Thoughts of Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving has come and gone, I have had a lot of time to be able to reflect upon my many blessings in my life. I have been greatly blessed with so much that I know that I cannot even name a fraction of the things that I am grateful for, but here are a few things.

~I am so blessed to have FANTASTIC, AMAZING, WONDERFUL, and INCREDIBLE FAMILY.

~My PARENTS have taught me, cared for me, done whatever they possibly could do for me, been examples to me, and most importantly...LOVED ME!!!

~My HUSBAND is the PERFECT man for me! He is my BEST FRIEND, I love to talk to him all of the time. The LOVE of my Llife, it amazes me how much I love him, and how it is always growing. He is also a great FATHER to our beautiful daughter. He is continually trying to become better, a better husband, a better daddy, just all around a better person. He accepts me for ME, and is always encouraging me to follow my DREAMS!

~ELIZABETH ADELAIDE is a piece of my own HEART, just growing in another body! I love her SMILES and LAUGHTER that now fill up many moments of my days. The LIGHT, CURIOUSNESS, SPARKLE, and JOY that overflow from her gorgeous eyes help me to really take a look at our wonderful world.

~My SIBLINGS, IN-LAWS, GRANDPARENTS, NIECES, NEPHEWS, AUNTS, UNCLES, COUSINS, and BEYOND are all such a large contribution to my wonderful life.

~I am grateful for all of the other amazing people that are in my life. FRIENDS, TEACHERS, LEADERS, and NEIGHBORS.

~I love the knowledge that I have of the GOSPEL! For the ATONEMENT, TEMPLE BLESSINGS, FOREVER FAMILIES, FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE!

~I am thankful for my HEALTH. I can breath, walk, talk, see, get medical attention if necessary, and care for myself and my little family.

~I am greatly blessed to have all of my needs met. A HOME, CLOTHING, and FOOD on my table.

~I am grateful that I am able to have ways to keep in touch with my loved ones, through AIRPLANES to be able to fly home, INTERNET to be able to email and blog(oh, and can't forget facebook), and TELEPHONES to call and hear a loved ones voice that is hundreds of miles away.

~I am thankful for talented AUTHORS that write amazing BOOKS! I am in love with the WRITTEN WORD!

~I am blessed to be surrounded by the beautiful creations that the BEST ARTIST, our FATHER IN HEAVEN, made. SUNRISES, SUNSETS, RAINBOWS, SNOWFLAKES, STARS, CLOUDS, TREES, MOUNTAINS, FLOWERS, GRASS, SUNSHINE, LAKES and OCEANS, and so much MORE!

~I am grateful for the spectrum of vibrant COLORS!

~MUSIC and DANCE, bring life to my days.

~SILENCE is a blessing for me to be able to THINK, PONDER, and REFLECT about my life.

I could go on and on, but most of all I am just grateful for the AMAZING life that I have!

Pictures from Thanksgiving(Thank you Aunt Jessi for taking them)

My little three month old

Well it is the 19th of the month once again, and Elizabeth is getting older. She has now reached the three month mark. I can't believe how time flies while I watch my little girl grow, learn, and discover new things. Here are some of the things she is doing now...

~Sitting up with props
~Discovered her amazing hands
~Grabs and plays with her toys
~Loves to stand up on laps(who wants to sit when you can stand, not Elizabeth!)
~Loves to watch her hands and fingers
~Can bring her hands together, and like to hold on tight
~Grabs onto her legs
~Can push her head and shoulders really high off the ground to look at us
~Loves to chew on Brian's fingers
~Has become a very slobbery baby
~Does not like loud noises, and gets startled easily
~Sleeps really well, at night and during the day, and eats only four times a day
~Does a great impression of an airplane(amazing body strength, to hold herself perpendicular to the ground)
~Likes to repeat sounds(she says, okay, da, and a few other things)
~Starting to blow bubbles
~Loves playing games, especially the Kissing Game, which leads to my favorite...
~Giving kisses to Mommy and Daddy!

It's been a busy month!

Some pictures from the last few weeks

 

Today I took the opportunity to get a bunch of really cute pictures of my little Elizabeth Adelaide. She was so good for me as a took a couple hundred pictures(think I got enough).  I have a bunch of them that I love, I will share a few of them with you.

Elizabeth's Size
(We do not have a doctor appointment until after the new year, so I had to do measurements myself, so them may not be as accurate)

Weight~approximately 13.5 pounds
Length~approximately 23 3/4 inches
Head~approximately 15 3/4 inches
Clothing~end of 0-3 months
Diaper~Size 2

What else???

Last week I received a message from one of my good friends.  We are catching up with each other a little bit, and one question that she asked me was, what else do I do, other than be a mom.  Well, I have to say that this question made me have to think for a bit.  What else do I do?

Honestly, most of the things that I thought that I do I usually do them with Elizabeth either with me, or for Elizabeth.  She has just become such a huge part of my life right now.  That's not to say that every second of every day I am with Elizabeth.  I do get some alone time during the day(nap time usually), and when I do, these are some of the things that I do:

~Sleep(this is becoming less prevalent then it was a little while ago since Elizabeth is now sleeping through the night. YAY!)
~Pay bills(such an exciting one, I know)
~Read(books, magazines, scriptures, cereal boxes, anything I can get my hands on.  I love to read!!!)
~Take pictures(I know, I know, most of them are of Elizabeth, but I have been working on my photography skills while I do this, and it's one of my creative outlets)
~Clean(sad to say the house doesn't clean itself, but it does feel good when I get something cleaned)
~Blog(this is another creative outlet of mine, I especially love doing Elizabeth's, for some reason I just love trying to think of what someone else might be thinking-just ask my family, I am always talking for someone)
~Check on the outside world(through email, facebook, and family/friends blogs)
~Teach in primary
~Go on walks(I do take Elizabeth with me, but it is a time that I feel rejuvenated myself)
~Make bows, bracelets, and what-not(most are for Elizabeth, but I really enjoy creating them)
~Design(I love coming up with new designs for different things.)

This has been an eye opener, as I have thought on this question of "What else?"  I am glad that my friend asked me this question.  All said and done, I do lots of things.  I love being Elizabeth's Mom, I have the opportunity to do many things with my role of being a mother.

Our Little Pumpkin

Elizabeth's first Halloween went great.  She was a cute little lamb for Trunk-or-Treating.  We then came home and put her into another costume.  She makes an adorable pumpkin!

 

{Project Elizabeth} Crib bedding

This spring I went out to Utah to spend some time with my mom to make bedding for the nursery.  My mom and I spend a day looking at different crib bedding on the internet, and then I took what I liked from different ones and designed what I wanted.  We then went out looking for fabric, and I decided on using Minky in the Tourquois Blue, Bright Pink, and Lime Green.  We made a few changes to the original drawing, but in the end it turned out to be fantastic.

My Mom and I made the bumpers, and sheet together, But my Mom pretty much made the crib skirt by herself(I just added the flowers at the end).  I love how well it all came together, and it looks wonderful with the crib that I got with the money my family gave me.

40 Week Junk Food Challenge~Mission Accomplished

Today marked the end of a challenge that I gave to myself at the beginning of the year.  Every January since I was sixteen I have done a 40 day Junk Food Challenge and I have enjoyed how good this makes me feel.  I know that I am stronger than my cravings for junk, because I can do this.

Well...since I found out I was pregnant with Elizabeth before Christmas last year, I decided that this year I would make it a 40 week challenge instead of just 40 days.  I knew that I didn't need the extra junk, and neither did Elizabeth.  I think that this challenge helped me to be healthier and not gain too much weight during the pregnancy, but also helped me lose the weight after I had Elizabeth(stress helped too).

Brian was so proud of my accomplishment, that he decided to take me out to celebrate.  We went to a restauraunt(Elizabeth was so-o good), and then afterward we stopped at the grocery store, and Brian ran in and searched for a while until he found what he wanted to get me...DULCE DE LECHE ICE CREAM!!!  One of my favorite kinds of ice cream.  We then went home and watched Gilligan's Island while we enjoyed our ice cream.  What a celebration!

Elizabeth thought that the ice cream looked pretty good too!

Elizabeth is two months

With the changing leaves Elizabeth Adelaide is constantly changing, too.  Here are some of the things she has developed this last month:

~Hold up her head really well

~Loves to talk to us, or even to herself

~Sleeps longer during the night

~Sees farther, and follows movement across the room

~More developed fine motor skills

~Enjoys tummy time more

~Loves bath time

~Does mini push-ups

~Makes smoother, more deliberate movements

~Holds her weight on her legs

~Reaches for things

~Grabs onto things
~Rolled over from back to stomach

Some pictures from the last few weeks

Giving a big grin

Falling asleep on Brian

 

Right after Elizabeth rolled onto her stomach for the first time on October 10th

 

Trying to stand

 

A silly hair-do

 

Sucking on her finger

 

Holding her head high

 

Here she is today

Elizabeth's growth:

~Weight: 12 pounds 8 1/2 ounces
~Length: 22 3/4 inches
~Head: 38 1/2 centimeters
~Clothing: 0-3 months
~Diaper: Size 1

Hardest part about being a mom

I love being a mom!  Elizabeth is such a joy to have!  She is a smiley, happy baby that brightens my days.

Now, with being a mom I only have one thing that I really struggle with.  I actually enjoy changing her diapers(she loves to talk and laugh while I do it), and I have some cute memories from the middle of the night feedings.  The thing that I have a hard time with is hearing Elizabeth cry.

When Elizabeth cries I just want to do anything for her to make her happy again.  But I have realized that sometimes she just needs to cry some.  There are times when Elizabeth is going to sleep she cries a little bit, and then she drops off to sleep.  I have found that when she does this she is able to sleep so much better, and even wakes up happier.  So, I realize that sometimes it is okay to just let her cry it out.  To me, it may seem like she is crying forever, but usually it is only for a minute that she cries.

Strange strangers

Last night Brian and I needed to do a quick run to Wal-mart.  Elizabeth was overtired so I told Brian to just keep walking around with her in the cart to calm her down, while I worked on printing out some pictures.  Well, Brian met a couple of interesting people.

At first a woman walked right up and took Elizabeth's blanket right off of her.  Really, who takes blankets off of babies that they don't know, especially when the parent is trying to make them happy!  She then proceeded to try and touch Elizabeth, but Brian quickly intervened.

Shortly after that Brian had a man walk up to see Elizabeth.  He didn't touch the blanket, but did reach in to touch Elizabeth's face.  Once again, Brian quickly intervened.

I just couldn't believe it when Brian told me all about it.  I mean, I love showing Elizabeth off to people, but she is still small, and the doctor said that her immune system will not be full developed for another couple of months.  Plus it is cold and flu season, and she is too young to get the flu shot(her doctor told Brian and I to get it to protect her).  Not only that, but there is also the Swine flu out there.  I am not panicked about it much, but I know that it wouldn't be a good thing if Elizabeth got it, like I said she is still too small.

General Conference weekend

This weekend we listened to General Conference at home.  Brian and I love listening to it, but we discovered that it is harder to catch all of what is said with a cute little baby.  We will need to listen or read some of the talks that we missed.  It's a good thing that they are put onto the internet, and in the Ensign for easy access.

Here we tried out the new Moby wrap that Kaylee gave to me, a friend of mine that had her little girl a few weeks after Elizabeth was born.  Elizabeth wasn't to sure about it, so we will need to try it again another time.

Brian was enjoying Sunday morning with Elizabeth while waiting for Conference to start.  You can't tell in the picture, but her sleeper says "Daddy's Girl," and Elizabeth really is.  Elizabeth was being silly by putting her head upside down while on Brian's lap.

 

So, in Elizabeth's defense about being a distraction during Conference, she did end up sleeping well through most of it.