Pears and Resolutions

(This is a picture from Christmas. This is the first time EVER that Lily has slept with us at night. It was extremely cute but Ben and I were both about to fall off our bed since we're accustomed to our california king....)

So I was really excited this morning. I decided, hey, Lily hasn't had any fruit yet! Let's try some today..... so I started feeding them to her. Her reaction? She was gagging as badly as when she sticks her whole hand in her mouth. She can eat a ton of green beans in 2 seconds but she gags on the pears.......hmmm...... although I love fruit, I guess I can say she's just going to end up being weird like Ben and me......

Well since tonight is New Years Eve Ben and I have some pretty exciting plans to go to bed early. This is what ended up happening last year also. I thought it would bother me, but it was actually quite nice. As for the New Year I would like to post my New Year's Resolutions (this way I really have to push myself to accomplish them):

1. Drink milk EVERY day. I usually get it in almost everyday but this year it will be a daily thing. I hate milk so this one's hard. Don't judge.
2. Read as much of the Old Testament as I can. I'm making this one something that I can accomplish because I'm not sure I'd be able to read the whole thing in a year since I'm reading the BOM with Ben also.
3. Go to the temple at least twice a month. It sure does get a lot harder to do that when you have a baby! But we have a temple just up the street so I should take advantage of that. This may be subject to change if Ben and I move somewhere that is forever away from a temple when he graduates in April.
4. Read every article in the Ensign this year. I heard of another woman doing this and I thought it was a really good idea. I usually just read the ones that seem to apply to me.
5. Be a better mom to Lily and a better wife for Ben.

Well I hope that all y'all have a wonderful New Year's Eve! I know I will asleep, under the covers, and all cuddled up in bed.... aaahhh.... I love my bed. :)

Christmas!

Last year we spent Christmas with my family in North Carolina and so this year we spent it with Ben's parents down in Hurricane, UT. We only got to spend 2 days in Hurricane but it was well-worth the 20 hours total in the car to be able to spend that time with family.... and I must say that it was nice being in a place with cacti and palm trees..... :)

My pictures are all out of order. Some day I'll figure out how to do this right.

A present from Santa to Lily!

Getting into her Christmas "jambos" as my family would call them.

The children got a surprise on Christmas Eve when Santa came to visit! He brought them all pajamas! (L-R Lily, Lindsey, and Alan)

Lily and Alan with Santa. Alan is 2.5 weeks older than Lily but he weighs 23 lbs. and is already crawling! That little man is impressive!

All of the cousins playing

Well Santa came this year for all of us! Ben and I were quite surprised. We weren't planning on Santa visiting us this year but I guess we were good! Lily got this toy from Santa. She's not supposed to ride it for another 6 months but, hey, it's Christmas right?

Trina and Robert going through their stockings. Alan was happy with his little "puffs" and Lindsey got the Polly Pocket she asked for! (Christmas is so much fun when there are little kids to watch!)

Lindsey with her Disney tea set.

Lily's present from Aunt April and Uncle Tom. So cute! She already has a picture in it!

Ben and I got Lord of the Rings Monopoly for Christmas. Let's just say Trina and Robert are masterminds at playing this game! I lost but really Ben should have....hehehe. We showed him a lot of mercy throughout the game.... :)

Look at how much bigger Alan looks.

Grandpa feeding Lily.

Finally a picture with Grandma! She's usually the photographer!

Well Ben and I had a very special Christmas this year. Only family would understand our reasons but we felt so loved and we were so blessed this Christmas! It was my first Christmas away from home and I thought it would feel very strange. It was very nice to be with Ben's family, although I did still miss mine. We know that we were watched over especially as we travelled because we were almost killed maybe 10 times on the way home because of horrible roads and other drivers. We know that the Lord watches over us and we were grateful to celebrate His birth this Christmas. I cherish the time I get to spend with children this time of year. One of the best parts of the trip was when Lindsey put the nativity scene together as we read the story of Christ's birth. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas like we did!

Christmas Dress

We went over to Pendie and Robyn's and the whole time they were on the floor Lily kept trying to steal Pendie's bink! Oh dear. Little does she realize that she hates binkies!

P.S. Pendie started trying to crawl for the first time when we were over. We were quite honored that we got to be there for that!

Thank you Nanni and Papa for this adorable dress! Lily was very cute. You could tell she felt like a little lady!

99 Things I May or May Not Have Done...

The thnings that I have done are in red.
I HAVE...
1. Started my own blog... obviously
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band.... I'm not very musical... I'm the black sheep in my family.
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world.... I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't think Disney World is the most magical place on earth.
8. Climbed a mountain..... I think the only mountain that you can say I've climbed is Mt. Timp. And actually now that I think about it I'm pretty sure my dad carried me the whole way up.
9. Held a praying mantis..... scary business. I'm way more scared of them than spiders.
10. Sung a solo.... in elementary school before I realized my musical INcapabilities.
11. Bungee jumped.... I will some day....
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child... I think it's pretty obvious that Lily is half me half Ben. But this doesn't mean that we will never adopt.
16. Had food poisoning... freshman year. Let me just say it's hard to be that miserable without your mom.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables... does it count if it's at your parents' house?
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill........ I think anyone who hasn't is very very strange.
24. Built a snow fort.... my sisters and I built one out of ice actually. It was very lovely. We ate chips and made a bunch of snowballs so we could attack my dad when he got home from work.
25. Held a lamb.... strangely enough that lamb was named after me. It's a llllooonnngg story.
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse.... back in the day when I wanted to be an astronaut.....
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.... at Myrtle Beach Thanksgiving morning.
31. Hit a home run... sadly I think I've only made it to 3rd base... :(
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person... only for 5 minutes. My sister was losing her cookies. :) Sorry Lizzie!
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community... I haven't but Becca has and I quite enjoyed the pictures of them in the McDonalds drive through in their buggies.
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied... dang all I needed was 45 cents when I was little to buy a candy bar. That's all I needed to make me happy when I was little. Wait.... I still check out all of the candy when I'm paying for my things.... hmm.....
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing... does it count if it's inside?
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke.... against my will both times.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa.... I keep thinking that I should be my sister Becca instead because she's done a lot more stuff than I have.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance... much to my parents' regret. Those paramedics were hilarious and had me laughing all the way to the hospital so my parents thought nothing was wrong with me.
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain(shower)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in
55. Been in a movie..... does it count if it's a roommate movie?
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business.... instead of selling lemonade when I was little I'd try selling rocks. Go figure. I didn't make much money. Maybe I should have rinsed them off with the hose after I dug them out of the ground.... maybe I'd be a millionaire now. Oh well. Everyone has to have their regrets....
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching... does it count if I've seen myself in the mirror? Or if I've seen my sister give a recital?
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma... most of us know how I do with blood.
65. Gone sky diving... oh dear. I was supposed to do this on my 18th b-day. Sadly I was hit by a bus instead.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check... we don't need to go into this one.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial... a few times.
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone... almost all of my toes.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.... that's a BIG CANYON!
80. Published a book.... does it count if it was entitled "Heather the Whale Trainer" and was written in 1st grade?
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper... I was interviewd while my friend and I were exercising at a local park. The lady interviewed me and took my picture. When I got home I realized that I had pepper and other things on my teeth. So sad. My moment of glory ruined.
85. Read the entire Bible... I'm currently working on this one....
86. Visited the White House... it's pretty on the inside. It made me feel like I was in Mars Attacks without the shooting. Oh and the aliens.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life... no but I've seen my dad do it.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby... and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! Besides Lily was totally worth all that...
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake... I think we were going to but it was covered in bugs or something so we didn't. I'm going to have to ask my parents about this one...
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee .... thank goodness I'm me and not Ben. Otherwise I would be dead and unable to write on this amazing blog!

Jumping! Kind of....

Usually Lily just spins when I put her in the Johnny Jump Up. But today she started jumping! It's amazing how the smallest things make you so proud once you have a little one!

The movie doesn't do her jumping justice. She was quite the little Tigger when the camera wasn't around but as soon as I whip it out, of course, she goes back to being normal.

Snow!

I guess growing up in North Carolina has made me appreciate snow more than most people here in Rexburg. I've actually been really sad lately that we haven't had a real snowfall yet this year. However, this morning I woke up to Lily's babbling as usual and when I got up to get a bottle ready (Ben was already awake working on a big project) Ben told me to look out the window and there was snow! YAY! I don't think I'll ever grow tired of it! Last winter was pretty rough but when your winter is 9 months long, I think anyone would go insane. But here are pictures of Lily's first real snowfall! I took these pictures right outside our apartment!

P.S. Lily isn't too happy in these pictures because she had a messy diaper and it was almost nap time.... maybe I should take her out again when she's happier....

Here is our festivity! You can see some of our snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. I think those turned out quite beautiful. I have such a great husband. He sat down with me for a couple of hours with a pair of scissors and glitter beautifying them with me.

Lily's (Hopefully) Worst Thanksgiving Ever

Although Lily's first Thanksgiving was nothing special, she's been doing better through the weekend. Last weekend Lily was throwing up a bunch and this week she stopped doing that and instead got a cold. Her cold got worse through the week and so on Wednesday we took her to the doctor and found out she has an ear infection! So she's on meds for that and lo and behold... can it get any worse? The answer is yes. Of course. It can ALWAYS get worse (I have learned this in many cases but especially since becoming a mom). Lily had a tooth come through and has another one about to pop out! Poor thing! Thank goodness her memory won't allow this to scar her for life.... Anyway Thanksgiving wasn't anything too special for Ben and me either. We just ate Pizza Hut and put up a few Christmas decorations. However, there is an upside to this little story. Ben's mum and dad came up Friday night and spent some time with us. It was fun having them here. Ben's brother Joe was really sweet and had his parents bring up some of the food that he had prepared on Thanksgiving so we could celebrate it on Saturday instead of Thursday. The food was sooo good! It was really touching to be able to still have a normal Thanksgiving even though we have no family close by or the ability to travel. But here are some pictures of the weekend!

Lily took a few naps with Grandpa. It was so cute!

They're good buds!

We bought a little Christmas village and had little lights inside the houses and Lily was soooo fascinated in them.

Does it get any cuter than bath pictures?! My baby is the cutest!

For Lily's Thanksgiving "feast" we gave her carrots. This is the first thing she's tried besides rice cereal. The picture tells all about how she ate it. It wasn't nearly as bad as the rice cereal though. Although I gave her more today and she just ate it down without any problem!

Story of our lives.

Lily ADORES Ben.

Grandpa bonding time.

Our sweet angel. Although Thanksgiving wasn't the best day, we had an amazing weekend and we have a lot to be grateful for.

Just a fun side story. As I was writing this post and waiting for the pictures to upload Ben was changing Lily on the changing table behind me and realized we haven't taken ANY pictures of her naked. So while she was naked I grabbed the camera and had Ben pose her around (it's always hard to get that perfect picture). Well nature called and Lily started peeing and those myths about how boys can shoot and girls can't is a lie! Ben was holding her about a foot in front of him and she got his sunday shirt soaked! I love that little girl! She makes me laugh all day long!