Mr. Mom

So today, after I ate breakfast, I started to not feel very well. It kept getting worse, until this afternoon I just felt awful. I have some kind of stomach bug and it's really annoying. Even as I'm typing this, I don't feel well, but I'm tired of being on the couch. It's especially annoying because I just had something similar 2 weeks ago! I really wonder if I got it at church. Last time I was sick it was on a Monday as well. Hmmmm...anyways, today I've just been laying on the couch resting. 

Since it's Dan's day off, he was around to help out. He changed all of Anna's diapers today, fed her two meals, cleaned her up, cleaned her high chair and the floor, help rock her to sleep for her nap, kept her entertained, etc. He does help me out with these things normally, but today he did it all. After her dinner, he said, "Let me never be unappreciative of you again!" I said, "Thanks honey, I love you." To which he replied, "I love you too, in fact, I love you even more after today." I thought that was so cute. He's such a good husband and daddy. He was a good Mr. Mom today. I'm so grateful to have a husband that is willing to step in and help me out. 

The Beauty of Music

One of my friends posted this on her blog and I immediately fell in love with this song!!! First of all, if you're not familiar with Jon Schmidt, he is an incredibly talented pianist. He is truly amazing. I went to a concert of his a few years ago. He lives in Utah and I don't know if he tours or just performs locally. Here is his website if you want to listen to other songs he's written. http://www.jonschmidt.com/catalog/index.php

As I listened to this song, it made me feel like I was in my own world of music, it just sucked me in. I turned it up really loud and just got lost in the beauty of it. It made me so grateful that Heavenly Father has given His children so many talents, but especially the talent of music. It made me want to be the one playing the piano. I do play, but since I don't have a piano of my own, I'm not as good as I once was. I love how you can tell that Jon is completely absorbed in what he is playing. It's so awesome. Enjoy!

Going Home!!!

I am so excited because at the end of July, Dan and I, plus Anna, are going home to Washington to visit! I'm really looking forward to it. I'm from Enumclaw, WA. It's about an hour south of Seattle. It's extremely close to Mt. Rainier (please note picture above) and on a clear day you have a great view of it. It's a small town, but cute and friendly. It's been over 2 years since I've last been there and even then, it wasn't much of a visit. Dan and I drove up there for our wedding reception. We left on Friday, spend Saturday there, and left on Sunday. I was still in school, so I couldn't miss too many days. 

My best friend Sarah, is getting married. That's really why I'm going, but I've been wanting to visit for a long time. We actually thought about going for Spring Break, but I just didn't feel right about going at that time. It's a good thing we waited, also because rates are cheaper right now. We'll be there for a week. I just hope that Anna is good on the plane ride. Luckily, it's only 2 1/2 hours. 

Other news...I finally got Anna's birth certificate. I think it's really stupid that you have to wait at least 4 months AND pay $17 to get it. Do other states other than CA do this? I kept meaning to get it earlier, but kept forgetting. So I call before I go and the lady tells me to bring my ID and it costs $17. I hate bringing my purse when it's just me and Anna, so I just put my ID and debit card in my pocket. I had a feeling I should call back and check if they take debit, but I figured that lady would have said something. So I drive down there and guess what-they only take checks or cash. So then I have to go to the bank, get money out, come back, etc. It wasn't the worst thing, just inconvenient and I really wished the lady I talked to would have told me. Oh well, now I have it and don't have to worry about it anymore. 

So Smart!

I realized that I haven't posted much about Anna lately. She is getting so big! She's 10 months old now and is so smart!

She just crawled in her car seat one day and had fun playing in it. 

Yesterday, I was very sick. I ended up throwing up in the morning, felt weak, I could barely eat anything all day, etc. So I basically didn't do anything yesterday. Luckily, Anna was such a good baby and was so good at entertaining herself. I just laid on the couch a lot while she was playing. In a way, I'm almost glad I was sick, because I was able to just watch her play and kind of look at her in a new light. She is such a beautiful baby girl. She's so curious and loves to explore. It was so cute, because every once in a while, she'd stop what she was doing and look at me. I would just smile, and she would give me a big smile back. I just really enjoyed watching my baby girl. 

Then later in the evening, I laid down on the couch again and Dan joined me. Then a few seconds later, Anna was right there at the couch with us. Then, she did probably the cutest/funniest thing I've ever seen her do! She started playing peek-a-boo with us. BUT she was the one doing the peek-a-boo! She was at the edge of the couch standing. Then she would crouch down, so we couldn't see her, then pop herself up! We kind of cheered her, then she would kind of yell and squeal and crouch down again. This went on for about 5 min! She loved it. She just kept crouching down and popping herself back up. She's just so smart! 

She's really getting into imitating. A lot of times I'll make a funny noise at her and then she'll try and copy me. I'll clap my hands and she'll clap hers. I'll rub my finger on my lips and she'll do the same. On Sunday, I had to wipe something off the floor and she was on the floor by me. As soon as I finished, I looked at her and she took her hand and was wiping it back and forth on the floor!

She has also started to take some small steps. I think the most she's done is 3 in a row. Usually, she'll do one or two, then start crawling. I bet she'll probably be walking in a month or so. I'm so happy and grateful to be her mom. She really does bring so much joy and happiness to me and Dan. 

Lately, because she has top and bottom teeth, she loves holding things in her mouth. She'll then walk around with them, keeping whatever it is, in her mouth. She reminds us of a little puppy dog. :)

Sometimes she just loves sticking out her tongue. 

What's not to love about this adorable baby?

Quilt in Progress

I have finished the top of Anna's baby quilt! I actually finished it about a week ago. I think it turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. It wasn't terribly difficult and I only made a few minor mistakes that were easy to fix. I am waiting to see if there will be a 50% off coupon from Joanns this week in the paper. I want to use it to buy the batting and then I can finish the quilt. All I have left to do is sew the back on with the batting in between. I'm a little nervous about that, but I think I'll do okay. I then need to decide if I want to tie it with yarn, or do some stitching on the squares to hold it all together. I can't wait to see the finished product. Once I paint Anna's room, it will all look so cute together!

The top of the quilt!

These two pictures are more for my mom, to show the stitching on the alignment of the squares. :)

Sleeping Like a Baby!

After four long months of constantly waking up multiple times in the night, I am pleased to announce that Anna has finally gotten back in the habit of sleeping through the night!!! It's been about 2 weeks or so now. I finally got so tired of her waking up, that one night, after the 3rd wake up, I just had to lay her down, leave the room and let her cry. I was so sick of it. Dan finally got up and laid his hand on her so she couldn't get up and she finally fell asleep. We had to start doing that for a few weeks. Once she woke up, just lay her back down and keep a hand on her so she wouldn't get up. She'd cry a lot, finally calm down, and then fall asleep. 

Part of her waking up was my fault. She used to be an awesome sleeper. From about 2-5 months, she was a great sleeper. She would sleep usually 11-12 hours straight. Then, she started teething and it all went downhill from there. She would wake up and I would feed her (#1 bad thing to do). Then, we went to Utah for Christmas and I didn't want to wake up Dan's family, so I would feed her to get her to stop crying (#2 bad idea). She then got in the habit of expecting me to feed her when she woke up. I would try and carry her up and down the hall at night (this helps her get back to sleep), but it would take so long and I have a bad back and she was so heavy, I just couldn't do it. So my easiest solution was to feed her. Things will be different with baby #2. 

I am just so grateful that I can get some solid sleep now. I was getting so exhausted of only getting 3 hours of sleep at a time. I just hope this is a permanent change!

Anna, 4 months. She would fall asleep like this all the time. We would say she looked like a little frog. So cute...

Benefits of Oatmeal!

Can I just tell you how cool oatmeal is? It is such a great option for breakfast. First of all, it's extremely cheap compared to cold cereal. I buy the off brand for less than $2 (I think it cost $1.78 for 42 oz) and I can easily get at least 20-30 bowls, depending on how much I use. That's only 6-9 cents a bowl! I haven't noticed any difference between the off brand and the name brand. I think in this case, oatmeal is oatmeal. I bought a 25 lb bag of oatmeal for around $9. I'm not going to do the math on that, but it's obviously much cheaper than a normal size container. If you're feeling the urge to really eat a lot of oatmeal for cheap, buy bulk. It lasts for a long time as well. Another reason to love oatmeal is that it's very high in protein and fiber. Everyone can always use more protein and fiber in their diet. Just half a cup (dry) has 5 grams of protein. That's a lot for such a small amount. Dan and I have tried to eat more oatmeal for breakfast. I usually eat it about two to three times a week. Some weeks are better than others. I listed the nutrition facts. This is for a 1/2 cup. I usually make 3/4 cup. I need a big breakfast, so 3/4 makes a nice hearty bowl. So get out there and eat more oatmeal!    

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/2 cup dry (40g)

Amount per Serving
Calories 150 Calories from Fat 0
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 3g	5%
Saturated Fat  1g	5%
Monounsaturated Fat  1g
Polyunsaturated Fat  1g
Trans Fat  0g
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 0mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 27g	9%
Dietary Fiber  4g	16%
Sugars  1g
Protein 5g	10%

Vitamin A	0%
Vitamin C	0%
Calcium	0%
Iron	10%

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Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat 18.0%     Carbs 72.0%

Protein 13.3%