whoops

So, I'm 39 weeks pregnant today and decided that I want a new diaper bag for this baby. We headed out to Marshall's and TJ Maxx with my Mom. Annagrace decides she needs to go potty and since I always do too, I took her. I squatted to pull her pants down and then tried to put her on the potty, while in the same squatting position. BIG NO-NO! Annagrace had barely left the ground when her feet went right back down and I toppled backwards onto my butt! I sat there for a second (on a public bathroom floor - I tried not to think about the germs), chuckled, and made my way back up. But, something was wrong an achy wrong. I called the doctors office just to make sure I shouldn't be worried. And he sent me to the HOSPITAL!! I really didn't think it was that bad and hated to go. But, Tyler took off from work and we headed to L&D Triage. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor where I stayed for an hour. Everything was fine! We did find out that Emmalee has a Heart Arrhythmia that SHOULD clear up at birth. But, nothing wrong due to the fall. So, we are still on track for a C-section on Friday!

The BIG 30!

I had an amazing 30th birthday. Thank you so much to my friends and family that made it so special!

I still can't really believe that I'm 30. It's not that I mind the number, it's just a number. It's the fact that time has gone by so fast. And on the other hand, that number does mean a lot! To me, it finalizes that step into adulthood.
I can no longer claim the titles: young Mom, newlywed, Daddy (or Mommy's) little girl, or a 20 something anymore!
But, I can claim: experienced Mommy of two, Wife, RS Sister, and life-long Friend. I love the way those sound!

Baby Shower

Some really sweet friends threw me an adorable baby shower!The food was delicious. The game was cute. And the gifts were incredibly generous and wonderful.

I had a great time. I just wish I had taken more photos!

Earth Day

If you know me, then you know I'm about as non-GREEN as you can get. But, this year we actually did something earthy on Earth Day!
A couple of weeks ago I bought seeds to do a veggie garden with Annagrace. And Earth Day seemed like the perfect day to actually get them in some dirt! I'm not a gardener (I kill everything I touch) so we called Grandmother to come help with this project.

Annagrace came home from Nursery a few weeks ago with a cup of dirt. Attached was a note explaining how to care for tomato seeds. I put it in the kitchen window and watered it whenever I did the dishes and the thing actually GREW!! It got too big for the cup, so our first project was to transplant it into a bigger pot.

Then we planted all of the vegetable seeds into random pots to give them a chance to sprout before we try putting them in the ground.
But, the sunflower seeds went right into the flower bed.

She has so much fun digging and burying seeds with Grandmother. Annagrace is partially an outdoor girl and I'm thankful my Mom is around to do that part!

Fingers are crossed that something actually GROWS!

8 DAYS

Seriously folks!!! 8 days left!!!
In the words of our beloved Quincey from Little Einsteins:
"I. CAN. NOT. BELIEVE. IT!"

1 girl, 2 parties, 3rd birthday

Party #1 on Friday: Chuck E Cheese

Party #2 on Saturday: Fairy Princess Tea Party
(Instructions are all on the Craft Blog.)

3, three, THREE

Dear Annagrace,
I can't believe that you are already three years old. We prayed and waited so long for you and you were totally worth the wait. You are everything I had hoped for and more. You help me be the Mommy that I always wanted to be and you are the daughter that I always wanted to have.

You have the most infectious smile and are the most outgoing three year old I have EVER seen. You can carry on conversations with adults as if you are already an adult yourself. You see the world through happy, friendly eyes, a view that I hope you keep forever. You are so sensitive, compassionate and empathetic. You love other children and will play with anyone who is willing. I wish that I was more persistent in finding more kids for you to play with but I am going to try harder! Your size and maturity makes it a little tough. Kids your age are smaller and don't have the verbal and imaginative abilities that you do.

You have such a vivid imagination ranging from imaginary animals, friends, and even a baby (named LOC) in your belly (just like Mommy). You enjoy reading more than ever! You also love TV and movies and would watch them all day, if I would let you.

You are so smart and amaze me every single day with how much you know and understand and how quickly you learn new things.
You: know the Alphabet song
can name each letter by sight
are starting to associate the letters with words
can count to about 15 before it gets a little if-y
can name the numbers 1-25 by sight
can name the 1st and present President of the USA
can name the 1st (Latter-Day) and present Prophet

You love to sing and know several church songs including:
I Am a Child of God
Teach Me to Walk in the Light
Armies of Helaman
Popcorn Tree
Follow the Prophet
Families are Forever (you call it Happy Family)
You also now LOTS of non-church songs, your favorite being Say Hey (I Love You).

At this stage, I can't tell if you have a favorite parent. You run to, ask for, and light up for Mommy and Daddy equally.

Time outs have become a daily occurrence, but that was to be expected for your age. You are testing your limits and boundaries and testing Lucy's at the same time (poor old dog!). Passies are still a crucial part of your life and with this birthday we are trying for the third time to go cold turkey.

You are completely potty trained and have been for a while now. We've even given up the training potty at this point.

You are such a beautiful little girl with bright blue eyes and long dark blond, curly hair. You are tall for your age, looking (and acting) more like a four year old than a two or three year old. You are really into dresses and always choose them over shorts when given the option. You are a good sport and let me fix and play with your hair every morning. And, while you love your ear rings, you hate to change them out.

Oh, how I have enjoyed the last three years. They have been the best of my life! I look forward to seeing the girl, teen, and woman that you will become. I love you so much and can not imagine my life without you.

Love - Mommy

Dentist

Annagrace had her first Dentist Appointment today! She did great, she wouldn't let the hygienist brush her teeth, but she laid back and let them look and poke around. She got to join the Cavity Free Club and a free pass to Monkey Joes!

Uh - Oh

During Annagrace's bath last night, she found my razor on the side of the tub. (I accidentally forgot to put it back up.) Tyler happened to be looking away at the moment, tightening the toilet from the recent remodel. When he turned around all he saw was blood on her belly. He didn't know where or how she was cut. He finally realized it was her lip. She had taken my razor and tried to "shave" like her Daddy. Tyler yanked her out of the tub and came running into the living room holding her with a bloody cloth to her mouth. Of course it freaked me out - my child + lots of blood = Mommy crying. And, it wouldn't stop bleeding! Tyler held her while I kept pressure on it. When the blood finally started to lighten up, we realized all she cut was her lip and not her actual face. We changed from the wash cloth to a gauze and due to a lack of tape, this is the bandage we ended up with:She was a trooper through the whole thing. Tyler said she didn't start crying until he freaked out and pulled her out of the tub. This morning it was a little scabbed. And by this afternoon you can barely see it. She looks like her lip is a little chapped.

April . . .

it's the month of blessings for our family.
This year we got to celebrate Easter in April and remember the great atoning sacrifice our Savior made for us.
On the 7th - I gained my eternal partner nine years ago
On the 16th our precious little angel, Annagrace made her debut, three years ago
The 24th is my 30th Birthday!!! Wow, I can't believe that "3" is in my age.
And then the grand finally to the month is Emmalee's arrival on the 30th.
I'm gushing with happiness this month.

9 YEARS!!

I have been married to the love of my life for 9 years!! The years have gone by so fast and I know it's only going to go faster. The fact that we even met is unbelievable but I can't imagine my life without him. Do you know how we met?
THE INTERNET!!
Crazy huh? And to top it off, it was back in '99, the good old AOL days, the scary days. No dating sites, no match makers, just a good old profile search and Tyler found me! A couple short weeks later, he flew down to Atlanta to meet me. My over-protective mother wouldn't allow him to come to our house. So, we spent the day in Atlanta and he flew back out the same day! Luckily he worked for Continental and got cheap tickets. We had a fabulous day that ended with a goodbye kiss in the airport!!! How romantic!
Well, I won't go into all of the details that followed in the nine months that we dated. Like the night we sat on the sidewalk outside my BYU apartment and I told him that he wasn't the one. But I still wanted to be friends. Or the fact that he KNEW I was the one and hung around anyway. Or the first time I met his parents, I was worried the whole weekend that he was going to propose. But, on that weekend . . . that long ride from Downey to Provo . . . I knew it, I knew I would say YES if he had asked.
He did propose. But, later, much later in May of 2000 and we were married April 7, 2001.
Thank you Tyler for KNOWING and sticking around until I KNEW it too. I love you and am so thankful for our life, our family together.

Easter Weekend

Carol was able to come down for the whole weekend. So, she had a mini-Birthday party for Annagrace.Cute little cake!

She got new ear rings! We have found out that she has super sensitive ears, just like her Mommy, and can only wear gold and occasionally sterling silver. So, we are slowly building her ear ring collection. I'm sad that we can't go out and buy all the little cutesy ones!

After our steak dinner (Annagrace's favorite! My parents are sweet enough to fulfill her expensive taste buds!) and birthday cake we went outside to play.

Annagrace loves to race Missy

Easter morning! The Easter bunny brought lots of goodies. Mostly educational. Annagrace is so smart, I'm going to see how far I can push her and teach her. She already knows the alphabet, so we are working on three letter words now. The Easter Bunny brought flash cards!

Trying to play baseball/T-ball.

Our happy little family!

I just love this sweet little girl!

The hunt.

The biggest bunny I've ever seen!

The LOOT!

Hanging out with her cousin.

I don't think she could love these two any more than she does! I think I play a distant second in her hierarchy of favorite people!