January: The year started off poorly but the month ended well!

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Moms should never get sick!  Moms don't get sick days.  Pregnant women should be exempt from infections and viruses.  Ugh.  Yuck.  Talk about losing control of your body!

So, the thanks we get for taking care of our sick children, sometimes results in us getting sick (this season was such a bad one for people everywhere).

I got a cough/cold that lasted for at least two weeks (it wasn't the flu, I did get tested even though I had a flu shot) and then just when I thought it was clearing up, it turned in to a sinus infection (luckily, antibiotics can help with that!).  It was bad enough that I had to cancel my second class of the semester because I was just too ill to do anything.  It was also difficult because how do you take care of a toddler and your own fatigued pregnant self when you're sick?

And the gagging.  Oh my gosh the gag reflex comes on strong for me, especially during the so-called glorious trimester.  Teeth brushing and retainer-wearing were just so annoyingly gag-inducing.  Add that to persistent coughing, and all of a sudden you have a recipe for more cookie-tossing.  YUCK. YUCK. YUCK.  I did way more of that this pregnancy than last, and a lot of it was just because the hacking caused so much distress that that is how my body reacted.

In short, it was miserable on so many levels.  Not to mention, once I actually got better, it still took my lungs at least an additional couple more weeks to heal. Laying down was not my friend for a long time.  When I get a cough, man it is just that bad barking cough, and I hate it.  And it's so hard to sleep!

But on to happier subjects...

Back in November, Hylan had mentioned something about how he wanted to start the tradition of taking Naomi to BYU women's basketball games.  Um, really Hylan?  You don't have to twist my arm.  I think we ended up going to at least 5 games in January in February and I'm pretty sure I initiated all of those trips, but it was because he said he wanted to!

So, one of those days when I wasn't feeling awesome (but better than on January 1st when we had planned on going with my sister's family to a game and having a traditional New Year's dinner together), we took Naomi to her first BYU women's basketball game.  And it was good times!

She got to wear her fancy track suit.

It's so much less stress to go to a women's game because there is lots of room to play!

And the chicken dance is always involved during a timeout in the second half. The cord guy is kind of in the way, but I'm so glad Naomi has such a great Daddy who is willing to take her down on the court.

They may have held up traffic a bit, but I just thought they were a cute pair!

Oh yeah, and then there was that time that Naomi went to the doctor with me, during one of my many prenatal exams, and when we got home, I turned around to notice that she had stuck a giant sticker to her head.

Here's a better shot.  I didn't panic but I did put her right in the tub.  After a few attempts at different methods of removing the sticker without creating a bald spot, I finally realized that baby oil might work.  A little dousing and it slipped right off!  Phew.  Tragedy averted.  So, let that be a lesson for the future.  Greasy hair is much better than a bald spot!  And at least baby oil smells good.  :)

Later in January, we found ourselves shopping for Rosie.  Hylan said that she needed some of her own (new) clothes.  I'm not sure that I felt it was necessary, but you pick your battles, right?  ;o) Once again, you don't have to twist my arm off, Hylan!  Whatever you say, dear.  :)

When I found the flamingo baby clothes at the Carter's outlet, it was super hard to resist buying too much! And then later in the week, it was super hard to resist the other flamingo outfits we found at Kohl's.  I thought I might take something back and then I realized I didn't really need to.  Everything was just too cute!  

Did you know I've been obsessed with flamingos since the first grade?  It's my thing.  I love that babies don't care what you dress them in so you can dress them in whatever floats your own fancy. And so I do!  And this is why sometimes you do a load of darks, sometimes a load of whites, and sometimes you do a load of pinks!  Yep. Or maybe that's just me. I bet it's just me.  :)

Hylan worked a lot in January too.  He even got to do some events at Sundance with clients and coworkers, but the wives were uninvited, so Naomi and I had a date one Friday night to the Dyson repair shop, Lowe's, Costco, and Culver's.  That's what this crazy selfie is all about.

My parents came out in late January through early February for my niece's baptism, so that really helped take the woes out of the month also, but more on that in the February post.

This next picture is just another one of my faves.  It was taken the day my mom, sister, and I met up at IKEA.  The pink sweater with the white collar, the white skirt (under her Betsy doll), the tights, the patent leather shoes, and the curly puff on top of her head, I just gush.  Sorry, I'm gushing.  I'm the mom.

 

And that's a better way to end the month.  And a blog post!


Next Up: February: More family fun, Naomi's 2nd Birthday, and the blue dress photo shoot!

December: The good and the bad

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As soon as we got back from our trip, Hylan, with his new title at work, started to really ramp it up, working long days plus Saturdays.  This put a wrinkle in my plans to try to enjoy as many festivities of Christmas as I could, but that was just in the first half of the month...

We had our ultrasound at the beginning of December where we found out that it was another:

I kind of thought we were going to have a boy (not really a premonition like with Naomi, just a thought), but was quickly delighted when I realized I could use all of the same girly stuff again!  Plus, we have yet to agree on a boy's name, but have had an easy time naming our girls, so I guess it's the way it's supposed to be! We were both happy at the prospects of two little girls.  Sisters.  I hope they grow to have a strong bond!

Back to this idea of having a super fun awesome stress-free enjoy-the-season baking, decorating, crafting, looking at lights, watching cheesy Hallmark movies every night kind of Christmas season. That all quickly came to halt when I woke up one frightful morning to hear Hylan writhing in pain laying on the floor in our closet.

I did get one project done. These trains were fun to hand out!

Yikes!  He had established such a great routine waking up in the early morning hours to go to CrossFit...but the morning of Saturday, December 13th, he ruptured a disc in his back.  This disc (and his degenerative spine) had been causing him issues for a long long long time, but his exercise routine seemed to help mitigate the pain/numbness until this injury which put immediate, direct pressure on the nerve , rendering him incapable of much movement at all (I still don't know how he drove home from the gym).  It was so hard to watch and not really be able to do much to help him.  

Thankfully, with the help of Hylan's father and brother, he was able to get to the ER right away to have an MRI and then schedule an appointment with a surgeon, while I stayed home with Naomi. He was in so much pain for the next several days, but we were so fortunate to then be able to schedule surgery, a microdiscectomy, for Thursday, December 18, 2014.    

To be honest, I was kind of relieved that he would be able to have this procedure done which could potentially eliminate the chronic problems he had, but it certainly wasn't going to be easy on him (or me, for that matter)!  

Hylan's family watched Naomi while I spent the aforementioned day with him at UVRMC.  During his surgery, I spent the time getting Christmas cards prepped and mailed out and played Scrabble on my phone.  All went well with the surgery and he stayed overnight for monitoring while I went home to tend to Naomi.  

But then on to recovery.  No twisting, bending, or lifting for him for at least six weeks!  And of course, in the immediate time, lots of resting, but not too much because he was also supposed to get up and walk frequently.  It was not my favorite time because I had to assume more duties like kitty litter, trash, all the loading and unloading, and Naomi all the time!  It doesn't sound like much, but you quickly realize how helpful a husband is when he can't help anymore.  I really wanted to complain, being pregnant and all, but at least I was in that "glorious 2nd trimester" so I had a bit of stamina for it.

Such is life.  Our church Christmas breakfast was two days later on Saturday and Hylan was able to go with me, though he was sore, it was good for him to get out and walk a bit.  And we have these great gems of pictures to treasure because of it.  

 Yes, we actually have a professional Mr. & Mrs. Claus living in our neighborhood.

It's just that Naomi wasn't too excited about it.

And so the Christmas season was not quite as magical as I had hoped it would be, but I know Naomi enjoyed opening her gifts (mostly from her grandmas) on Christmas day.

On Christmas Eve night, we went over to Hylan's parents house where his sister and our brother-in-law had prepared a delicious turkey dinner.  I mean, really, DELECTABLE!  When we got home, I let Naomi open the jammies I bought her in PA.  She seemed to like them.

 Scottie Dog!

Of course, this is just before she tripped and fell down the stairs (such a scary moment hearing the bounce, thud, scream).  :( :( :(  Her pants were too long (#momfail).  She was okay after a few sobs and cuddles though.  Then we read the Christmas story in the bible and said goodnight.

We slept in on Christmas morning, opened our stockings first, then I made biscuits and gravy. After that, we (mostly Naomi) opened our gifts (I think it was like 11 am when we got to this part. HA HA!).  And by the way, it snowed all Christmas morning.  That was so beautiful and perfect!

 One of the fun stocking stuffers.

A coin purse from Hawaii with money (also from Grandma)!  

She still loves Minnie Mouse

 Necessity toys from grandma like a puzzle...

 and shape blocks. 

Also barnyard animals from her other grandma!

Naomi also received a barking/walking puppy with a connected hand remote control from us which she loved (because she played with it back in October at Walmart).  She had a delightful Christmas and still plays with all of these toys today.

We spent the remainder of Christmas day not doing much.  It wasn't really my favorite day though because Nomie became quite ornery.

  

And that night we realized why.  She got sick with croup.  Gosh was that horrible.  And of course, Hylan did too much trying to help me out, but a week of getting up with her every night for several hours, giving her constant steam baths, changing the humidifier, and tending to the needs of the household really wore on me.  He did so much that he thought he tweaked his back again and went in to have another MRI.  Thankfully, he didn't do more damage, but he was still awfully sore from his incision for weeks more.

This is how she spent her time when she was feeling a little better.

The year ended on a low and 2015 began on a low because then I got sick...but more on that in the next post.

Next Up: January's Woes.  (Wow, that really makes you want to keep reading doesn't it?)  

November: Thanksgiving Blessings

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I was very excited to make it to the middle of November when some of those pesky first trimester woes started to abate (even though I was in the second trimester).

Also, I love Thanksgiving!  That glorious time of not being too pregnant and feeling okay (about weeks 18-26) arrived just in the nick of time for our trip to my homeland in PA.  YAY!

Modeling her Turkey Day outfit before we left home.

I bought it at the Cracker Barrel.

I just couldn't resist.

The timing worked out well because Hylan had to do some training in NYC the week before Thanksgiving (NYC you say? Why yes!).  So, my Mom, my Aunt, my cousin, and myself decided we needed to have a weekend in NYC to see a few shows, etc. and to meet up with Hylan.

While he was there and I was in Utah, he sent me pictures like this:

The bull statue on Wall Street!  

Don't worry, he was actually sensible enough to ask a police officer if he and his buddy could quickly take a picture.  What a great picture!

I flew all by myself with my lap baby and pregnant self across the country on Thursday, November 20th to BWI.  I was picked up and then we traveled to my childhood home in Lancaster, PA (about an hour and a half's drive), arriving around 10ish pm, I'd say.  LONG DAY!  And there may have been a headache involved.  It was just enough time to sleep through the night and then wake up the next morning to drive to NYC.  It's about a 3 hour drive to get to the city where we then met up with Hylan shortly after noon.  We checked into the Staybridge Suites not too far from the Times Square area...and then it was party time!

HAHA!  We have a toddler.  And it was SUPER COLD!  Hylan was such a good sport to agree to this since he would be watching Naomi during showtime. And we all crammed in to one hotel room. Wow, he's a super sweet husband and I appreciate his unselfishness a lot!

So that afternoon/early evening we walked around in the frigid NYC temps and visited a few fun spots.  I took some pictures at Toys "R" Us and the Disney Store but that was about it.  It was hard enough to bundle up and down and take a phone out, etc.

 Hylan is the Hulk, so whenever we see a lego hulk, I have to have him take a picture with it!

If you know me, you know I'm a bit obsessed with pretzels (it's a PA thing) and this was just too cute! We did not buy this stuffed guy but this picture is one of my faves. The pretzel says "A Twist of New York."  By the way, NYC street pretzels are not better than my homemade pretzels or PA soft pretzels. And yes, I also love those super butter Auntie Anne's pretzels (that company started in Lancaster, PA--file that away in your gee whiz collection!) 

The giant Sven in the Disney store was super awesome.  I wish I would have taken a better shot of his whole body because he was huge!  There are always fun displays in these stores, but yes, it was super crowded!  It is NYC after all.

That night we saw Aladdin and let me tell you, IT WAS SPECTACULAR!  The costuming, set design (especially the cave scene), and the Tony Award-winning Genie were the highlights.  It was really quite a wonderful show that I would highly recommend.

The next morning we took Naomi to The Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) in the Upper West Side.  Hylan and I were both so tired from not getting much sleep, but Naomi explored and played, so I guess it was worth it. And we stayed warm.

We don't really have any good pictures from there, but here she is driving a city bus.  Ha.

After lunch at a place nearby, we took a cab back in so that I could meet up with my Mom and Aunt to see the 2:00 pm matinee of Matilda.

Can I tell you how great that show is too?  It's less about the theatrics and more about the story and characters/acting than Aladdin, but I enjoyed it just as much. The actress that played Matilda was on stage the entire time and didn't miss a beat.  She was so phenomenal it brought tears to your eyes. Broadway productions can really be amazing and both of these shows lived up to our expectations. I also highly recommend seeing Matilda on Broadway.  It's a great story and so well produced on stage.

Meanwhile, while we were being entertained, Hylan was being fantastic, as per usual, because he got our vehicle (from a faraway parking garage), packed up all our stuff from the hotel (NYC is not convenient to do any of these things), fed Naomi, found a parking spot right outside our theater, and even let Naomi honk the horn at unsuspecting passersby.  He must really love me because I don't think he loved doing those things.  And no one likes to play the waiting game!

After the show, the three amigos (mom, aunt, cousin) decided to do some more shopping in the city because they were catching the train back to Lancaster later that evening, but Hylan, Naomi, and I decided to high tail it home to PA because we were just plain exhausted.  So we did.  And that was NYC in a nutshell.

The rest of our trip was relaxing and filled with yummy foods.  Naomi got to play with some of her cousins. Aren't they cute?

Here they are watching Tangled on Hylan's phone.  That was the day it snowed!  Oddly enough, even though it was super cold in NYC, we also had one weird day where the weather was 60 degrees (I'm pretty sure that was the day we got some good pre-black friday outlet shopping in too).

Apparently, this is what Naomi liked to do (sit in the refrigerator) when Mommy got to be away to play!  Again, wow, I need to show more appreciation for Hylan.  He really did a lot on this trip.  I guess I was just too busy being happy--feeling like a normal functioning human being who didn't need to stay in bed all day and hate food/eating--again.  :)

The big day came and it was really sweet to hear all of the things that everyone was thankful for before we feasted.  These are the kinds of moments/memories that make all of the travel headaches worth it.

I love this picture with my daughter and grandma (Naomi's namesake).  I think we caught Grams off guard a bit in this picture.   

There was resting, watching football, shopping, visiting Grandma, eating, playing games, going to see Mockingjay Part 1, and other normal family stuff that occurred, and the girls even got to sneak in one more show, "White Christmas" at the Fulton (a local theater) before the festivities came to a close and we had to head back home.

Have I mentioned how much I love Thanksgiving?!  I'm so glad whenever I get to spend it at home. It's the one holiday that just doesn't feel right in any other place. Too much tradition.  Too many memories.  Too many reasons to be home!  But alas, all good things must come to an end.

And this is how we felt about it.

Although I felt pretty good on this trip, I was still quite tired from all the running around and being pregnant.  Thankfully, on our return nonstop flight, we were lucky to have an empty seat next to us, so we took advantage of it!

And that concludes the travel portion of 2014.  We were very fortunate to spend time in a lot of fun places!

Next up: December: The Highs, The Lows!

October: Fun Fall & Halloween

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I'm quite sure I didn't feel great in October.  This is probably when I started craving chicken pot pies (you know the cheap frozen kind that you had when you were a kid).  For some reason, they were so comforting.  I was probably still eating crackers and ginger ale too and foregoing anything fresh or healthy until I could stomach it again.  This probably explains why I gained a total of 2.5 lbs by week 19.  (Don't worry, for me it all packs on during the third trimester).

Anyway, somehow I made it to teach my powertone and yoga classes.  It was an effort each time and I uttered a lot of prayers asking for strength and just hoped I could hold it together.  I think I did. And I'm also sure I was given some extra mental stamina from the Divine, because there were times I could not have done it on my own.

By the way, my back pain did go away and it was most assuredly due to taking it easy at first (I couldn't do a lot the first couple weeks in to the semester) but then the exercise cured my back woes! For that, I am so grateful. I've been able to temper back issues this pregnancy much better (no lifting treadmills this time) and lots of moderate-listening-to-my-body exercising!  I stopped running almost immediately when I found out (because of my back and nausea and it just doesn't feel good to my body) but I started doing Tracey Anderson's 9 Month Pregnancy Project  to supplement my other activities.  I have really loved that!  I also got a Shiva Rea Prenatal Yoga that I have done much less often, but still have liked.    

Enough about that though.

I also somehow mustered up the energy to get out a few Halloween decorations and my daughter turned in to a pumpkin head!

I must have found some energy to cook (and eat) because one morning I made Pumpkin Waffles with Apple Cider Syrup .  The allure of pumpkin recipes that time of year gets me every time!  But really, I love pumpkin recipes every time of year!

Hylan worked a lot this month but we did manage to have a family outing to Thanksgiving Point's Halloween Festival (OZ themed last year).  It was actually quite warm that day.  And so. much. fun!

 That explains why Glinda was there.

Naomi especially enjoyed playing in the giant dried corn pits.  I mean, who doesn't? 

We also found a train to drive!

 Because when you have the opportunity to take a picture with a giant cow butt, you do!

It's just a fun place to be with tons of activities for every age group.  It seems like it keeps getting bigger and better each year too.

Hylan was very ambitious with his pumpkin carving last year (pumpkin carving is sometimes fun and sometimes sounds like too much effort and mess to me), so he took on this project!  Do you recognize the kitty?

 Puss from "Puss in Boots" and "Shrek"

This next picture speaks for itself!  We didn't do any trick-or-treating, but I had to do something special for Halloween and "Boo" was just too perfect (and easy)!

We did go to our ward (church) Halloween dinner and Naomi wore her Elsa dress (like almost every other little girl that year!).  It was too long and we had to keep pinning and hiking it up, but still....

Halloween is such a fun holiday and really is one of those more magical holidays with kids!  Candy, costumes, bright colors, fun baking ideas.  I love those parts, even though Fall is not my favorite season, I still derive a lot of joy from it.

And that concludes October.


Next blog: November: Thanksgiving, NYC/PA!