I Miss This

And this.
Sometimes I rewind myself to a year ago and I can almost smell it. [Sigh]. To attempt to make up for it, we are picking our own pumpkins out of a real pumpkin patch. Even if I have to drive an hour. The end.

HOPE

I love this Church. I am so grateful for the power of hope and for the Atonement of Jesus Christ that allows me to experience true hope and joy - even when I face difficult trials.

Cousins

We Miss You

Our Baby is ONE!

I think all mothers go through that little bittersweet moment right before the first birthday where they think back through the past year. Joe and I have started a tradition where we each write Norah (or any child) a letter on each birthday. I know she will enjoy reading them as she gets older. We love our bug!!

September 22, 2008

September 22, 2009

Before I Was a Mom

Before I was a mom,

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not

my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind

and my thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a mom,

I never held down a screaming child

so doctors could do tests. Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night

watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because

I didn't want to put him down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when i couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small

could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a mom,

I didn't know the feeling of

having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel

to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond

between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth,

the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment

or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom.

-Author Unknown

The REAL Way to Prep for Breastfeeding..

I saw this and just had to share. I hope you moms out there get a laugh out of this like I did! Just so you know, I loved nursing Norah and am a breastfeeding advocate (whatever that is), this is only meant as a joke :)

The REAL Way to Prep for Breastfeeding..

DAY ONE

Gently rub nipples with sandpaper.

DAY TWO

At bedtime set your alarm clock to go off every two hours. Each time it rings, spend 20 minutes sitting in a rocking chair with your nipples clamped by a pair of chip clips.

DAY THREE

Draw branching lines all over your chest with a blue-green marker, then stand in front of your bathroom mirror and sing "I Feel Pretty."

DAY FOUR

Open your already-crowded freezer and make room for five dozen plastic milk bags.

DAY FIVE

Fit the hose of a vacuum cleaner over one breast and set on "medium pile." Turn off vacuum when nipple is three inches long. Switch breasts.

DAY SIX

Obtain "DO NOT CROSS" tape from your local police station, then wrap firmly around your chest. When your spouse asks about it, say, "Get used to it."

DAY SEVEN

Tape a water balloon to each breast and squeeze into a maternity bra. Repeatedly hook and unhook the nursing flaps with one hand while using the other to balance a sack of squirming puppies.

DAY EIGHT

Dine in the fanciest, snootiest restaurant you can afford, making sure to arrive with a big wet spot directly over each nipple.

DAY NINE

Slather your breasts with peanut butter, top with birdseed and stand very still in your backyard.

DAY TEN

Go someplace public - a museum, a courthouse, the steps of your office building - and stuff a lifelike baby doll under your shirt. Use the doll's arm to suddenly hike the shirt up past your collar bone. Lower shirt. Feign nonchalant smile.

DAY ELEVEN

Suckle a wolverwine.

Congratulations! You are now ready to nurse a baby. Maybe.

-Melissa Balmain, a freelance writer living in Blacksburg, Virginia is a two-baby nursing veteran.

A Bucket O' Norah

And other cuteness.

Labor Day and Other News

This is only a week late but I thought I'd share. On Labor Day we wanted to do something out of the ordinary since it was a holiday (don't you just hate when your day off or holiday is just like every other day? Well, maybe not but I do). We were invited by Joe's parents and decided to attend our first sheepdog competition in Midway, UT. It was amazing - I have never seen anything like it. The intelligence, obedience and loyalty of those dogs are incredible.

Speaking of loyal dogs, last Sunday Joe had a dog follow him home from the park. She was a medium sized black lab and for some odd reason she chose to adopt us as her family. She would sleep at our doorstep at night, hang out in our backyard during the day, and follow Norah and I to and from the park every morning. She even brought a newspaper to our porch one morning. Joe tried to drop her off at the park, hoping she would return home. He then drove home and to our surprise the dog had run all the way back to our house. She was a great dog, so obedient and loving. She had a collar and was obviously well kept but had no tags. We ended up taking her to the animal shelter. For a moment we were a little disappointed, because she was such a good dog, but there is no way will have two dogs!!

In other news, I have been extremely busy keeping up with the 6 online credits I'm taking this semester as well as keep my life and family in balance. Norah is growing like a weed, growing and learning so fast. She signs about 8 words and says about 5 that we can actually recognize. She tries to repeat almost everything we say and do and I think it's adorable. It's hard to believe she will be 1 in 9 days!

Anyway, back to Labor Day. Later on that day we decided to walk around the mall since we never really go to the mall. Norah loved it. I think she was in her element. Here she is:

Where were you...

On Tuesday September 11, 2001? I was 14, a freshman at Phillipsburg High School in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. I had just gotten out of History class and was on my way to French class when I realized I forgot my textbook. I went back to the classroom and the tv was on, everyone staring up at it. I immediately thought it must be an accident, and then went to class. It was only a few minutes later when more and more information about it was being released: A commercial liner, and then the second tower was hit. I was confused, in shock really. Could this really happen to our country? I remember vaguely an announcement being made over the loud speaker. Being that we lived just an hour and a half outside of New York City, many students had parents working in and around the towers. Many students were excused from school, terrified and worried. My sister and I went home after school (she was a senior) and all I remember doing is watching the tv and calling my mom to make sure she was ok. I couldn't help but think about how blessed we were because exactly a week before, my family was there visiting New York University. It was a somber day. For the next several weeks everyone was a little nicer, a little kinder, a little more compassionate, a lot more patriotic. Unfortunately as time passed, these things slowly dissipated. Let's remember how we felt and acted that day and do it every day!

So, where were you? I didn't realize until I moved out West that maybe I (and others) were affected differently because it hit so close to home (literally). Here's a touching, inspiring video video that I highly recommend watching:

Alotta Pictures

Things have been very busy at our house so I apologize for disappointing my three faithful readers for a few weeks. Basically Norah is walking everywhere and saying lots of words like "uh oh!" "yes" and "toot." This will just be a picture blog to try and play catch up!

Here's Norah with her cousin Kamber (the oldest niece/grandchild on Joe's side, and Norah is the youngest).

Here's Norah cat nappin it on the paddle boats at the family reunion (has it really been that long since I've blogged?!)

Looking a little like bam-bam.

This is Owen's pillow that Joe made all by himself! Yes, he picked out the fabric, sewed it (even sewed a zipper in) and put it together himself (so proud). This was Owen's first reaction: he was out cold!

Daddy pulling a naked Norah in a box. Notice my second window (in progress) in the background.

She is now in a "big girl" carseat, so she likes to climb in and out of her "baby seat." This is probably one of my favorite Norah smiles. Yummy!

Introducing: the fishy face! We didn't even teach her this, but every time she hears "fishy" now, we see this face! Some face huh!

Her most recent obsession: hooking (trying to) Owen's leash onto his collar. She will hold it up right where it's supposed to go, then drop it. She does this over and over again! I guess we should take Owen on more walks.