I also don't tend to try new things just because of the excuses I make for myself sometimes. A few being that I'm afraid that I could fail, it would be too hard or the "unexpected" that comes from stepping out of our daily routines can be scary.

Honestly, most of these new things didn't take a huge leap to do. For example, this week I decided to try doing more "crafty" things with Mia. She gets so bored around the house sometimes, doing the same old thing day after day. However, for those of you who have toddlers also know that doing crafts with children mean more messes to clean up besides all the messes they already make on a daily basis along with all the other things that need to get done. So the other day I sucked up the fact of having a little more to do that day and sat Mia up to the table for some painting.

I saw this picture floating around pinterest of taking a empty roll of toilet paper and shaping it like a heart using that as a stamp with some paint. It looked simple enough for Mia to try and perfect for making some homemade valentines for friends and family. For Mia not always being the best listener and loving to make bigger messes the necessary, this project was quite the success. She managed to keep most of the paint off her (even though I stripped her down to her diaper just in case) and between the heart stamp and using paint brushes she stayed entertained with it for almost an hour.

The results...

After the painting project and Mia deciding not to take a nap, I got a little more ambitious and decided to have Mia help me make heart-shaped sugar cookies and decorate them. Mia have recently started to love helping out in the kitchen. She has a stool that she drags around the kitchen and get's up to try and help me. This project took a little more time and definitely was more messy, but I must say it's kind of fun/cute to have a little helper in the kitchen to help me bake. We didn't get to decorating the cookies until later that evening and by then I must say I was worn out from the day so I might have taken over decorating the cookies a little once I saw that Mia was basically just eating all the frosting and toppings, but she did help with a few. Sorry, I didn't get any pictures of the whole process, but here is a picture of a little surprise we left out for Eric since he wasn't getting back until really late from being away on business. We also made up some cookie Valentines for Mia's friends. I'm sure their mother's appreciated me giving their kids a cookie the size of their heads :)



Lesson learned from these "crafting" experiences with Mia? Even though it makes more for me to do, as a mother is was so fun seeing Mia's creativity come out and watching her try something new that she was enjoying. So maybe not an everyday occurrence, but something that I will try to do more often.

That night offered another first for me. I had signed up to clean the Oquirrh Mountain Temple with some of other ladies from the ward. Although I was very willing to serve when I first signed up, after a long day of tending Mia and not getting much sleep lately due to the pregnancy, I was beat and the thought of staying up late to clean wasn't sounding all the appealing. However, I was so impressed with how those hired to clean the temple made it such a peaceful and spiritual experience for the volunteers even as we cleaned. This really made me appreciate Eric's grandma much more, who cleans the Vernal, Utah temple each night. I always wondered how and why she did that every night with everything else on her plate she has. I now know that it hardly seems like a "chore" at all, but a blessing to be able to do. After everyone was done cleaning they let us spend the next 10 minutes going where ever we wanted in the temple. I spend most of mine sitting and pondering on the beauty of the temple and on how blessed I am to have the gospel in my life and to have something to live for that is meant to make me eternally happy.

Lesson learned from this experience? After a long day this is just what I needed to rejuvenate me spiritually and physically and I would do it again in a heart beat. If any of you ever get the chance to volunteer to clean the temple DO IT!

My last first for the week...embracing the unknown and stop worrying about always having a plan for the future. I thought this one would be hard one for me since I live for having plans for the future and knowing exactly where I'm going. A couple weeks ago Eric informed me that he was going to be put on another project so he would no longer be going to California and it looked like the new project would be in Virginia. Normally, I would have a mental freak out with the new change and all the unknowns that this new assignment would bring. Surprisingly I was quite calm about it and after sitting on it for a week or so and still not knowing much more all I feel is peace instead of my usual worry and stressing. All I know is that I'm having a baby in April and after that who knows...maybe we'll be adventurous and move to Virginia to be closer to Eric!

Lesson learned? I am SO much happier when I stop worrying all the time about things I can't control and when I'm more light heart about unknowns and dare I say change!? And even though Eric would never admit this, I am probably much more pleasant to be around. Needless to say for once I am heavily relying on faith that the Lord will direct us where is best for our family and not making my own plans first.

Oh and one more other kind of new thing...Annelise, Sara and I have decided to go the Arts in the Park fair in Ely this August again! There were difficult times last time we did it and I'm sure there will plenty of those times this time around as well, but in the end it was a great experience last time, even though it's scary to put yourself out there by trying to sell the things you enjoy making. Hopefully this year is a success!

Anyway, here are a few more pics of Mia that Eric took on his phone that I meant to get on the last post.

Mia has such a good daddy that will play out in the cold snow with her. She loves it!

Mia's face after she gets done with her "moo-mee" (smoothie). We have one about every day now.

Note her crazy morning hair along with an adorable cheesy smile

Updates

I'll make it no secret that there can be moments that are challenging with Mia as she has grown into the "toddler" phase; however those moments could never out weigh what a blessings and beautiful things it is to watch what was once a tiny baby grow and develop each day by learn new things and seeing her joy and excitement with the world around her.

One of Mia's biggest developments which still continues is her vocabulary. I remember as much as I loved holding and snuggling Mia as a baby I couldn't wait for the day she could wrap her arms around my neck and tell me she loves me. It melts my heart each time to hear her little voice say "love you" followed by a big kiss and cheesy smile. She also has become very interested in the alphabet and loves pointing out all the letters she sees in books or around the house. Here is a list of some other new additions to her vocabulary in the last couple of months.

-"Yuck"
-"moo-mee" (aka smoothie) I've been on a smoothie kick lately and now Mia is always asking for one too
-Mia loves calling out all her friends names throughout the day ("emma", "phia"(Sophia), "cohen" and "addi")
-"peez" (please)
-"hewo"(hello) and "goo-bye"
-"nemo" and "woody" when she wants to watch her two favorite movies Finding Nemo and Toy Story.
-"book" We spend a could hour or more each day reading all her books that she brings to me.
-"sawee" (sorry)
- "see ya"

Along with spending lots of time reading Mia also still loves to color and is starting to play more imaginary play with her toys. Eric and I have to laugh when are cleaning up the house at night and see all her little people toys and animals in pairs kissing. Mia has become very interested in is putting on clothes, socks and shoes. She usually walks out from spending time in her bedroom with 3 shirts around her waist, mis-matched socks and two shoes on. She also loves to accessorize and try on all my necklaces.

My attempts at trying to take a picture of Mia in her new dress we bought her when we were in San Diego. (Yes I bribed her to stand there with a cookie)

Lastly, Mia is a daddy's girl. When Eric is gone for work she is always walking around the house pointing at pictures of him and saying his name. She loves to play with him in the evenings and also loves going on daddy-daughter dates with him. So far they have gone swimming together and then out to dinner and just recently to the aquarium.

As for updates on Livy or more on the pregnancy with Livy anyway, I have 3 more months left until I can meet this little girl! This last week I have done a lot for Livy's room and it has made it just seem even more real. Even though I know it's not always going to be easy I can't wait to have a baby girl around the house again.

So far everything has been normal with this pregnancy. I'm about as average a pregnant lady as can be complete with, moodiness, heartburn, ever growing stretch marks, insomnia and a baby who likes to move and kick a lot (especially when Mia decides to sit right on top of Livy, she always has a good kick in retaliation). I feel like my cravings have been a little more tamed this time around or at least so far. I hardly am every craving anything greasy or too heavy because the smallest things seem to give me massive heartburn, but one meal in particular that I always seem to be wanting is steak, mash potatoes and homemade rolls. I always seem to "carbo" load when I'm pregnant. Some things I've come not to like since being pregnant are vegetables, salads and wheat bread. Of course it's all the healthy stuff.

And lastly, upon requests, here are some updates of all the crafts I've been doing as of late.

So first off here are some crafts I've done for Livy's room. One thing I got done last week, but didn't get a picture of yet because I wanted to wait until it was quilted was her quilt for her bed. If you recall I made one for Mia when she was born and I kind of wanted to make a tradition out of it so my kids can have something made from their mom from when they were a baby. So picture to come, but here is a look at the fabric I used in the quilt which kind of set the color scheme and "bird" theme for the room.

Going along with the "bird" theme I found this adorable lamp on ksl for $10. With a coat of yellow spray paint for the base and painting the lamp shade white I think this is going to be the one of the cutest additions to her room!

I came across this picture awhile ago on pinterest and although I kind of just wanted everything in the entire picture I settled by doing something similar with a pillow I already had.

Lastly, when I was is San Diego I bought a new bag at the outlets to dual as my new purse and diaper bag. I love the bag and that is it big enough to for both purposed, but I wanted a way for when I was going somewhere without the kids I wouldn't have to take everything out separately and then put it all back in later. My solution was this "boxie" pouch I made out of a reusable bag I got awhile back from TJ Maxx for $1. I got the tutorial HERE, but just skipped doing a lining because the material from the bag was thick and durable enough on it's own. It was super easy to make and it works perfect!

If I can keep my burst of energy going for the next couple weeks I can hopefully knock off a few more projects for Livy's room as well as some others I would like to get done. So I'll keep the updates on those coming as well as some more pics of Mia when I get them from Eric :)

A Post about Throwing Up

I figure every blog has to have a post about throwing up at least if you're part of my family where everything (pleasant or unpleasant) has to be shared...so here's mine.

Last week our house was hit with what seemed like death itself! (Probably a little dramatic of a phrase, but somewhat justifiable.) Eric was away for work so it was just Mia and I at home. Thursday I woke up to what seemed would be a normal day in the life of someone who is 6 months pregnant with a toddler to tend; however after eating breakfast everything spiraled from there. By noon breakfast was long out of my system and I had thrown up 6 times with little relief in between and Mia was on her 3rd movie of the day. By this time my energy was completely zapped and I had no idea how I was going to continue on through the rest of the day with Mia with my throwing up becoming more frequent and vicious. After managing to get Mia down for a nap I called my sister Sara in a full out cry to ask for some help. I can't express my gratitude for her braving the extremely icy roads and once again taking on the task of watching not only her baby but mine as well! We have been so very blessed to have lived so close to family who can come and help and are so willing when it is needed. Needless to say, she is the BEST sister and I will be sad when we don't live close by anymore!

After going the whole day without any food or water and throwing up more times then I can count my body and energy was completely spent and yes...it felt something pretty close to death! However, I was finally able to rest for a couple of hours in some relief. Eric made it home around midnight to help nurse me through a rough night and take care of Mia the next couple of days. Friday I woke up to an extremely sore and tired body, 2 black eyes and a swollen face with spots all over it from all the broken blood vessels from the strain of throwing up so much. (My body was not made for throwing up!) By Saturday and with a lot of rest I was finally feeling much better; however by that night Eric was in the same condition that I was a few days previous and I was up all night myself in a little bit of a relapse.

Up to this point we have been really lucky in the fact that Eric never seems to get sick so we have never really had to deal with both of us being sick at once while taking care of Mia. This led to another day of Mia pretty much just watching movies and eating whatever was the easiest for me to get her.

So to sum this nasty weekend we both ended it many pounds lighter with our bodies totally cleansed (sadly not in the greatest way) and through all of this I must say Mia did so well with the little attention she got and being stuck at home for pretty much the whole weekend. Poor girl has been saying the name of every friend she has over and over again out of pure boredom. We have been lucky so far in her not catching whatever we had as well so fingers crossed it stays that way! As for Eric and I we are both feeling much better and after laying around for so many days it led me to getting a lot of projects done I have been meaning to do...mainly for Livy's room after of course a total sanitation of our house and bathrooms!

We are looking forward to a fun weekend with Eric's grandparents. Oh and to make up for this not so great post, that for some reason I felt I needed to document, stay tuned for an update post on Mia and the pregnancy! My face has finally cleared up enough where I feel comfortable having my picture taken :)

San Diego Bonus Dinner

One of the great things about Eric's company is that every year they treat all their employees to a bonus dinner weekend where they flight you and your spouse out to a nice hotel for the weekend, host a nice dinner and hand you a nice bonus check. We have been so impressed with how Sunrise Technologies takes care of their employees and shows their appreciation to their families who they have to leave each week for the job.

First off, I want to give a BIG thanks to my sister Sara and her husband for watching Mia while Eric and I got to enjoy this weekend all to ourselves. We really appreciate them taking on the challenge of our daughter along with their own and every thing else they had going on. Eric and I don't get much time together, especially when it comes to getting out of the house so this was a real treat for us!

We flew out of "extremely" cold Salt Lake City Friday morning and less then 2 hours later where in beautiful San Diego with high's in the 70's and sun shining. Boy did that feel wonderful! Some of the highlights of past trips and trips we talk about taking is the food we eat and this trip was no exception. So upon arriving we decided to grab some lunch, but decided beforehand to try out some places we had found that were featured on some of the show on Food Network. (For those interest there is an app you can download called TV Food Maps that shows you all the places that have been featured on different food shows closest to you.) From this app we decided to try to place called Hodad's Burgers. It claims to be in the top 5 best burger places in the country so obviously we had to try it. Even with a line out front we were able to get in pretty quick and enjoyed a fabulous burger, fries and chocolate milkshake not to mention a fun atmosphere.

Of the few pics we took e only seemed to be good at taking pics this trip when there was food involved.

Next we decided to check out our hotel. For this year's bonus dinner they reserved everyone rooms at the Grand Del Mar.Talk about fancy! Eric and I felt like we probably stuck out like sore thumbs because we weren't use to all the great service such as greeting us at the door, taking our bags to the room, turning down our covers while we were out at night and leaving chocolates and rose petals on our pillows and providing us with our own slippers and ropes. After relaxing at the hotel room for a bit we went to a gathering that Eric's company was putting on with appetizers and drinks. Eric was able to introduce me to some of the people he works with and we were also able to see a few others that were hired on from BYU along with Eric. I get along really well with on of the guy's wife who I spent time with in while I was Fargo, North Dakota this summer. She is expecting their first baby and is due just a couple days after me and is also a twin so it's nice to have someone who I really relate with, plus gives me someone to talk too and these work gatherings :)

Saturday we started off the day by going to breakfast at another restaurant we found through the TV Food Maps. It is called Hash House A Go Go. Reviews all warned to prepare for a wait which we ended up waiting for about 40 minutes but it was SO worth it! The food was AMAZING with plates the size of the table! Eric and I split their signature french toast dipped in banana cinnamon cream with pecan maple syrup. So yummy! We found out that there is also one in Las Vegas so if you ever find yourself there make that a MUST place to go for breakfast! Eric and I spent the rest of the day shopping/walking around these outlet stores they had near the hotel. It was fun to just be out with Eric and shopping is always more enjoyable without an antsy toddler :)

This is our breakfast for Hash House A Go Go. We should have taken this picture with one of us in it so you could really see how huge these plates are.

That night was the fancy bonus dinner. It was formal so Eric and I got to get all fancied up and enjoy a nice 4 course dinner following drinks and appetizers. The boss of the company spoke for awhile after the dinner about how successful their year had been and that he was giving out over 4 million dollars in bonus!

It was such an enjoyable weekend leaving Eric and I both excited for next's years bonus dinner! Even though it was an adjustment when Eric started this job and I'm constantly getting those "poor you" looks when people find out that Eric has to travel for work, I am very grateful to the Lord providing us with this job and such a great, family-friendly company. It has helped me also appreciate Eric more and what a blessing it is to have him as a husband and father to my children. If anything this job has made him a better at both!

Holiday Post (The Novel!)

One month later, after lots of fun, food and being with family we are finally back home and officially ready to start the new year!

The week before Christmas Mai and I went out to Ely with my mom when Eric was in California. Mia spent her first week at "Grandma's house" pretty sick which landed her a visit to the doctors. After getting some drugs Mia slowly regained her health, but not before coughing in everyone's face and wiping her nose just about on every surface of my mother's house. Luckily, even with Mia so lovingly sharing her germs the rest of us were able to stay healthy for the holidays. I spent the week sending my parent's Christmas cards, wrapping all the presents and baking all their goodies to give to people and of course watching all those Christmas movies my mom recorded for me throughout December. Eric flew right into Ely that weekend and had the next two weeks off which was SO nice to have him around and free! Sara, Collin and Addi also came to Ely that weekend just in time for Christmas as well.

We usually have Christmas Eve dinner at my Grandma's house but she was sick that whole week as well so we stayed home and had a yummy meal with all our usually favorite holiday dishes. Mia wasn't quite better by then and was just really grumpy so she was in bed by 6:30 and we had the rest of the night to enjoy child free. And of course it wouldn't be the traditional "Robertson" Christmas Eve without reading the story of Christ's birth from the Luke and singing all the Christmas hymns.

Christmas morning started when Mia got up and we all started showing ourselves in the living room. Having Mia unwrap a present every week in December was a great way to practice her "opening presents" skills; however she still wasn't super excited about the whole thing as I think she will be in years to come. Some memorable moments/gifts on Christmas morning was first, the quilt Sara and I made my mom from a bunch of my Grandma Bohn's house dresses that we took after she passed away. When you can make mom cry from opening a gift you know it was a successful gift :) Another great moment was when Seth opened his present from Sara and Collin. All he wanted this year for Christmas was a PS3 so when he opened the gift to see a PS3 box he was so excited until he opened it to find a sweater. We all couldn't help but laugh at his disappointed expression while trying to still seem grateful. Poor kid was close to tears! However, don't feel too bad because Mom and Dad had his real PS3 waiting for him to open next so all was forgiven. All in all it was a great Christmas opening gifts with family and we were grateful to be a part of it. After gifts we had our traditional Christmas brunch and as tradition ate way too much!

One last look at the Christmas tree with all the presents before we opened everything

I didn't quite capture the look on Seth's face when opening the PS3 box and finding the sweater. I think this look was when he thought we were just kidding and he was actually getting one. (We didn't let on for a while that he really was getting one. We made him believe that was it.)

Mia got her first duplox set! She loves it, especially all the animals in it.

Mia apparently didn't think it could officially be Christmas morning without dig around the kitchen for some chic "strainer" hats.

Mia and Grandpa (or "papa" as she likes to say)

Addi was a pretty good sport with all the hugs and kisses that Mia would always try to give her.  After one of Mia's kisses Addi had a big drip of snot from her forehead down to her check. Count on Mia to share everything, including her snot!

This is the quilt that Sara and I made my mom.

Before Sara and Collin left to go home a few days later we decided to go sledding with the girls. It was freezing outside and getting dark so we didn't stay long but the pictures that I captured were priceless! Mia LOVES sledding. Eric even had her go down a few times by herself and it was really funny to watch her go down with her hands out and yelling the whole way down with a smile on her face. (Please excuse some of the really grainy pictures!)

"Look Mom! No hands!"

I must say Addi's facial expressions are always the best for capturing! Love that little girl

With Christmas over we were on to celebrating the New Year. For this holiday Tyler and his family came down to enjoy it with us. Mia had fun having Sophia to play with and for the most part they seemed to keep out of too much trouble, but enjoyed many times their favorite "scream and then laugh" game. For New Years Eve we originally had this big party planned with lots of activities and games, but after eating a big dinner we were all way to stuffed to do anything but sit around. When it looked like we were about to loose everyone from going to sleep around 10pm we decided to pull out the new Just Dance 4 game and it saved the night! We all had so much fun that we (for the first New Years in awhile in my family) made it past midnight!

Also when Annelise was there she did Mia's hair everyday. She did that hard step of getting Mia to hold still long enough to do it. The first day Mia acted like is was torture but by the third day she would let her do it without fuss. I've been trying to do it everyday now to keep Mia use to it. A BIG thanks to Annelise for doing the hard part and I must say I didn't think Mia could get any cuter until I saw her in pig tales!

Tyler's family left a few days later and it was back to just us at my parent house. Eric worked from the house  for a few days and then flew back out to California. Mia and I enjoyed one more week in Ely. I was worried how Mia would do that long of time at my parent's house, but she did so great! She loved playing with all the toys my mom had for her grandkids as well as all of the attention from Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Nathan. My parents were also great enough to even drive out with me to Windover to meet Eric so I wouldn't have to drive by myself in all the snow.

I'm so grateful for a wonderful family and parents who have been such a big help with Mia when Eric travels.