Last Week

Was gray and cloudy. It was typical weather for January in Northern Utah. But it was really the first week this winter that has been that way. It was long and depressing and by the end of the week, I was going crazy! On Friday I decided we needed to get out of the house.

So in the morning we headed to Walmart. I let Corby play in the toy aisle for over an hour. He enjoyed every minute of it and so did I. He loved sitting on this tricycle and almost was able to make it move. I'm sure he'll be getting one of his very own (perhaps in a more manly color scheme) for his birthday and he'll be a tricycle-riding pro! He insisted on wearing the helmet the whole time.

After his nap, we headed to the duck pond at BYU. He loved feeding the ducks pieces of bread and chasing them around the boardwalk. And then when he had had enough of that, he walked up all the stairs by himself. (If you've ever climbed those stairs, you know what an accomplishment that is for a 1.5 year old!)

When it was time to go home, I decided to drive by my freshman dorm. I was pretty sure it had already been demolished, but it was still there. (If you haven't heard, they are replacing Heritage Halls. Article here.) I had Rog meet me there on his way home from work, so I could take one last picture with the place that was my home for the first 9 months of my BYU experience.

{Goodbye Rogers Hall! Thanks for all the great memories!}

On Saturday morning Rog started his GMAT class. Corby and I braved the rain (which later turned to snow) and got much-needed haircuts. Later in the day, I got to go on a Corby-free shopping trip. I finally broke down and bought some new maternity jeans that fit me now, so I don't have to feel like a lazy bum wearing my pajama pants all the time.

Thanks to the haircut (which has given me new motivation to actually do my hair), new maternity jeans (which make me feel like a human being again), and slightly better weather (we saw the sun this afternoon and were able to go on a walk), this week has been going a lot better than last week!

19 Months

The Corb at 19 months:

*Is getting very good at eating with a spoon.

*He's slowed down now, but he must have had a growth spurt because for a few weeks he was eating like a hungry teenager!

*Likes wearing his gloves. If he wants to go outside, he'll bring me his shoes or his gloves - even if we've just barely finished breakfast.

*Loves opening/shutting doors. He can't open our doors yet, but he can open the kind that pulls down to open. (My parents have that kind, so he was in heaven opening/shutting doors while we were there for Christmas.)

*Likes playing in the water when we wash his hands after eating. This is a great improvement because not long ago, he would scream the whole time we were washing his hands. And he knows to go dry his hands after we wash them.

*Knows where his car mat is stored. If we ask him if we should play cars, he goes to get it out. Sometimes he likes to hide under it.

And then he loves playing peek-a-boo when you pull it off him.

*Is really into keys right now. He loves going to the mailbox and pretending to open the boxes with a key.

*Loves to dance around after his bath.

*Loves to drive around Macey's in the car carts. They are harder to steer, but it's worth it because he doesn't try to climb out the whole time!

*Has figured out how to jump. He doesn't do it all that often, but he can get both feet off the floor at the same time when he wants to.

*Sleeps in until sometime between 7:45 and 8:15 every morning. We figured out he was waking up starving, so if we feed him a snack about a half hour before putting him to bed, he doesn't wake up at 6:00 am anymore! He also has been taking really good naps (for him anyway). It's getting so I can pretty much count on 2 hours (and sometimes more) which is huge for him. And if he does wake up too early from his nap, I can leave him and he'll go back to sleep most of the time. (He never used to do that with naps.) Life has been good since we figured out this sleeping thing. Knock on wood!

*Loves to unload all our DVDs.

And then bring you the one he wants to watch. Right now his favorite is any of the Toy Story movies.

*Says yeah and ow (like ouch without the ch) when he gets hurt.

*Roars like a lion and quacks like a duck when he sees one or you ask him what noise lions or ducks make.

*Loves to squirt the spray bottle. The other day I showed him how to scrub the floor after spraying it and he was so into it. Haha.

*Likes to make huge messes with his food by throwing it or pushing it off the table after he is done eating. Makes mealtime not so pleasant!

*Likes to suck on things that resemble a bottle and gets mad when you take them away.

*Insists on wearing his swim stuff sometimes. I've had to hide most of them. Here he is with his life preserver on. Silly boy!

He can be very naughty sometimes and he definitely has a mind of his own, but he can also be such a sweetheart.

Reorganizing

On Saturday we started reorganizing things to get ready for Peyton to join our family.

First we emptied out the craft room which will become her room. The bookshelf will stay, but we are going to be putting the desk into storage. (Hopefully in my grandma's garage, if that's ok with her.) It looks pretty sad right now - Corbyn goes in there periodically and says "uh, oh" like he knows it's not normal for a room to be so empty. It won't stay this way for long though. I have big plans for it.

We made a sewing nook for me in our bedroom.

And stowed away some of the craft supplies in the top of our closet (which was seriously being underutilized - I was amazed how much stuff I fit up there).

Then we reorganized the storage under our stairs. Bill and Mariah had this bookshelf they were wanting to get rid of that works perfectly to store the books that were previously on the bookshelf in the craft room. The rest is pretty much all my decorations. Each month has a container. Rog wanted to put the decorations in the garage, but I said NO! Maybe they would be ok, but I didn't want to take the chance that all my hard work would get ruined by the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer.

The garage is pretty much overflow storage. Golf clubs and a few random things on one side.

Camping/outdoor supplies on the other.

And these shelves right outside the door to the garage hold some kitchen overflow. The cookie sheets were under a bunch of stuff in our kitchen closet, so every time we went to use them (which was a lot), we'd have to practically unload the whole shelf to get to them. This way we have easy access to them!

It was a long day moving everything around, but when we were done I was so glad we did it now and not when I'm 8 or 9 months pregnant - huge and uncomfortable like last time.

It actually worked out pretty perfectly. Everything has a place and similar things are together. Horray for being organized! And now for the fun part - decorating the nursery!

Shelves and Color Me Mine

Last Saturday afternoon KD and Phat Tony came down to help us build some shelves for our garage. With Peyton joining our family, we are going to need some extra storage space.

Corby was a big help pounding in nails.

{I'll post pictures of the finished product after we get our garage organized tomorrow.}

While the guys were doing all the real work, I made us some breadsticks and grilled up some pizzas on the BBQ. Yes, it was freezing, but I couldn't wait until summer.

Then KD and Phat Tony watched Corbyn for us while we went on a date to Color Me Mine. The best part of the date was watching the other couples there on dates - especially the ones who were obviously on first dates. We couldn't help but overhear the conversation between the couple next to us. Let's just say it made us grateful to be out of the singles dating game.

I made the plate and Rog made the bowl.

A huge thank you to KD and Phat Tony for all their help!

24 Weeks

I had my 24 week appointment today and everything is going just as it should. I was a little nervous to step on the scale after the holidays, but I had gained pretty much exactly 4 pounds which is exactly what I was supposed to have gained. I had Rog take this picture on Sunday (so I was about 23 1/2 weeks at the time) because it's kind of rare that I get completely ready during the week. And it's more rare that I'm not wearing pajama pants. I'm still in limbo between my regular jeans being too tight and my maternity jeans being too big.

I was comparing this picture to one we took when I was pregnant with Corbyn at 23 weeks and I think they are pretty similar. I know it's pretty normal to get bigger faster with your second child, but I haven't wanted to and so far I think I have been getting my wish.

I have been feeling good. Of course I have those moments that remind me of the fun that lies ahead - definitely not looking forward to the third trimester - but at least for now, those moments are few and far between.

24 weeks down, 16 to go! I can't wait to meet my little Peyton girl!

January Crafting

I once said that St. Patrick's Day is the lonliest holiday. Well, this month I decided that January is the lonliest month. I think everyone is so tired after Christmas that they skip decorating in January because there aren't any major holidays. It's a shame really.

I needed something to balance out my table and I couldn't find anything on pinterest or out in blogland. So I decided to whip something up myself. Keep Calm and Shovel On people. Same deal as with my head and tail puzzles, if you want to print one out for yourself, feel free to ask.

And here is my shadow box for the month. I end up liking some shadow boxes more than others and this month is one of those months. Love.

Happy January! And I never thought I'd be saying this, but let it snow! Goodness knows, we need it!

Rog's Birthday

Rog turned 27 last Thursday. He had to work, but we still fit in some fun things that day. I got up at the crack of dawn to make him cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Then for lunch we went to Tucanos to use his free meal coupon. After we were finished eating, we played outside for a few minutes because it was nice and warm - very unlike most of his birthdays (at least the ones he's spent in Utah).

While Corbyn was taking his nap, I finished up his birthday cake pops, so they would be ready when he got home from work.

For dinner he requested spaghetti and meatballs. I wanted to make something more special than the regular open a can of spaghetti sauce and brown some meat, so I tried out this recipe.

After dinner we just played as a family and he opened his presents. I wanted to make him a BYU fleece blanket, but all the stores I went to (about 7) had the same BYU fleece fabric and I didn't like it too much. So finally I decided to buy him a BYU blanket made out of sweatshirt material instead.

On Friday afternoon we met him at the BYU bookstore and he picked out a BYU sweatshirt. I had tried to pick one out for him, but there were so many choices and I didn't want to get one he didn't like. He also got a new set of scriptures - the large print ones because he is soooooo old! LOL. After that we ate at 5 Guys with Bill and Mariah.

Happy birthday to the best husband and daddy around! We love you!!

2012 Resolutions

Here are our resolutions for 2012.

Mine:

1. Read 6 books again.

2. Get Peyton's room ready before she arrives.

3. Run the Cougar Run in less than 25 minutes.

4. Finish all 4 of our stockings before December.

Rog's:

1. Ride his mountain bike more.

2. Get at least a 600 on the GMAT.

3. Run the Top of Utah marathon.

4. Find names for us to take all the way through the temple.

Corbyn's:

1. Learn to really talk.

2. Learn the noises the animals make.

3. Be a good big brother.

4. Love nursery.

Peyton's:

1. Be healthy.

2. Weigh less than 10 pounds.

3. Be good at breastfeeding.

4. Learn to roll over and sit up.

And our family resolutions:

1. Go on a date just the two of us at least once a month.

2. Go to the temple at least once a month.

3. Adjust to having 2 kiddos.

4. Update our 72 hour kits and buy a fire extinguisher.

2011 Resolutions

Here's a review of our 2011 resolutions.

Mine:

1. Read 6 books. Done. I read The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Help, and Okay for Now. I finished Okay for Now on January 2nd, but I'm counting it! Thanks Rachel for the recommendation - I loved it probably just as much as I loved The Wednesday Wars.

2. Run a half marathon. Done. It wasn't pretty, but I finished.

3. Start an etsy shop. Nope. It's something I want to do in theory, but other things take priority over it. Maybe someday.

4. Get window coverings up on all our windows. I got them up in Corby's room and started making them for the craft room, but never finished. I will finish those this year because the craft room is becoming Peyton's room and I am basically designing the whole room around those curtains! Didn't get them up in our room or the living room.

Rog's:

1. Read 6 books. Almost (5/6). He read The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, Seven Miracles That Saved America, and the Old Testament (yes, the whole thing).

2. Run a marathon. Done. It wasn't his best, but he did it!

3. Study 1 hour a week for the GMAT. Nope. He did it in spurts. This year he's really going to buckle down and conquer the GMAT. Starting with taking a prep class in February and March. (8 hours a week - ugh, ask me how excited I am about this.)

4. Get 600 points a month. Nope.

Corbyn's:

1. Learn how to eat solid foods. Done. He hated it at first, but now he's a pretty good eater when he wants to be.

2. Learn how to crawl and walk. Done. He's our little mover!

3. Learn how to sleep through the night. Done. One day it just clicked at about 10 1/2 months. Rarely he'll wake up in the night, but only if something is wrong.

4. Learn to say a few words. Done. He's not a huge talker, but he has his words.

And our family resolutions:

1. Finish doing work in all the temples in Utah. Done! This year we visited Manti and Vernal which completed the set - until they finish Brigham City, Payson, and the Provo Tabernacle.

2. Go to the temple 14 times during the year. Done. We made sure we went at least once a month and then were able to attend the sealings of my friend Stacey, Roger's cousin Kyle, and my cousin Brady.

3. Actually try to make friends in our ward - have a family from our ward over at least once a month. Done. This became easy after we became good friends with Bill and Mariah because we do stuff with them all the time. We also had other families from our ward over and expanded our circle of friends.

4. Have more salads with our dinners. Done. Rog and Corby didn't really participate, but I ate way more salads this year.

Well, I guess it wasn't our best year for resolutions, but we got the ones that mattered most!

2011 was the year that...

Corbyn learned to eat SOLID food...

CRAWL...

and WALK.

Corbyn also got his first TEETH...

Visited DISNEYLAND for the first time...

and learned to SLEEP through the night.

We said goodbye to Cliff and Fred...

And welcomed Daisy to the family.

Rog ran his 4TH marathon.

We found out Corbyn was going to become a BIG BROTHER.

And mom was going to get her little DANCER!

2011 wasn't quite as eventful as 2010, but it was a year to remember nonetheless!