Eas-ther eggs & my personal Valentino Rossi

The Easter Bunny found our house this year and Mc actually (kind of) knew what was going on. She had a blast @ Grandma Mary Ann's Easter egg hunt and made out like a bandit with $7 in change and bills and candy. Easter morning, the Easter bunny left eggs leading to her basket and she promptly began singing, "clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere" as she made her way to her loot. She got "Tangled", wind up dinosaurs, new crayons, a chocolate bunny, bubbles, a kitty and various other goodies. Mark and I get each other baskets as well- this year, we are on the same wavelength and got the newest addition of Entertainment News (side note, that black blur in the lower right corner of the picture...um, that's my belly. 32 weeks on Friday!). We are suckers for the latest movie gossip. Mimi and Papa also got her a little basket full of candies and goodies.

Mc and her cheese" face. Getting this kid to smile on queue is no easy task. And yes, my child can rock the side pony!

Here she is in all her Easter Sunday glory. Darling and wardrobe appropriate complete with dress & leggings. I also had to snap a back shot to showcase my child's movie star quality hair. I am convinced this is not from me as I was bald until I was her age.

The Saturday before Easter, Mark got to go with his best friend Tony to race his bike @ Miller Motor Sports. Now if you know Mark, motorcycles or anything that goes are his passion. For him to tell it, it ranked up there with "going to Europe".He also shared out of our wedding day and having a child, this was "the best day ever". I do have to give him props for his passion and the dedication he gives to what he loves and let's be honest, he does look rather sexy on his bike. He made some new friends and experienced the thrill of driving really fast where it is allowed...I think I may be seeing less of him on the weekends.

It's been a hard day's night

Lately, Mc has decided that she might be done taking naps. We are getting a good 4/7 naps a week if I am lucky. I am not too happy about not having the two hours to do laundry, work extra hours or catch an episode of "Judge Judy" but they are bound to end right? She is still sleeping...just while she is trying to finish her lunch or @ 6:00 at night while at Mimi's. She is also entering the "feast or famine" stage where she will eat nothing but a strawberry and then the next day, two whole grilled cheese sandwiches. She MUST wear leggings and a dress on a daily basis and has also decided that maybe no pants at all is a better idea.

Today, she came up to me, looked at my stomach and said, "I want to punch my bruhdder" and then proceeded to pound me in the stomach. And so it begins. She did come up later and say she wanted to give him a kiss so I think she really does love him but inevitably, he will be her punching bag.

I am entering 31 weeks of pregnancy tomorrow. That is truly insane. He is going to be here before we know it and then, we have TWO kids. It is going to turn all of us upside down but I can't wait to see him. We think we have a name picked out---if you think I was going to put it here _____________ ,you are mistaken. I think we are going to keep it on the DL until he makes his entrance into the world.

Baby, I was born this way.

Today I held this picture up for Mckinley to see and asked her who she thought it was. Without any hesitation, she said, "Kinley!". When I tried to explain this was daddy, she wasn't having any of it. Can you blame her? This was Mark. Probably around Mc's age. Looking ever so dapper in a sweet sweater vest combo. I say, put some long hair on him and you have Mc. Mark and I are trying to decide what our baby boy will look like- will he have hair, brown eyes, Mark's birthmark? I am just excited to hold him and meet this little guy.

Just wanted to also document some of the funny things Mc's has been saying lately as not to forget:

1) "You are kidding me" (usually as she "talks" on her phone or you try and get her to do something she doesn't want to d0).

2) "I can't take it anymore"- my favorite as we are carting her out of sacrament meeting during her tantrum.

3) "I want Single Wadies"- she is OBSESSED with Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies". Loves to dance and shake her "ring" hand.

4) "I am going to dance cwass".

5) "I want princeth" or "cassle princeth"- this can mean a variety of things- a skirt, a dress, Sleeping "Booty" or a headband

6) Up until last week, her shoes ("rabbit shoes" because of the puffy top) were a daily staple. Upon dancing so vigorously to "Single Ladies", one broke. We are now on the prowl for some new

ones.

She is getting too big and is so smart. She can throw a tantrum like no one's business but we sure love her. It is fun to see her get excited and to start taking interest in things like riding a bike, cooking with mom and "bones". It will be interesting bringing the new baby home and seeing how she will interact. Having two kids is a little daunting but Mc is a great helper and is going to be a great big sister- Cinder-"allah" dress ups and all.

The dog days are over, the dog days are gone

Wal-Mart at its best, is still not the model for prestige or etiquette. I head out Monday for the usual grocery shopping torture. I am waiting in line, cart full to the brim and then I hear it, "are you close to being due?". This elderly woman behind me (buying nothing but cat food and Diet Coke), obviously felt the need to make a human connection and that was the best conversation starter she could think of. With three months left to go, I know that my belly is rather large this time around. I am quite fond of it and like that I now LOOK pregnant but come on people- how about, "did you hear the new Florence + the machine track" or even, "did you see the price on the Roma tomatoes?". Oh well. I responded (as best I could with what breath I could muster after lifting my water out of my cart), "nope. I have three months left to go". From there, she really didn't know what to say. I am sure she was thinking "Do I, A) respond how small you look for being 6 months pregnant or B) sympathize with how HUGE you are being only 6 months pregnant". Bless her heart, she just smiled and finished unloading the Fancy Feast Shrimp dinners from her cart. I took that as, you are showered, your shirt covers the underside of your belly and your toenails are painted- I stood out like a sore thumb.

Just a day, just an ordinary day.

Almost a month without a blog post! WOW! The month of February has been a busy one. Mark turned 32 and me, 29. Nothing too eventful for our birthdays- some dinners with friends and family and purchasing a TV for our bedroom. One more year in my 20's.... Valentine's Day was low key as well. Mark did send me some gorgeous flowers and we had a King Crab leg dinner. Sure love him.

I have moved on to week 23 of pregnancy! Amazing that I am over 1/2 way there. I am feeling him move quite a bit and even Mark got to feel him the other night as we were laying in bed. His bedding arrived last week- R O B O T S! I am so excited to decorate for a boy. My belly is expanding a lot faster but I have yet to give in to maternity pants. I have to salute the Gap for their stretchy skinny jeans that are holding up nicely.

Mark had to have oral surgery last week (google apicoectomy..gross!). He was in a lot of pain prior and then his surgery made his upper lip swell pretty good. He seems to be getting back to normal and has moved away from his diet of croissants. (sorry Hon about the pic)

Mc is getting so TALL! Who would have thought? I say soak it up because there is not a chance of her being over 5'5" but we can hope. She is learning new things everyday and is fun and trying all at the same time. We have had our nanny about a month and she works wonders with Mc. She is still obsessed with Dinosaurs and we go to the dinosaur "seeum" at Thanksgiving Point at least once a week. "Little Mermaid" is the new favorite DVD ("oreo" the Mermaid) and I can pretty much get her to eat anything if I put "dinosaur" in front of it. We sure love her and she makes life interesting every day.

We have started demolition and remodel on our downstairs bathroom. Are attempting to plan a trip for one final get away before the baby is born and we are ready for Spring!!

The hardest part of ending is starting again.

This week marked our one year anniversary of moving back to Utah. Looking back to both my journal and blog from last February, I honestly didn't think I would survive. I think this is a problem I have- change and I do not do well. I still remember the first day moving into our West Jordan home- my mother in law was helping me reorganize Mc's room and I just had a breakdown. Full on shaking, sobbing, meltdown. I also remember being upset with Mark- he had this disgustingly optimistic idea of the potential of our house, his job, our lives....I wasn't seeing it (another problem that is more prominent when I look back- Mark was put in my path for the sheer fact that he is the yin to my crazy "I can't move or change anything" yang). So here we are- we survived. I gave a talk in Sacrament a few weeks ago about relating the BofM to our lives- I used two of my huge moving experiences (7th grade and to AZ) as my call to go into the "wilderness". I was a good stand in for Laman/Lemuel (complete with murmering) in both circumstances. I am on a quest to find my inner Nephi and to "go and do" more readily. With that being said, the past year has brought challenges, good times and lots of new beginnings.

Our basement is redone and my favorite redo is below-the before and after. I love the desk space, the closets (for movies, games and the whole left side...dedicated to my crafts). Again, Mark saw the potential hidden behind this rock wall and pot belly stove. It just took me a minute longer.

We have replaced the front door, sliding back door, carpet, paint and have just started the

basement bathroom. I love how it is coming together and am so glad to walk in and now feel like I am "home". We have been welcomed in our Ward, been blessed with jobs, a new nanny and the proximity to the most loving and supportive family and amazing friends, and a new MALE addition set to make an appearance in June. This is where we are supposed to be. It doesn't erase the bliss known as AZ but what started out as the wilderness has grown to be a place I love.

I see London, I see France

I love this picture for a few reasons:

1) You can see how long Mc's hair is. Almost the middle of her back.

2) Notice the dinosaurs. One in each hand. In the right hand, the T-Rex that we have been reunited with as of the past week. It was a happy homecoming for the "saurus" in the left hand.

3) The cheese grater. Yep, my kid thinks the cheese grater is a toy. It poses as a dinosaur cage most days.

4) Lastly, Mc's bum. You really forget how small she is until she is not wearing a diaper. These are her Foofa (from Yo Gabba Gabba) panties. Beloved of all, for they have yet to be peed in. You just can't resist pinching her little cheeks!

Don't be fooled. Just because she is wearing big girl panties, potty training still does not seem to be a priority for her. She likes to sit on the toilet and read- today her book of choice, "Cool Baby Names". Even Mc is stumped about what we should name our baby boy.