Family is Forever

Our last few months:)

2011-02-19T19:56:00.001-08:00

Beware! This post is going to be LONG.. Gotta catch up:)

It has been forever. I am in the last 6 weeks of my MBA so hopefully I will blog more often now that time will free up. Things have been great with our family. Malia is 4 now and is the sweetest girl. She is really shy and sensitive. Berkly is the wild one. Berkly is 2 now and is all over the place:) Tyler is in school too. He has about a year left. It will be fabulous when we are both all done.

We just got a new car. It is a Subaru Tribeca. We love it. It seats 7 but is not too big. It is dark grey, was heated leather, GPS, backup camera. It drives awesome in the snow. I am a new Subaru convert. This one isn't ours obviously, but this is what it looks like

Halloween was fun this year. Malia wanted to be Alice in Wonderland. So i dressed as the queen of hearts and Ty was the mad hatter and Berkly was the white rabbit. Us girls had cute purses. Mine was a flamingo, Malias was a cheshire cat and Berkly's was a big clock like the rabbit in the movie.

The girls had a combined Wizard of OZ themed birthday party. It was a few months ago now, but they had a lot of fun!

Birthday girls in their ruby slippers

I stuffed these tights with paper and put them under the little playhouse my mom has in her rec room, which is were we had their party.

We had cute little favor bags with a dorothy tag on them. Inside I put a pack of rainbow sticker, a glinda glitter wand, a lollipop and a pink bubble bottle.

We played pin the heart on the tin-man

And had lots of treats:)

I made the rice krispie treats yellow, like yellow bricks.

Little twisters:)

Glinda wandwiches

Glittery ruby red cookies

Hershey kisses (tin man hats)

Ding-Dongs

Yummy cupcakes

We had a great Christmas too. This was the first year Berkly was really excited about opening presents. Malia got a lot of Tangled stuff. Rapunzel is her favorite now.

The girls got a tent and sleeping bags.

The evil-eye:)

Berkly in her Christmas eve jammies

Berkly and Ty with Grandma Gaitha. She will be 99 next month:)

Berkly always looks crazy in her pics:)

MaLia with grandpa Mike as Santa

Berkly with grandpa Santa

Small breakdown at the christmas party:)

Malia in her christmas dress.

Devin came home from his mission. We are so happy to have him back.

We just re-decorated the girls room. Berkly was due to get out of her crib. It has turned out cute so far. I wanted to do a woodland theme. These are a few things I picked up at thrift stores to paint to go along with the decor.

This is how they turned out. There are shelves above the 2 windows in the girls room which is were i put all the little knick-nacs. I painted the owl white. It was a yellowish tan before. I left the little mushroom pot green because it matched the girls bedding really well.

I painted the leaf plate brown and the beaded vase white.

It is hard to see in this picture but there is a small white bunny. I left the cute little gnome door with mushrooms just as i bought it. I painted the little bird cage on the far right brown.

This is their daybed. It was a goldish color and i painted it a dark brown. This picture was right after i had set it up and the trundle underneith was not set up yet. We decided to go with a daybed for the girls instead of bunk beds. Tyler was too scared to have Malia on a bunk. I thought she would be fine, but a daybed was our compromise:)

I got thier cute bedding at target. The one in this picture is more of a quilt. It is really cute. I got the wall decals and the owl pillows there too. The hedgehog was a valentines stuffed animal my mom found at Shopko.

This is Berklys bedding. This is after the trundle was set up. It is from target also. I didnt take pictures of the cute sheets. Malias are striped and Berklys have little hearts and mushrooms. The other side of the quilt is pink with polka dots and the other side of berklys comforter is green with polka dots. It is really cute. I would like to do something else with their stuffed animals that are in the hammocks in the corner. Too cluttered for me. I will have to figure something out, till then they will just drive me crazy:)

This is the trundle popped up

This is a cute little LED nightlight. It is hard to tell but it is a blue bird. I love it. You charge it and then the girls can just lay in bed with it like a flashlight. This is their first night in their new bed so hopefully it goes well:)

Also, in regards to my last post, Berkly is doing great. We actually did have another episode after that post. A few days after the first time she bumped her head barely when i was changing her diaper and the whole thing happened again. We took her to the ER and they gave her a CT scan. They said she was fine just more prone to that happening for a few weeks after the first time since her head was sensitive and had not healed yet. She has not had a problem since. (THANKFULLY) But.... she did break her collar bone a few months ago. She is our accident prone child. She fell half way down the stairs and just landed on it wrong. All they could do was give her some pain medicine because she would not wear a sling. She was pretty sore for a few weeks but is fine now. Poor girl.

Well I am SOOOO proud of you if you made it that far. Now we are up to date and hopefully I get my butt in gear and do better than one post a year. :)

Perspective:)

2010-07-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

This little lady means the world to me! My girls are my whole heart and there is nothing i would not do for them. On Sunday i felt like my world came crashing

down, even if it was just for a moment, i will still forever have a new perspective on life.

Berkly is rambunctious to say the least. Always running and always climbing. She pulled herself up on a kitchen chair at my moms house when we were over there for dinner after church. She has done it a million times. I was not paying too close attention to it because she seemed fine. Tara was standing a few feet away and i was on the couch about 10 feet away. Well she fell backwards off the chair onto the hardwood floor. She hit her head

pretty hard and i ran over to love her. Tara picked her right up and handed her to me. She was crying much harder than i expected, since she is usually a tough cookie. I first thought she may have bitten her tongue. I couldn't hear her crying anymore, it was like when they are are about to let out a big scream and you are just waiting for it to come. Well i looked quick at her mouth, no blood.. Then as i panned up to look at her eyes they were rolling into the back of her head. Her body was stiff and i started freaking out.. I had NO idea wh

at to do i just started screaming and my mom called 911.. She was not breathing.. It felt like a million years.. I knelt down on the ground and her face was completely drained of color.. pale as i have ever seen it and her lips were turning purple.. In those seconds i entirely felt like my baby was dying in my arms. She was just staring at me at that point, still no breathing.. I breathed into her mouth and that seemed to start things up.. It may have happened without my help, i don't know. She probably just knocked herself silly and the wind out of her. It was soo scary though. At that point i was hysterical and shaking. Poor Berkly just stared at me.. she would cry at moments and then really calm. I am sure her head hurt.

We had the paramedics come still and they checked her out. They cleared her but we still ran her up to the hospital to have

her checked out again.. Even thinking about those few moments now i get really upset. Everyone there was pretty shaken up.. She was back to herself in about

30 minutes. I am still a mess..:) I didn't sleep at all Sunday night. I was checking on her all night long.

Kiss your babies!

I get so busy with school and meaningless stuff that sometimes i don't spend the time i should with the girls and i have vowed to change that.

On a lighter note we got a kitty.. Dorothy.. Malia is still obsessed with Wizard of OZ... The girls LOVE the kitty

Workshop

2010-05-14T22:45:00.000-07:00

I have posted a few pictures from the awesome workshop I went to with Julie parker on my photography website. It was a blast:)

Pics here:)

Whats new:)

2010-04-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Well I know it has been forever. Tyler is starting a day shift tomorrow so that will be so awesome for us. The girls are great. Malia cut her own hair a few months ago and its now starting to grow back on the side. She is a great sister and really puts up with Berkly being a little bratty.

Berkly is starting to love heals at a young age, just like Malia did. She is really jabbery. She says Doggie, mommy, daddy, Ben, Gramma, Whats that?, Whos that?, wanna bite, want that, bath, fish (she says sish), and she will reapeat just about anything if she is in the right mood. She knows her eyes, nose and ears.

She is in a hitting phase. I feel bad for Malia cuz she gets most of it. Does anyone have advice? She thinks its funny, or she just does it to do it. We tell her no, or to be soft and have even given her little itme outs but none of it works.

She loves books:)

We just went to Vegas and had a really good time. It was hard to leave Berkly overnight for the first tim, but she was in great hands and we needed a getaway:)

I am finally in my 8th of 12 classes for my MBA, so over half way. I am taking a summer break after the class i am in now, thankfully. And Tyler just started back in school so we are just busy busy. I am going to Julie Parkers photography workshop next weekend. I am so excited! Should be lots of fun:)

Happy Birthday girls!

2009-12-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Both Malia and Berkly had birthdays at the end of Nov. We had a little combined party for them down at my moms. Thanks everyone for coming!

Berkly in her Birthday outfit with Aunt Linsdsey

Berkly and Great Aunt Vicky

Malia got some dress up clothes and she was not the only one excited about them! LOL

Malia and her princess castle cake

Berkly loved it too

A few updates..

2009-10-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

A few home updates: My cute wall stickers around the window..The window shelf thing still needs to be finished.The entertainment center before:

And after: Not completely finished but much better

And here is my best attempt at catching Berkly walking.. She was really tired and not in the mood!! SHe cant run around but she can walk better than in the video.. On a side note I am crushed because the jammies she is wearing in the video used to be Malias. We are on staying in a condo in Park city for our anniversary this week and i pa

cked them for Berkly to wear. Anyway the reason I was sad is because I thought they would be too big for her because I was sure Malia was just wearing them last winter.. Nope! They are almost too small. So that means They are both growing so fast! I cant even believe it sometimes. They are both having birthdays next month.. WOW..

Here is a picture of Malia from our balcony in Park City.. She doesn't

like pictures.. You can see her trusty companion Toto.. He is always with her.. She is being Dorothy for halloween. She is super excited!

10 Months

2009-09-24T21:01:00.001-07:00

I know about the only thing I blog lately are Berklys monthly updates. Yikes Im slacking! Not a whole lot is new around our house. Tyler is starting to do Private Investigating with a relative of mine and is really enjoying it. He has had to switch to the night shift at his job so he can do some of the PI stuff during the day. So basically i never see him which sucks but it wont be this way forever I'm sure. The girls are great! Berkly is starting to walk. I need to get some video pronto of it but tyler is never home and she has to walk to me and fall on me so its hard to take video of..

Tyler and I will be celebrating our Anniversary next month. Wow how time flies!

Also I will have my Photography blog and website up soon and I'm very happy because this blog drains the colors out of my pictures big time!! I know there is stuff i can do to customize it and host my pictures elsewhere (which i will do with the other one) But im a little lazy to do it here. Maybe when the other one gets up..

There are 2 new posts below just FYI :)

2009-08-23T11:03:00.001-07:00

Berkly is 9 mths

2009-08-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

These are a few pictures from Willard bay last week.. We went for young womens/mens

Now her 9 month pictures!

She loves to clap!

She is showing you her 2 new teeth.

Recent photo shoots

2009-08-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here are a few favorites from my recent photo shoots ( for you Ash) I will have a website up soon! None of them are sharpened for the web.. so they look a little dull on blogger

Look who is 8 months already

2009-07-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

-She is the sweetest baby ever!

-She is crawling all over.

-No teeth yet.

-She loves her sister

-She laughs so hard at daddy

-We LOVE her

Basement updates

2009-07-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

A few updates: I forgot to take a before picture prior to starting paint sorry! So this was as I was beginning the bottom layer. Note the small old window tyler is starting to cut. Also our old blue carpet is still down. Its hard to see though. And the room is a mess with all the stuff we cleared out from the other rooms. But you get the idea!

This is the room half done. New carpet and walls painted. We still need to paint the ceiling, get new light fixtures and finish some odds and ends. I have some vinyl designs I need to put up too. That coffee table will be going, i want a really open feel. Some of the decorations for the built in entertainment center are on it. The entertainment center will be built into the wall on the left that you cant see. There will be some shelves that I will have to decorate once its done.

Old window

New window.. Lets in so much light! The base of it still needs to be finished

One bedroom before with pink carpet

And after with new carpet, bed and window. (We only did one window in this room)

I mod podged my light plates with cute scrapbook paper!

So we still have tons of little things to get done but it is coming along!

I also wanted a gray carpet but ended up with a nutral beige like carpet. I like it still and it is better for the bedrooms and down teh road if I redecorate.

Happy 4th

2009-07-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

We had a fun weekend. I hope everyone else did too. We had some friends and family over for a small BBQ. It was a lot of fun. The kids had fun on the blow up water slide and playing in the playhouse.

I made lots of fun treats. Anyone planning on making taffy kabobs let me tell you now. NOT worth it. They took me forever. They were just too sticky! So frustrating. My lifesaver firecrackers were much easier to make.

We even roasted mallows and had smores! My fav! We did fireworks after it got dark. The girls loved it.

Then we went to a parade Friday. I know I sound like an old lady but i think I'm going to boycott parades next year. Malia had a taffy chucked at her head by some punk kids on a float. Then she got nailed by a water balloon and so did I while I was holding the baby and my thousand dollar camera. No big deal. BOO. When I saw the float with 30 kids holding squirtguns and buckets that they were filling with water from a hot tub I ran into someones yard with the baby and my camera. I can understand squirting the kids that run up to the float, but not the whole audience. They were throwing buckets of water on everyone. Old people, little kids that were crying, people holding cameras and phones. I mean pay attention. Rant over. :)

Small request:)

2009-06-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

If anyone has baby boy clothing that they are no longer in need of and are planning on getting rid of anyways will you get in touch with me. I have a good friend that is in need of a little help, her baby will be born in late fall. It will be GREATLY appreciated, and it always feels nice to help someone out, right! :) Thanks!

Updates

2009-06-17T00:51:00.000-07:00

I know its been awhile :) Man. Busy busy.
A few new pics of the girls:

We went to the Zoo last week. So fun! Here is Berkly with her Sophie giraffe and a real giraffe!
Malia had the best time. She had her face painted like a mouse.

Also I have taken up photography. I am loving it. I recently met with the amazing Dustin Izatt and he taught me a ton. Here are a few shots from that day of Kami.

I am currently in a David Beckstead workshop hosted by Julie Parker that has been so cool! It ends Thursday but here are a few of my favorite shots so far.

Oh and I will have some photos of the basement soon! Our carpet is in. Its not all done but its coming along, finally!

6 Months!

2009-05-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

Isnt she adorable!!

The remodel is coming along. I just finished redoing this chair it turned out sooo cute. I forgot to take a before picture before I started. It was was just plain light wood and ugly crushed velvet orange fabric. Our carpet is coming in a little over a week. The new windows have taken a LOT longer than expected.

I just got a new camera and am sooo happy. I love it!! Unfortunatly i lost my old memory card (I WILL find it). As soon as it shows up I will post before pictures of the chair and some cute shots I took of my little brothers with the new camera. Berkly's pictures above are with it. I have no idea how to use it yet but i am learning.

2009-04-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

*5 Months *

Her first painted toe nails!

And first sweet glasses!

I love her little onsie. I found this great seller on etsy that sells stickers of 0-12 months. They are cute and you just stick them on a plain onsie. They aren't reusable and by the end of me taking pictures her slobber had demolished it, but its better than paying for the onsie sets that have the months appliqued on that are almost a hundred bucks.

Her cute new diaper

She loves this little toy. Not for to long but she'll play in it for a little bit. We just put her jumper in the doorway too. She cant use it very well but really likes it.

Messy girl!

Her other new cute diaper

A few new pictures of the girls

2009-04-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

Malia had a fun time at her cousin Emmas birthday party last week!

Berkly and her Grandpa Mike

Big smile!

Malia likes to play on her new toys now that they are back out for Berkly!

-The basement is coming along!

-My grandma ended up passing away on Good Friday. We love and miss her but are so happy for her to be with grandpa and her siblings and parents!

2009-04-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

I am an incredible blog-slacker! Sorry!Life has been busy. I started my MBA and its a little stressful. On a happy note life will soon be getting less stressful as I am selling my website. It is doing great however I just don't have the time to dedicate to orders and emails and phone calls that I would like. I'm excited about the sell thought because A. I'm turning a profit and B. the couple buying it have the money and ability to make it so much bigger than I could. They even want to keep me around to help them out in the future as it grows, so it could turn into a great experience. They live in bountiful and are the owners of Upper Case Living, which is a very successful national vinyl lettering company. They have even talked about turning it into an Eco friendly baby store, an actual brick and mortar store, which I think would do really well. I am going to help them transition it for the next few weeks and then I will have less worries in my life. I'm so excited because with some of the money we are finishing our basement! Now i can put my college interior design courses to good use. I am doing a black white and yellow theme in the living room and am SOO excited to see how it turns out. These pictures are what I envision for the room....

I know these are wedding photos but this is my color scheme. :)

I am actually getting this exact love seat. We are planning on a grey carpet. 2 yellow striped walls. Not bright yellow but not really light either, like a light bright yellow if that makes sense.I am also doing the stripes in the same color just different sheens. A flat and a high gloss. It makes for a really classy look. This is the only example I could find and its not in yellow but you get the idea.

We are getting a black leather sectional and we have 2 small black modern end tables. I want an open look so we wont be doing any coffee tables. I'm going for an open modern vintage feel. I'm excited and cant wait to be done. Ive bought a few black frames for the walls with cute sayings on them and some vases with lemons and some vases with yellow daisies to accent with. I'm getting these floral circles in black and grey to put behind the couch on the yellow wall.

We are also finishing the bathroom but I don't have a lot of plans yet for that. I do think i want to go with a light blue and a little brown. Its a small bathroom so I don't want to make it feel any smaller with too much brown. I want it really simple. I like this vinyl bird wall decal. Obviously different colors. we will see how it comes.

Finally my sweet Grandma Ruth is about to pass away. It is a bitter sweet thing. Like so many are when an older relative is going to pass I am happy because she is old and will be happier. I however am feeling very selfish about it because I will miss her so much. Also because I feel like my girl are being robbed of getting to know how wonderful she is. I felt the same when my grandpa passed a few years ago. I have memories I can hold on to but it breaks my heart that they don't. She is my great grandma and obviously I cant expect her to be around forever. In times like this I am very grateful for my testimony and understanding of the gospel . What an almost exciting experience something like this can be when you truly understand the big picture. How incredible is it to know that in just a few days she will be with her husband and with our heavenly father. We love her and will miss her. She will be in a better place and will be able to watch over us until we are with her again.

Devin is doing great in Paraguay. He is staying so positive and is really enjoying his time over there. I'm so proud of him!

Also I got a new laptop so hopefully I will be posting more. We got a MAC and LOVE it!
I have new pictures of the girls I need to post.

Berkly is getting Soo big. Her reflux is getting better which is great. She is SUCH a happy baby except when her reflux is acting up its so sad. She will be 5 months on the 21st. Wow time flies. She weighed 12 lbs 8 oz at her 4 month appt. She is sort of sitting up alone. She is rolling from front to back. She sleeps really well, up at max once per night. We love her she is great. I will post new pictures soon! We are getting family pictures taken soon! As soon as my silly husband gets his braces off :) Hopefully in another month.

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-14T21:23:00.000-08:00

Berkly is growing like a weed! We just love her! She is getting so big. She's almost 3 months old already!!

MaLia has a slight obsession with the wizard of Oz right now. So I made her a Glenda (the good witch) and Dorothy hair clip. I made her an Ariel one too, she loves The Little Mermaid.

This is Berkly in her Valentines outfit. Tyler and I went to sushi for Valentines and then we got pulled over and Tyler got a ticket because I forgot to register my car!! I feel so bad. Hopefully they will give him a break if he takes the registration in. I never got my renewal in the mail and that is something I would never think to check without a reminder, so Ive been driving for 2 months Unregistered!

But Tyler got me a Beautiful new ring that I just love. Its both of the girls birthstone for Nov.

She is getting soo big!

2009-02-03T20:10:00.002-08:00

Cheesy!!

Updates

2009-01-29T07:31:00.000-08:00

So I am now on D7 of the 30 day shred and I can honestly say that It is a lot easier already! I'm not sore anymore and I'm still really liking it! I skipped two days in there so its really been 9 days since I started but oh well. I'm already feeling like I'm in better shape!

I will post more pictures of Berkly soon! We are having computer issues. Basically my computer sucks and Ive been using my brothers while he is on his mission but my parents have needed it for a few weeks and I cant upload pictures on my laptop. But she is doing great! We love her!!

I also have big news about a new church calling. I don't think I'm supposed to talk about it yet so ill post after Sunday but I'm excited. I will miss my primary class but it will be a new adventure. I'm trying to look at the bright side of all of it and not get bitter about it because it will be taking extra time away from seeing the girls. I already work full time and feel really guilty that i don't get home till 630 mon-thurs. Now one night a week i will go straight to my calling and wont see the baby till 8 or 9. I think i will try to take her with me sometimes though. Don't get me wrong I am happy about the calling its just hard to balance life and work when you have kids and not feel guilty and like a bad mom sometimes!

Oh one last thing 2 days ago MaLia made me almost cry. She was talking to Tyler and she said "Daddy, Shanda is my best friend." It melted my heart. I didn't even know she knew what a best friend was! I love her!

Oh also I'm doing a giveaway on my Cloth diaper store blog if anyone is interested or if you know anyone who would be pass it on! www.clothbabyplanet.com/blog

Baby Weight!!

2009-01-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

So Berkly turned 2 months yesterday and it is officially time for me to loose the baby weight!! I was hoping that breastfeeding would work out better than it did and id be burning extra calories with that, but unfortunately that's not happening. (That's not why i wanted it to work by the way and I know it doesn't help everyone loose the baby weight :))

So before i found out i was pregnant i actually ordered Turbo Jam but by the time it came I was well into my first trimester and wasn't about to start a heavy duty excise routine! Since the baby got here I have lacked the motivation to work out. So in an effort to jump start me back into working out i bought the 30 day shred!

A lot of the girls i chat with on a website called thenest.com LOVE this DVD. It consists of 3 levels. You do each level for 10 days and then move to the next. Once you are done you just start over at level 1 again for a second round. So i am on R1L1D2 (Round 1- Level 1 Day 2)!

The workout is only 20 minutes long!! Which is just what I needed to get myself into working out. SO i did my first day last night and let me just say It was such an INTENSE 20 minutes. Jillian is really motivational though. The only thing that pushed me through is that is goes by so fast. You do 3 minutes of strenght then 2 minutes of cardio and then 1 minute of abs, then you start over with new variations of strenght/cardio/abs. NO BREAKS the whole time. But like Jillian said in the dvd "If you want to see results in a 20 minute workout you have non time for breaks."

I am SOOO sore today. By the end of the 20 minutes my legs were NOODLES. I was scared to carry the baby around because i though they might collapse on me. I kindof like being sore today though because I know i had a good workout.

Im mostly posting this so that I stay motivated to keep it up. Its tough. She starts the workout with pushups. Well frankly Ive NEVER been able to do a pushup! Shes crazy. From what the girls that I chat with said though after the first 5 days your endurance is much better. So if I can make it past that hopefully it will get easier!

So I will keep everyone posted on the progress of my super sore body. Im also trying to eat a lot better because i eat terribly!! I know that I feel so much better and have more energy when im in shape and heaven knows with a new baby I need all the energy I can get.

Random post

2009-01-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

Malia got a bike for Christmas! She loves it. This is her riding it around at great great grandmas house. She had a great Christmas and got lots of fun stuff

This is Malias Birthday party. Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of pictures. She had are Ariel cake. She loves Ariel.

She loves to get into my makeup. Usually I catch her before things get this out of hand. Silly girl!

Here are the most recent pictures of Berkly. Malia just adores her!!! Sorry Malia has a messy face and I am completely not ready! But Berklys face is priceless in the photo with me so I had to post it

These are from Berklys blessing Sunday! What a sweetie!

And a few funny faces!!

I took Berkly in to the doc on friday. She has really bad acid reflux. Its so sad. She doesnt spit up a whole lot but after she eats you can tell shes really uncomfortable. She stiffens up and arches her back a lot. Sometimes I can even hear it come up like she is going to throw up but it just goes up her throat and back down. He gave her some medication so hopefully it will help. Besides that everything is great. She weighs 10.2

What a cute Missionary!

2009-01-07T20:40:00.000-08:00

Devin left on his mission last month! I cant believe how grown up my little brother is. I have already received a letter for him and can tell he is growing so much spiritually. He is such a great example and will do an incredible job!!

This is a picture of all the siblings and our (Mine and Taras) husbands and kids at my moms after the farewell. We had little Berkly blessed that day. Im super grateful for my amazing huband and the priesthood he holds. Sorry the picture is blurry.

Finally!

2008-12-27T17:56:00.000-08:00

My website is finally done. Well its up at least. There are still some things I want to do with it but its up and running and working so I'm happy. Some of the pages aren't compete yet, like I am going to have a page that has extra tips on "going green" and saving money and I haven't finished that yet but all the product are set up. Anyways the website is http://clothbabyplanet.com/ if anyone is interested.

New Baby Pics--

2008-12-17T15:22:00.000-08:00

Oh my sweet little princess!! She is such a great baby and we feel so blessed. She is stayin awake a lot more during the day now. While I am home on my maternity leave I am watching Malia too to give my mom a break, well and so I can spend time with her! Malia just loves her sister and loves helping me out. The day seems to go by so fast. Stay at home moms have the hardest job in the world. Most rewarding, but still the hardest. Hopefully at some point I can be in a position to stay home, but its tough. I applaud all the women that stay home with their children. It will be really hard to start back to work too though. I will miss being with her all day. MAN! Im about to cry just writing it! I am so happy my mom will be able to watch her for now though because it makes things easier to know she will be in good hands. Thanks mom.

2008-11-30T16:40:00.000-08:00

These pictures are from berklys 2nd day home when Ashley got into town and was able to come visit.
Everything is going well. She is a great baby! Mom is a little tired, but not too bad.
Tyler just finished up the semester which is nice and less stressful for both of us. He really commits big time to his homework. He gets great grades but tends to over stress. At least he's super committed when hes in school at the end of college for me i was just concerned with passing :) He is taking a break from next semester.
Malias birthday was a week ago. She had a great time. i took some picture and will post them soon. Time just seems to get away from me really fast these days:)

Baby Berkly!

2008-11-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

Aunt Kami

______________________________________________

Wow! What a beautiful new addition to our family! She is perfect. We are having some difficulties with the feeding that is really stressing me, but that is my only complaint. :(
The delivery went really well. Not quite as planned but everyone is happy and healthy and that
is all that matters. I was induced at around 8 am and had my water broken around 930. When I arrived at the hospital I was almost dilated to a two (which is where I had been for a few weeks). By noon I was in a LOT of pain. Determined to do it without an epidural I sucked it up and tried to get through, By two I was crying and knew that I couldn't take much more. The nurse checked me and I was only to a 3 so I decided to get an epidural since I figured I would be laboring for a lot longer since I had only progressed 1 cm in 6 hours. After I got the epidural my body was able to relax for the first time. With the pitocin and having my water broken I was getting no relief between contractions. They were so intense, Man! An hour after my epi the nurse checked me and guess what, an 8! The nurse was so surprised. I was happy with my decision to get my epidural at that point. She was able to descend better since I was relaxed. So in another hour the nurse checked me and said "Youre at a ten, with the next contraction I need you to push to see how well you do." Well I could push fine so I pushed with each contraction for about a half hour and then the doc got there. She had me push through about 3 contractions and the baby was here. I cant believe I am a mom and I love her so much. She is so sweet and perfect. Malia just loves her. She wants to help out with her as much as possible. Tyler is such a great daddy. he is wrapped around her finger big time! So we are just doing great so far.

Shes here!

2008-11-21T20:47:00.000-08:00

Born at 5
weight 7.7
19 inches long
Sooo tired will post more later!!

TOMORROW!!

2008-11-20T17:30:00.000-08:00

At my appointment today my doctor was concerned about the babys weight. I know they can be off with the estimates but I am 40 weeks today. So we are going in for an induction in the morning. I have not made any progression in the last 2 weeks so she is just getting bigger and not coming out. I would like to avoid a c-section at all cost and she feels like if I go much longer I will end up with one. I was planning on having a med free birth so they are going to break my water first and see if that gets things going. From there I might need pitocin but I am still going to try for no epidural. Which is partially med free but I know it is in my best interest to get started so here we go.. :)
SO I will try to update with pictures as soon as she gets here!! Wish me luck I am really nervous!!

2008-11-16T19:32:00.000-08:00

This is Malias first experience with curlers! She looks excited Huh? Poor girl. And the outcome was terrible! Super poofy hair!! LOL

Here are a few nursery pictures! Berklys bedding is brown and pink. My super talented friend Ash made her bedding! It is gorgeous! I love it! Thanks ASH!!

These are
a few of her cute dipes!

And lastly some belly pics. I am currently the size of a house! I hate blurry pictures but I dont feel to bad that these are so blurry LOL!
Any day now!! Hopefully these will be the last belly pics I take!! We are so excited! I will keep you updated!!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-04T17:33:00.000-08:00

This was Malias 2nd Halloween and she had a lot of fun. When i first got her costume out she did NOT want to put it on. Once she was all ready she kept saying "let me see my cat face!" because she wanted me to lift her up in the mirror. She kept "meowing" and saying "trick or treat". We went to a trunck or treat at our ward. That is cousin Titan in the wagon he is a turtle! So cute! he wasnt in full gear yet though.

WOW!

2008-10-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

I can not believe how big my belly is getting. No stretchmarks so far at least!! Im sure they are coming!! :(
Im feeling really good. Im anxious to meet my little girl though!!

Less than 4 weeks!! WOW! Time flies!!

UPDATES

2008-10-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry I am slacking in the posting department!!

-DEVIN recieved his mission call. He is going to PARAGUAY. He leaves Dec 17th! I am so proud of hima nd will miss him so much!! He will be a great missionary!!

-The baby should be here in exactly aone month. I am getting so anxios. I am feeling ok still I am just having a hard time sleeping comfortably.

-I have been really busy because I am starting an online business. It is taking up all my time (and $$) lately. I will be a retailer for different cloth diaper companies. I am really excited because using cloth is starting to really take off in other states. Utah is always slightly behind so I figured I would take the risk and be the first to bring it here. Target is actually going to start selling the Bumgenius brand. I will be carrying a lot of different brands and accessories. I am getting tons of "How to get started" info together to put on the site also. I will have lots of neat stuff for locals. I plan on having a calender of events and doing some classes every few weeks on how to get started. I just know that when I started I would have killed for someone to help me because it can be a lot of information to take in at first. It is really easy now though!! I will also be doing ecofriendly enrichment nights. I will lots of non diapering eco friendly tips for these along with the cloth diapering information. So if anyone wants me to come to their ward (Starting next year) get ahold of me. The website should be up in another month. I am waiting on several orders and still finalizing the site. It will give me a lot to do while on maternity leave :)

I now have the Internet at home so I should be posting more often!! I will have a picture post soon!

M loves shoes!!

2008-09-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

M has taken quite a liking to my shoes. Heels mostly ! I have to say I am pretty impressed that she can walk so well in them :)

She loves Daddy too!!

And anything girly like makeup and hairspray!!

Family update!

2008-09-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

My sister Tara had her little boy early. He was born Aug 1. He is so cute and small! His brother is adjusting well to his new friend. When he was first born Titan would call him "Doggie", it was funny. I makes me nervous for my upcoming bundle of joy, but very excited too. We have about 12 weeks left and its coming fast.

My brother has officially finished everything necessary to get his mission call. We will be anxiously waiting to see where he goes. It will be hard to have him leave but I am so proud of him!! Hes a great brother and such a good example! I'll post when we find out his call!

ZOO Trip!

2008-08-19T19:01:00.001-07:00

Tyler, Ben, Parker,MaLia and I went to the Hogle Zoo this summer. MaLia had so much fun!! It was her first time there and she was so excited.. Even weeks later she tells us she wants to go see the elephants..

We promise she had fun:)

Baby update!

2008-08-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

17 weeks

19 weeks

20.5 weeks

24 weeks

25.5 weeks

_________________________________________

Everything is still going great! I have an anterior plancenta so I'm not able to feel her move much. I have just barely started to feel pokes. Its crazy. We are getting excited for her to get here! We have decided on a name "Berkly".

It's a....

2008-06-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!!!

The baby wasnt very cooperative but the doctor was pretty sure it was a girl. We are thrilled. It will be really nice since I have SOO much girl stuff already from MaLia. She is healthy and growing well. We will be happy if it ends up being a boy too. I have been doing tons of reading and research on everything baby related to try to get ready. Wow! its a lot of stuff and hard work but it'll be worth it in the end.

My cute brother

2008-06-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

Devin is getting so old. He is in preparation for the mission, so after years of long hair in all different styles he had it cut. ( Thats him with the old school neon glasses)

These are a few other shots of the old hair. He is such a great kid and I'm so proud of him!!!!!!!

Belly pics!

2008-05-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Here comes the belly!! I think that since I'm so short I might be in for it. I hope it doesnt get too big.

*8 weeks (little bloat)

So far I've been feeling really good. A little nauseated a few days but thats been awhile ago. I'm really tired though. I cant complain though because it could be worse.

My next appointment is Mid June and hopefully we will find out the sex!! YAH

I've had 2 appointments and I had lost weight by the 2nd one. So I dont know where this belly is coming from.

*10 weeks*

How soon did all of you that have babies start to show??

*12 weeks*(sorry about the dirty miror)

*13 weeks*

Finally!!

2008-04-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

The semester is over! Now maybe i will be able to post more often! I graduate on the 2nd of May. What a relief! Now to just find a great job! LOL!! I have to work less when the babe comes, or partially from home, or I'll go crazy. Now that school is out of the way i have a better pool of jobs to look at. So wish me luck in finding the perfect one...

First comes love, then comes marriage....

2008-04-08T12:44:00.000-07:00

You guessed it!! We are so excited to announce that Tyler and I are having a baby!! We have our first appointment next week so I will be updating the blog as we go along. We are around 6 weeks along ( I think ). So most likely we will have a late nov. early dec. baby.

My sister is also pregnant with a little boy who is due in Aug. So they will be really close in age!! What a fun time!! We feel so blessed!

GET OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-04-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

I'm in heaven. My childhood loves are all grown up and back together. If they come to utah on this comeback tour that keeps being rumored I(Along with my good friend ash) will be on the front row. I dont care how expensive the tickets are!!!!!!!!

Oh joey How Ive missed you!!

NKOTB.com

has there new song, Oh it bring back memories!!

I think i might break out my tapes of their music videos. Wait i dont even own a tape player anymore!!! AGGGGG

Hoppy Easter!!

2008-03-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

MaLias Easter pic!!

What a Cutie. She had a great easter!!

She loves to carry around the little easter basket i got her as a purse!!

Our 2nd baby!! Roxy

2008-03-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

Our little dog of many names!! She came to us as a rescue recently. She is 3 so she was used to her name as roxy..Not my choice (quite trendy) but oh well.. So anyways she prances around like a deer sometimes so we also call her Bambi. It is so funny.. And I dont know why but I always want to call her peter cottontail. I think its because he had all those sisters with similar names.. Foxy, moxy, loxy or whatever.. We love her, even though she is really hyper.. Baby M just loves her.. Every morning we get Munchkin out of her crib and bring her into our bed and she crawls under the covers because she knows the dog is under there.

Home sweet home!!

2008-03-07T16:47:00.002-08:00

Tyler and I bought my parents old house in the terrace after they built a new one... We love it!! I love decorating!!

Our red and black bedroom, Our lighthouse bathroom, Our tan living room and our red kitchen!!

Tagged by KASI

2008-02-27T10:31:00.000-08:00

Tag-what you need to know about my man!
What is his name? Tyler Drew
How long have you been together? Dated for almost a year and a half, Married for 4 months
How old is he? 28
Who eats more? He probably eats double what i do!! But he has no body fat! Jerk
Who said I love you first? i think me actually
Who is taller? He is, by a foot almost
Who sings better? He has a really good voice
Who is smarter? Me of course, :) he is a smarty too.
Who does the laundry? ME
Who pays the bills? I do.
Who sleeps on the right side? Usually him but i have been lately beacause the left side is by the wall and i get too cold
Who mows the lawn? He does all the outside stuff!
Who cooks dinner? Neither of us usually.. I'm a terrible cook. We eat out alot or eat stuff that requires little preparation
Who drives? I hate driving but we switch it up
Who is more stubborn? We are both super stubborn but i think he might be the most
Who kissed who first? He kissed me first, it was a long time after i met him before our first kiss too i was impatiently waiting
Who proposed? Him
Who has more friends? both of us
Who is more sensitive? Me totally I'm usually an emotional wreck at least once per week
Who has more siblings? me- he has he has 1 sister and one brother and 2 stepbrothers and one half sister. I have 2 sisters and 4 brothers + one step brother from my dad+ 3 brothers from my biological father, so 8 brothers total.
Who wears the pants? Me, he doesn't let me get away with too much though.

My cute husband!!

2008-02-27T07:44:00.000-08:00

Happy 4 Month anniversary (yesterday)!! I love him so much!!!I couldn't be happier. We have so much fun and he is such a great guy. He is so sweet and I just dont know what i'd do without him. He is incredibly supportive and can cheer me up if i'm having a bad day! He is a hard worker and is back in school working hard there too.

He is such an important part of my life and i'm so lucky to be sealed to him in the temple. I'm so happy to have a

worthy preisthood holder in my home. He makes our home a special place. He is so helpful and would do anything for someone in need. He has an amazing heart!!

Puppy Love!!!

2008-02-23T10:36:00.000-08:00

My moms min-pin had 7 puppies a few weeks ago. They are so cute and M thinks they are so funny!!

2008-02-22T09:48:00.000-08:00

Me A-Z
Tagged by Ashley
A- Attached or Single? Very much attached.. And I love it!!
B- Best Friend? Ashley
C- Cake or Pie? is cheescake a cake? I think so!
D- Day of Choice? Saturdays
E- Essential Item? My purse! I know that is cheating because it contains more than one item but oh well
F- Favorite Color? Pink..Duh
G- Gummy Bears or Worms? Worms..Oh oh i love the sour ones!!
H- Hometown? I;m still in the same house i grew up in!
I- Favorite Indulgence? SUSHI!!!! i could eat it every meal!!
J- January or July? JULY baby! bring on the heat!!
K- Kids? My munchkin and my baby dog Rox
L- Life isn't complete without? My Hubby and baby M. Also my family They rock! And my friends!
M- Marriage date? 10/26/07
N- Number of brothers and sisters? 3 sisters, 8 (total) brothers
O--Oranges or Apples? Apples! Golden crisp ones! mmm!
P- Phobias and Fears? Ghosts! But i always watch scary shows about them! and water and anything that lives in the water- Alligators, sharks, man-eating fish,etc
Q- Quote? "Become the change you wish to see in the world"
R- Reason to smile? My family!!
S- Season of choice? SUMMER!! I heart summer! i like fall too
T- Tag three people? I'm to new to this i dont know three people that havent already done it
U- Unknown fact about me? I just got my concealed weapons permit. I'm getting a pink gun!
V- Vegetable? All
W- Worst Habit? Sleeping in
Y- Your favorite food? Sushi or pizza
Z- Zoo animal? Penguins!

My Munchkin!!

2008-02-21T18:10:00.000-08:00

She may not have grown in my belly, But she DID grow in my heart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I married Ty I not only became a wife but I instantly became a mother!! I cant explain how happy baby M makes me. She is growing like a weed. She is so fun! We just love having her in our lives!!

She is 14 months old now. She walks and babbles. She is great!! I have been in her life since she was born (long story for those who dont know but not as bad as it sounds :)) which i am grateful for. She loves my brothers and her chair. She'll glare at you if you sit in it.

We just got a new dog and they have so much fun together!! Im sure most of my posts will be about our little Munchy!!

Here is the Princess Throne!!!

Bridals

2008-02-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

And here are a few of my bridal pictures. They were taken at memory grove. PS. I got a bug bite in the middle of the shoot so dont pay attention to the red spot on my forehead in one of the

pictures :)

Our Wedding

2008-02-21T13:56:00.000-08:00

Well i'm having difficulties with my camera, so since I have wedding pictures on CDs i'll post them.

Tyler and I were married October 26, 2007 in the Ogden LDS Temple. What an amazing experience. I am so happy to be a wife and cant imagine my life with anyone else. The day was beautiful. 2 members of the quorum of the 70 were at a metting in the temple and asked if they could attend our ceremony. That made the experience all the more special. I will always remember that day!!

Cake!!!

My Adorable brothers!!!!

Our Rings!!

My Beautiful sisters!!

2008-02-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

CLOTH DIAPERS???

I know what you are all thinking... But cloth diapers of today are nothing like they used to be. I'm the last person on earth that would purposly make things harder on myself. I was really apposed to the idea at first (sounded like too much work, plus kinda gross) but then I saw and article where Gwen Stefani was talking about how she uses them and I figured they must be worth researching. I looked further into it and today's cloth diapers are so cute and easy to use. I feel great that I am not contributing to the overwhelming amount of disposable diapers in landfills. Also there are chemicals in disposables that I never even imagined. The cloth diapers of today are like the Mercedes Benz of diapers. They are so soft and way cute. You could go crazy buying all the cute styles!!

I just started using them one my one-year old step-daughter and I am thrilled with them. They are so nice and soft for her. They are no hassle at all. When you really research all the harsh chemicals in diapers you won’t even want to use them again on your little ones. If anyone has any questions I am a newbie at this but I will be happy to help in any way I can.

This info is all from a great article called the Joy of CLoth daipering-- There is a lot but it is really interesting: Its just the inportant stuff cut and pasted so if it skips from one topic to the next thats why

Some of the facts: 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown in landfills each year, taking as many as 500 years to decompose. Disposable diapers make up the third largest source of solid waste in landfills, after newspapers and food and beverage containers--a significant fact, considering they are a single product, used by a limited portion of the population.1 It takes upwards of 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp, or a quarter-million trees, to manufacture the disposable diapers that cover the bottoms of 90 percent of the babies born in the US.2
Some will argue that in areas where water is scarce, disposables are the better environmental choice. However, carrying this argument to the extreme, we should be wearing disposable clothes, and using paper plates and plastic utensils. Washing cloth diapers at home uses 50 to 70 gallons of water every three days--about the same as a toilet-trained child or adult flushing the toilet five to six times a day.

With all the focus on environmental issues, the baby often gets overlooked in a discussion of cloth versus disposable diapers. All parents want to do what's best for their baby, but many people aren't aware of, or don't consider, the short-term and long-term health effects of their diapering choice.
Although the disposable diaper industry spends millions of dollars on ad campaigns touting the fact that their diapers feel drier, there is no benefit to the baby in terms of diaper rash. In fact, diaper rash is caused by numerous factors ranging from food irritations to soaps used on the baby's skin, and the number one factor in preventing it is frequent diaper changes. For this reason, babies in disposable diapers may experience more diaper rash; because the diapers feel dry, parents tend to change them as infrequently as every four to five hours. But though the outer layer may appear dry, bacteria from the urine is still present in the baby's diaper, and still comes in contact with the baby's skin. Furthermore, plastic does not "breathe" to let out the ammonia formed in the bacterial breakdown of urine, while a cotton diaper and nylon or wool wrap are breathable, allowing air to circula te to the baby's skin, keeping it healthy.
Of more serious concern are the toxic chemicals present in disposable diapers. Dioxin, which in various forms has been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, and skin diseases, is a by-product of the paper-bleaching process used in manufacturing disposable diapers, and trace quantities may exist in the diapers themselves.
And what about the material that makes "superabsorbent" diapers so absorbent? If you've ever used disposable diapers, you've probably noticed beads of clear gel on your baby's genitals after a diaper change. Superabsorbent diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, which absorbs up to 100 times its weight in water. Sodium polyacrylate is the same substance that was removed from tampons in 1985 because of its link to toxic shock syndrome. No studies have been done on the long-term effects of this chemical being in contact with a baby's reproductive organs 24 hours a day for upwards of two years.
There is, however, a more serious threat of contamination from disposable diapers, because of human sewage going into landfills. The disposal of human waste in residential garbage is technically prohibited, and instructions on disposable diaper packaging recommend that you shake out any fecal matter into the toilet before disposing of it; but in practice this is almost never done. Live viruses in the feces, such as the polio vaccine, can live in landfills for a long period, and if there were ever any leakage, could potentially contaminate a community's drinking water. So far, there has been no evidence of contamination--this is more of a concern in Third World countries, where landfills aren't as well constructed, and disposable diapers are being marketed aggressively.
"We live in a fast-paced society where people don't want to deal with the `yuck' factor," adds Smithson. "Parents look at a diaper as a container that doesn't leak and can be left on for eight hours, instead of looking at it as clothing worn on the most sensitive parts of the body. Shouldn't we b e changing babies when they wet?" Adds Erica Froese, owner of Mother-Ease Diapers, "A diaper is not meant to be used as a toilet."
The "Bottom" LineAside from the environmental and health arguments, many parents feel, as I do, that cotton is a purer, softer, simpler choice than paper and plastic, and that if their babies could vote, they'd choose cloth themselves. In fact, my four year old, who has tried pull-ups at night and inevitably wakes up with an itchy rash, has made it clear to me that she prefers cotton. Many cloth diaper companies are now offering adult sizes, as incontinent adults look for alternatives to the feeling of a mushy mass of paper wadded between their legs.
The bottom line is that choosing cloth diapers doesn't have to be a daunting prospect--it's simple, it's convenient, it's inexpensive. And it's the best choice you can make for the health of your baby, and of the planet.

Nickisdiapers.com and pinstripesnadpolkadots.com and cottonbabies.com are all helpful resources. They have all the information and FAQ you’ll need. You can also order from these sites. If you just search you can find many more resources. Cloth is making a comeback in a big way. Most celebrity babies are in adorable cloth diapers these days!!

It’s great for the environment and they are so super cute how can you resist!! They range from around 15 to 20 dollars a piece and you’ll need around 18. So about $400.oo to get your stash going. (You’ll need to buy the adjustable one size fits all diapers. If you buy the kind that run small medium large you will need to buy a new stash for each stage of the babies growth.) It may sound like a lot, but a child from birth to potty training (2 years) uses around $1800. 00 worth of disposable diapers!!! That is a savings of 1400.00, and that’s if your child is potty trained by 2!

Environmental Issues
-Every child adds about 6500 disposable diapers to our landfills.
-Disposable diapers have little to no recycling potential and the long term effects of them on the environment remain unknown.
-Disposable diapers can take up to 500 years to decompose.
-One baby can produce up to 2 tons of landfill waste using disposable diapers.
-Serious threat of contamination from disposable diapers because of human sewage going into landfills.
-Disposal of human waste in residential garbage is technically prohibited and instructions on disposable diaper packaging recommend that you shake out any fecal matter into the toilet before disposing of it.
-Viruses found in feces can pose a threat to our water supplies and wildlife.
-Each baby in disposable diapers consumes 4.5 trees (Based on only 2 years in diapers.)

WOW!!!!!!!! Sorry if some of that was redundant. I just wanted to put this out there i am such an advocate for these and i love them. If anyone is interested i have several brands you can look at. Also it can become overwhelming so if you have question ask me!!!

I am starting to be really environmentally conscious. I just also ordered the cutest reusable grocery bags, so I don’t have to throw all those plastic ones away. You can only save so many. We are starting to recycle and unplug all the household appliances that arent in use. Things like that. So if anyone else wants to chat about stuff like this or has some cool tips or things you do to be Green let me know.

HELLO blog world!!

2008-02-20T11:31:00.000-08:00

Well my dear friend just started her blog and I thought it was so dang cute that I had to start one too. I figure those who want updates on my little old family can access them easily here. So i'm excited to get this going!!