Friday, April 13, 2012

Easter: 2011 vs. 2012


What I remember about Easter 2011: being so uncomfortable I jumped on the trampoline to try inducing labor.


And now, a year later!

Easter 2012: still jumped on the tramp, but Holland was in my arms instead of my belly.



Holland’s Easter Basket was filled with a bucket, shovel and rake, a little board book about Noah, some bunny ears, and a tiny Easter rubber ducky. She actually found the rubber ducky a few days before Easter and was attached to it immediately. Hmmm…good thing the Easter Bunny snatched it and put it in the basket for her to finally find again Easter Morning.



After church and a nap we snapped a few pics of Holland in her Easter dress - size 9 months - which was still a little big on her, but so so cute!



We went to my parents house in Salem for a yummy ham dinner and an Easter Egg Hunt with the cousins. 









Holland LOVED playing on the tramp with her cousin Jaxon!

video



Monday, April 2, 2012

Must. Empty. Now.

Anything in any type of container or designated location, in Holland's little mind, needs to be removed – the plastic containers in the kitchen drawer, the washcloths in the basket under mommy's and daddy’s bathroom sink, the fingernail polish in the bin under the other bathroom sink, the clothes in the drawers, the hair accessories in the basket, the shoes and socks in the other basket, cheerios in the small colored bowl as soon as the lid is removed, all items in the diaper bag, the rocks in the flowerbed, the toys in the tub, the plastic Easter eggs in the basket, the rollers in the bathroom drawer, the condiments in the bottom half of the fridge, all the toilet paper off the roll, etc. – and not only removed, but removed in a fast and furious way, as if she is being timed. 

Hysterical! 

Truth be told, I really don’t mind picking them all up when she is done because I find it so darn cute.

Here are a few of her latest projects (all of which were done within an hour this morning!):






Saturday, March 31, 2012

Boxes and Books

Holland's toy collection seems to have quadrupled without our knowing...and yet her favorite things to play with are just plain old boxes and all books! 

If ever she is quiet and we aren’t sure what she is up to, we generally find her flipping through a book. And, if ever she is entertaining herself there is sure to be a box close by – she’s in it,  on top of it, under it, putting things in it, taking things out of it…who knew there was so much to do with a box!
 

 



Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Eleven Months of Bliss




Holland as an eleven-month old:

  • Will only eat things that she can put in her mouth herself. Lately her diet has consisted of chunks of cheese, spiral noodles, green beans, pieces of oranges and cheerios. If we try to spoon feed her she raises her hands up, closes her eyes tightly, and starts moving her face and hands so that it is virtually impossible to get the food in her mouth. On the rare occasion that we do sneak in a spoonful, she gags – no matter what it is!
  •  About 90% of the time she poops in the middle of her nap - it does not matter if it is her morning nap or afternoon nap. So frustrating, and I honestly have no idea how to change that. I even asked the doctor and she had no ideas for me. Ugh. At least she sleeps well at night…poop free.
  • Has started crawling like a stinkbug (with her butt in the air) whenever she is on a hard surface. Smart, really. We thought she was going to walk a couple months ago, but that has yet to happen. She still uses the stool, and now her highchair, to cruise around the kitchen.
  •  "Dada” is heard coming out of her mouth pretty much constantly. We think it not only means daddy, but also things like, “hey, look at me.” “I want out of my crib.” “I’m tired.” “I’m hungry.” “Don’t eat that (insert edible item) in front of me without sharing, please.” “Can you hear me?” “That boy over there is pretty cute…” Among other things.
  • The bottle is now the main source of milk during the day, while breastfeeding is still her preferred method first thing in the morning and right before bed.
  • A few of Holland's favorite things these days include:
o   Being tickled – and we just can’t get enough of her cute laugh
o   Being held upside down – she thinks it is totally hysterical
o   Taking her nightly bath
o   Flipping through books – sometimes we’ll wonder why she is being so quiet and we find her turning the pages of a book
o   She also loves to be read to…as long as she gets to turn the pages!
o   Lately she enjoys “baby in a box” – we stick her in an empty diaper box and she chills in there with a few of her toys until she finds a way to tip the  box over and crawl out. She thinks it is so funny to be in the box.
o   We let her watch a little TV (gasp!) some mornings – Super WHY or The Cat in the Hat. She thinks its pretty great when we let her sit on the bar stool to watch. She always turns around and looks at us beaming with pride. She’s way too squirmy to last long on the stool, but while she’s up there she obviously thinks she is pretty hot stuff.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Daddy's Little Helper


Tyler got a little Spring Fever  with this super nice weather. He decided to plant a tree and some roses in the yard. Holland decided she was going to help. Such a big helper...





 





Sunday, March 11, 2012

Sunday with Grams and Gramps

Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Craig came over for Sunday dinner tonight. Holland had so much fun!! She was silly and energetic and I'm so glad that we had grandma and grandpa come early enough so that Holland would not be Miss-Cranky-Pants-I'm-Ready-For-Bed. Holland's favorite part of the night was knocking over the towers of blocks that grandma would build. So fun!




Grandpa Craig is having a biopsy later this week and asked Tyler to give him a blessing while they were here for dinner. I love being witness to the Spirit working through those who hold the Priesthood, especially when it is my own husband. I am so grateful that Tyler is a worthy Priesthood holder who presides over and blesses our family in countless ways. We hope everything goes great for Grandpa!
 


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Not Nine...!

Once Sheri and I were at Bed Bath and Beyond - I think we were returning/exchanging some of her wedding gifts. At the checkout we ran into a girl that was in a singles ward with us when I first moved to SLC. (For history sake: It was the Holladay 29th Ward with Bishop Paul Fetzer. We lived at Turnberry on 45th South and 13th East)

Anyway, this girl, who I believe is named Tricia (or Trisha?) was pregnant. Very pregnant. In fact, it was her due date! In our brief conversation either Sheri or I mentioned something about how she must be excited for these nine months to be over. Her reply was shockingly abrupt, "Pregnancy is actually 10 months, not nine!"

"Sheesh - give it a rest!"  is what I thought at the time. That is until I myself was pregnant. Ha! Pregnancy was not something I enjoyed. It was a very long, nauseous, tiring, uncomfortable and FAT nine...er...I mean 10 months!!

But then, when I saw the ‘fruits of my labors,’ it was all totally worth it. So, now that this precious little girl has graced us with her presence for 10 months already, I must admit that I would do the whole pregnancy thing over (even if it is really 10 months!) 10 million times over just for 10 seconds of what I've been blessed to experience these past 10 months. Pure Bliss!