Sick

Emily is not doing too well... I wrote a blog about what is going on at www.branchhunsaker.blogspot.com

O Tannenbaum

Since we are going home for Christmas and because I am afraid of putting a tree in a room with Little Miss, we decided that for our Christmas tree we were going to get creative.

So we got some green wrapping paper and a snowflake ornament and a blank wall and

Viola!



We made some decorations, we strung some popcorn strings and wrapped some "presents" to put under the tree.

We love our Christmas tree! It is almost as good as our Charlie Brown Christmas tree the first year we were married.

JJ-Letters to Santa

I am pretty excited for Christmas this year. It is Little Misses first Christmas and we are going to be with family! How fun!

Sorry they are so small, just click on them if you want them to be bigger.

This is Little Misses Letter to Santa. She had a lot of fun writing it.

Later on today, we are going to Macy's. They have a special mailbox for letters to Santa. For every stamped and addressed letter to Santa at the North Pole, Macy's will donate a dollar to the Make A Wish foundation. How cool is that? So if you have a Macy's near you bring a letter there for each of your family members.

Later on today Branch will be posting his Letter to Santa. Check it out at www.branchhunsaker.blogspot.com!

JJ-Thanksgiving

Texas-It is nice and warm here. Why do I want to move back to coldness...oh yeah... family...
Home-Nice, warm roof over our head. We are so lucky
Anniversaries- We will be celebrating our 5th in January!
Nieces and nephews-I have the best neices and nephews in the world.
Kids-Little Miss is the best thing that has ever happened to Branch and I.
School-How lucky is Branch that he will be able to support us doing what he loves?
Gospel-We are so lucky to have the restored Gospel in our lives!
Integrity-My beliefs are part of me and I strive to keep them.
Very cheap airplane tickets. We were going to drive home, now we are not!
Individuality-I am lucky I am me, just the way I am!
Newness-Brand new baby, brand new start (soon), brand new year!
Grandparents-How cool are ours and Little Misses! Can't wait to see you!

2-Branch and Little Miss. Awesome.
0-Zero more years of school for Branch after this semester.
0-Zero more years in Texas after this last semester!
8-x3=24 days. That is how long we are going to be with family!

Dr. appt and a cute video

So, Little Miss had a doctors appointment today. It went really well. She is almost 26 inches tall, weighs in at 16 lbs. and her doctor was really impressed that she is already crawling, standing, and being a monkey. Little Miss just kept showing off her skills. She also got her vaccines today. She did really well with that. She only cried during the shots and then took only a couple of minutes to calm down. Then it was mommas turn. I got a flu shot there. I needed Branch to hold me down. No I did good too.

To all my LDS friend, You need to look at this video I found today on Deseret Book TV. It is hilarious! It will have you singing!




*****To all our friends back home.....We are trying to get a more concrete agenda planned for our trip home, so if you want to see us, you need to let us know and we will do everything in our power to see you! Just let us know!
*****

JJ-Thanksgiving

What is my best Thanksgiving. Where did I go? What did I do?

I was excited about this question and the more I think about it the more I realize that I have had a lot of great Thanksgivings. I loved the ones we had at my Grandma Loveridges because we would all eat downstairs in her house and the adults would eat on the pool table. I also didn't like it because I always had to eat at the kids table. Then the adult girls stayed downstairs and talked while the boys did boy stuff. The best part was the Sock Sale the girls all went too. I never bought anything I just had fun watching the frantic adults shopping. I also loved the Thanksgiving I have spent at my fathers house. He loves to cook and he is very proud of his food. He loves taking pictures of his creations too.

I have also loved every Thanksgiving I have spent with Branch, except one. That Thanksgiving, I had worked late and Branch was supposed to call me so I could go hang out with him. Mom and Tony were gone and I was alone. He got busy, so finally I called him crying. Then when he picked me up I was still upset, crying and I didn't want to go eat with him and his family because I would be puffy. Then then next morning I didn't feel well but I went to go hang out with his family. His cousins had come up from Spanish Fork so I wanted to see them too. I got progressively worse and by the time the food came I took about two bits of Turkey, some mash potatoes and then went to lay down on the couch. Then when Branch took me home-early- I wanted him to stay and just hang out but we had a rule about not being alone in an empty house, so he wanted to leave. So I spent from about 3pm on by myself, throwing up. Urgh! I was so mad that Thanksgiving was ruined but I actually look back at it as one of my most memorable, not best, but most memorable.

I heart Sam Moon!

I had heard of Sam Moons from my friend from my old job, Nicole. She said she had gotten her purse there. I think anyway. I had seen it as we drove past it a couple of times, each time saying "I want to go there...someday". We'll on Monday my momma called me up and told me about one of her nurses and and how she was wearing this cute necklace and when she asked where she got it the nurse said "In Dallas, at Sam Moon's". So Branch and i decided to go finally.

IT... IS... AWESOME! If I weren't trying to save money there are many necklaces and rings and purses I love. The prices are really good too.

Sam Moon's is off 635 and on Harry Hines. It is more like a strip mall then I thought. The main store is Sam Moon's Trading Company where they literally have a hundred different purses, hundreds of necklaces, thousands of rings. The even have fake hair, other hair products, and some clothing. There is a $30 dollar spending limit, which I thought was annoying. And there is a lot of security. Apparently during its busy time, they only let a certain amount of people in there at a time.

Then they have some other stores, mostly names I don't recognized, but some I did like Anne Klien and I think Nine West. My favorite store was Pinkles. The prices were amazing, a lot of the clothes were modest and I did end up getting myself a new coat. A beautiful Pea Coat. Soft and warm I am so excited to wear it. Of course it has been beautiful outside so I haven't had a chance to wear it. This coat makes me look cute. The great thing is that I probably would have had to pay $80 bucks for it in a department store or gotten a cheap one that wasn't as cute and wasn't as warm. I paid $25 bucks for it. I love it already.

Anyway, to all my Dallas friends, if you need ideas for Christmas gifts that won't break the bank and are REALLY cute check it out at 11826 Harry Hines Blvd or if your not in Dallas go to their website by clicking this link.

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

I know I know Halloween is over and I am just now posting pictures. So sue me...





SO CUTE!

JJ-Perfect Day

Describe your perfect Day.

My perfect day would start with Little Miss sleeping through the night. When she does get up she is happy and content. Branch would get up for a while and play with her so I could sleep some more. Then I would get up and we would have a good relaxing day. Crepes with strawberry's would be our breakfast. We would go to a matinee movie and Little Miss would be good. Then we would have a nice lunch and dinner (maybe lobster? Crab?). Little Miss would sleep well, and Branch and I would have some time alone with each other. I would go to bed early and dream about my family.

I think that any day spent with my family is the perfect day. I look forward to every second I get to spend with both them. I am pretty luck in the truth is I have a lot of perfect days with Branch and Little Miss. I LOVE this semester because Branch is home with us so much. Hopefully next semester we will have a lot of perfect days though Branch will be a lot busier.


On another note. We were origninally not going to go home for Christmas, then I said that if Maya won the contest we would go out. Sadly Little Miss didn't win the contest and so we wer sa that we weren't going to go home. Well, we crunched the numbers and are going to scrimp and save, but we have decided that WE ARE GOING TO GO HOME ANYWAY! (I can't wait to have some perfect days with family there!) We are just going to be driving instead, and really saving, and mutching off everyone. We are really excited. Well most likely be there for almost a month! Yeah!

Safety

Just a small announcement.

In the interest of safety I am going to be changing a couple of things about my blog. From now on, my daughter is going by Little Miss. I still haven't thought of what I am going to be calling my hubby (right now I think ButtHead, or for short BH...get it??) I won't be putting any information that could be used against us somehow. I am going to be better about what pictures I put on here. I want to be able to keep this forum open, but I need to protect my daughter. It is just little things, but hopefully it will help keep us safe.

: (

Well, unfortunately Little Miss, while the most kissable baby I have ever known, didn't win.

We are saddened, but we are also humbled by the support we have received from the countless people out there. So many people were voting for Little Miss. We got in contact with a lot of people we knew and they showed support for us.

I will blog a little more about this later.

Again

THANK YOU

to all those who have voted for Little Miss!

WE LOVE YOU!

JJ-Bucket List

This weeks Journal Jar question is:

What is on my Bucket List?

* Restore a classic car with my husband
*Be an extra in a movie
*Travel to Australia, England, Paris, Hawaii, etc
*Learn a craft not a lot of people do
*Raise a lot money for charity
*Become an Egyptologist, or Forensic Scientist, or Paleontologist, or not...
*Read all of the literary greats, even the hard ones.
*Serve a mission with my hubby
*Convince my hubby to put on our headstone "The shell is here but the nut is gone"
*Complete a marathon, actually a 1/2 marathon.
*Be a good mom

I have a ton more but it is one of those things where I remember it and want to do it but I forget to write it down and now can't remember it but it is still on my list. Anyway.

SHE MOVED ON!

Little Miss made it to the last round! Thank you all for your help and for your votes, we really appreciate it. Please vote for her once each day, and please tell everyone you know to vote for her too. Thanks again!
Click here to vote for Little Miss

JJ-Halloween

Today has been crazy. Actually this week has been crazy. On Tuesday we had to take Little Miss to the dr. because she had a temp of 101.5. This is the first time she has been sick and it scared me so much. It turns out she has an ear infection. Poor girl! She is starting to get better though thank goodness.

Then today when Branch woke up he couldn't move his foot without it hurting. He had been complaining about his foot hurting for about a week. So we made an appointment at Student Health and it turns out he has gout. That sucks!

So now I am waiting for my turn to go to the doctor...whats it going to be...(It better not be shingles mom!)

So now on to the Journal Jar Question

Tell about your favorite Halloween? What did you wear? Where did you go?

My favorite Halloween is probably the Halloween when I was 13 years old. The stake had a 12/13 year old Halloween Dance. I was dressed as a Princess that year. No one was asking me to dance but I was having fun with my friends. They had just handed out awards for costumes where I had surprisingly won "Most Beautiful". I thought that was cool.

Then this really cute scarecrow asked me to dance. I was a dork of course. I kept telling him "You know your dancing with the most beautiful person here." How funny. His name was Branch, which I thought was a cool name. He went to a different school and was in a different ward so I had never seen him before. It wasn't unil years later when we had become friends that we realized the connection.

We love Halloween and try to celebrate it every year. We started a new tradition when we married. We go out to eat every year and go to the movies year in our costumes. It is so fun. I love it. A couple years ago when I was in YW and I was supervising the combined stake dance in GR. Branch came and we dressed as a princess and scarecrow and had a special dance.


Now, I want to add a Halloween poem. I learned it in 2nd grade and still remember it.

One bright day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight.
Back to back they faced each other,
drew their swords and shot each other.
A deaf policeman heard the noise
and ran to save the two dead boys.
And if you don't believe it's true,
go ask the blind man, he saw it too

ROUND 3! Top 25!

SHE MADE IT TO ROUND 3! YEAH!

We need your help! We want to send Himaya through to the next round. The voting started today and ends on the 30th!

You are allowed "one vote per valid email address per computer per day". I will post the link at the end of this email, after you click on the link, here is how you vote for Himaya. Click on the dot next to her name and scroll all the way to the bottom. Then enter your email address and click on "Vote". Then you have to go to your email to confirm your vote...unfortunately, you have to go back to your email every time you vote. I know there are a lot of cute babies on there, but don't be distracted....focus on the task at hand. After voting for Himaya, then feel free to peruse the other photos...haha!

I want to say a big Thank you!!! to every one that has voted for her so far. We appreciate you taking this time out to help us! Hopefully it will be over soon with HIMAYA GRACE as the winner, which we all know she is the most Kissable!

Click here to vote for our little girl!

I'm weird but so are you

I've been tagged again...Basically I have to write about 7 of my biggest quirks. Have fun reading!

1- I have to agree with Julie on this one. I hate the telephone too. I am such a visual person it drives me crazy not to be able to see the person I am talking to. And the awkward silences are frightening to me. I literally have to psych myself up to call someone I don't know. Even talking to family is weird. I think mostly because I am so boring I have nothing to say after a minute. Branch is just the opposite. He talks to his one or more of his family members ever day, for a long time.

2- I have seen my favorite movie "Never Been Kissed" 26 times. I plan on watching it once a year for the rest of my life. It is such a good movie.

3- My favorite candy is currently Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Minis are preferred, but I will eat the big cups. But not the big big cups. My favorites use to be Swedish fish, then Junior Mints, then Butterfingers, then .....I will eat other candy but I prefer my favorite. I will tend to pig out on my favorite for a year or so and then one day it will change. When it does I can't go back and eat my old favorite.

4- I always have to double check that the door is locked and the stove is off (even if I didn't use it that day) before I go to bed. I have to make sure I lock the front door before I leave, then check it again. I have gotten really bad now that I have Little Miss. I am constantly checking on her. I still wake up at night and check on her even though she is sleeping through the night now. I haven't had a good nights sleep in a long time. Probably won't for a long time.

5- I am pretty sure that I am going to die in a car accident. I think that is why I hate driving. So don't ask me to drive! Sheesh! I am getting a little better, but at the same time I am now driving with Little Miss in the car and so that freaks me out more.

6- I always have to be on the left of Branch, except when he is driving of course. It is just my most comfortable side. It is because of what I call my "lazy arm". You know how people can have a lazy eye? Well I have a lazy arm. My lazy arm is my biggest bunch of crazy too. Don't want to talk about it right now though.

7- I love my tv shows. I especially love CSI:Crime Scene Investigation. I love the song. Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?Oh I really want to know! Oh! Come on tell me who are you! WHO? WHOOOOOO? I have to sing it. I get mad when Branch talks to me. I get angry when he trys to turn the channel. I will hit him if he turns the channel.... And it not just that song but that is the most specific. Any show that has a song. Even Law & Order:SVU. "Bow bow" "Duh duh duh duh duh." "Bow bow." "Duh duh duh duh duh" "Deedle leedle leedle leedle leeee!"

(BONUS: I am always sick. Not really but I always think I have something wrong with me. Like right now I think I have skin cancer because one of my freckles looks weird. I always have to call mom too. And the conversations always start like "Mom, I think there is something wrong with me...")
I tag my mom. And Sarah. And Liz. I know I am not the only crazy one in this family!

Thank you Taco Bell

Taco Bell is doing a promo for the world series. It is called "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco". For every stolen base we get free food. How cool is that? I love free food.

The first tacos, celebrating Jason Barlett's stolen base for Tampa in Game 1, will be available Tuesday, October 28 from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. What can you get for stopping by? A free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco. Thanks, Jason!

Awesome!

********Also, voting is over for this round of Most KISSable baby, we want to thank everyone who took the time to vote everyday! We really appreciate it! We'll let you know if she made it to the next round on Monday!********

JJ-Teacher

Was there a teacher who had a great influence on you or motivated you to be a better pesron? Describe them and what they taught you.

I think that teachers are one of our greatest resources, and feel lucky that I have had a lot of great teachers in my life. I can't pinpoint just one teacher that has had the greatest influence on me but I am going to highlight a few of the great ones.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. ~Henry Brooks Adams

Susan Heyborne- I love this women. I never actually had her as a teacher but she is one of those teachers that doesn't have to have you in her classroom to teach you. She took an interest in every one of the young adults at the Rock Springs Institute. Her husband was the bishop, then became the Stake President. She helped me with math question, life questions, and spiritual questions. She has a great sense of humor. My favorite memory of her is that I would always walk by her class on my way to the car and I would stand where only she could see me and then do a little jig. She would always get distracted and comment in the middle of her lecture. The first time I did it she started asking me what I was doing and to stop it without saying my name. She then realized her students had no idea what was going on. She then started talking how she wasn't crazy like John Nash in A Beautiful Mind. She kept saying "There really is a girl there! Really! There is someone there! I am not joking! Look" by which time I would leave without anyone seeing me. Good times.

Chuck- I have never liked math. I just don't think like that. I had Chuck Newberg for almost all of my college math classes, and he taught me so much. I actually failed what basically is remedial math because my original teacher sucked. I was so worried and felt stupid. Luckily Chuck actually taught me the principles of math and I never looked back. I never felt dumb asking him a question that ay have seemed stupid to others. He always took the time to answer my question so that I could understand it before moving on. He also has a great sense of humor and seemed to enjoy mine. I took a snowshewing class which I was not to excited about but I need credit. He made me enjoy being outside in the snow, though I wasn't skiing! He is an excellent teacher.

Bro. Nix abd Brother Lund, Bro. Tibbitts, Brother Packer-I can't even imaging trying to teach the gospel to a bunch of punk teenagers and young adults. These Brothers did it well in every sense of the word. Everyone had a great grasp of the gospel. Bro. Nix had the best humor that he was able to use to teach gospel principals. Brother Packer had big responsibility of teaching young adults who were on their own and away from their parents testimonies and having to make the choice themselves. He was always coming up with ways to keep us involved in the gospel in the busy college years.

I also want to thank every young of my young womens advisors I have had over the years. After being an advisor my self I realize how much they sacrificed for us and how much they actually did care for us. They all taught me so much and kept me strong in my faith.

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Beautiful dress! I want one for me!

She has made it through to the next round!

(This is from Branch's blog, sorry if you have already read it!)
I want to start by thanking everyone for voting for Little Miss. She has made it through to the second round. I decided to set up a secondary blog to promote her picture. It can be found at hereYou can continue to access the voting page from here by clicking HERE. She still has a few rounds to go, but if we all take a few minutes each day to cast a vote for every email address we have, we should be able to keep her numbers up. I wish we knew how many votes she currently has... after rereading the rules, I believe the winner will be the baby with the most TOTAL votes (not the most votes in the last round).

Again we just want to thank you for taking the time to vote in the last round! We really appreiate it!

JJ-Food

What is your favorite food along with a recipe.

I love food. Actually that is a lie. I like a lot of food but I am picky. I like sweet food. And when I say sweet I really mean sugar filled. I like cakes. I like cookies. I like Reeses peanut butter bars.I like artichokes. I like Dr. Pepper. I like cinnamon toast. A lot of people know my food aversions which are no pancakes, pickles, whipped cream, mustard, mushrooms, coconut, spicey food.

I think my favorite comfort food is Shepard's Pie. I think it is delicious and it is one of the only dinners I can make without looking at a recipe. I always wanted it for my birthday dinner when I was growing up.

Right now my favorite candy is Reeses minis. I started craving them when I was about 6 or 7 months pregnant with Little Miss. Then I couldn't eat chocolate because it upset her to much. Now I can and I am trying to not eat a whole bag a day!

I got very lucky in that while I don't like to cook, Branch loves it. He likes trying new things, and he is a really good cook. He makes dinners most nights while I take care of Little Miss. Seriously how lucky am I?

I think my favorite food is crepes. Yummy delicious crepes. I prefer the traditional strawberry crepes, though there are many different types I have tried. I don't like restaurant crepes. I was first introduced to my favorite food when my dad made them when I was really young and I was hooked. Now, whenever Branch and I are at my dads we always eat crepes one of the days there. Branch has taken over the crepe making for me. He does really well too. He has discovered that a couple of tricks that work well for him. (Please see video).




Crepes

For Crepes
1 cup flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
Whisk ingredients together and set aside. Medium to Medium High heat. Butter pan before each crepe. Top with fruit and other ingredients.

Please help us!

If you could look at Branch's blog and help us we would really appreciate it.

www.branchhunsaker.blogspot.com

Thank you so much!

I heart Bebe Sounds NasalClear!

Little Miss has had a little bit of a cold recently. It sucks really bad because this is her first major not feel goodness. She has had a horrible cough and a lot of nose gunk. I have been taking extra good care of her by feeding her more to make sure she is hydrated and clearing out her nose so she can breath. Which brings me to the nasal aspirator. My sister Liz told me about it when we were in Utah about 3 months ago. It is way better then a bulb. Basically it sucks out the snot.... A lot of snot.... An incredibly gross amount of snot.... At first I wasn't too sure of it but with this cold, it is now worth its weight in gold. You can read a description of it and see a picture of it here. It is seriously awesome!

Liz's daughter Ellie and Little Miss.

We bought ours at Target for $20 and it really is worth every cent! Great baby shower gift. Highly recommend it! Thank you Liz!!

JJ-Book

Name a book you love and why?

I actually thought this was going to be an easy question and today will we were at the Texas State Fair (not really that impressed), I kept thinking about it. Finally I think I have come up with the books that mean a lot to me.

The first is "Go Forward with Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley" It is a wonderful book about a wonderful man. It rminds me that these men of God are also human, and have human experiences. I loved reading about his life, especially to see how he progressed in the gospel with such humility. I can't wait to read the biography of Thomas S. Monson!

Another book that I love is "The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokow. This Greatest Generation sacrificed so much for me. It is so awe inspiring to read of these people that risked all they had for their country and for our future. We are so lucky to have these men and women in our life.

The book I love that I never read that I love is Jane Eyre. I have it, I've seen a couple of interpretations of it in movie and play form, just haven't read it. Jane, Rochester, Ms. Poole. I have decided I am going to read it before I read the next Twilight book.

As I write this I am also watching Little Miss eat her favorite book called "My First Book" I tried it. It is yummy!

My Ode to Chocolate

For the past 5 months, I have been unable to
eat chocolate because it upset Little Miss too much!
Recently I have been able to eat it again and I
am very very excited and happy about it!

So with out much ado..

MY ODE TO
Chocolate...

How I hungered for you for so long,
but you made Little Miss's tummy ache.
How dare you!

Oh how I missed you so.
You were my friend and my comfort.
And you had to go away.

BUT YOU'RE BACK!
YEAH FOR CHOCOLATE!
HOW I LOVE YOU!
HOW I MISSED YOU!

Now I am going to go eat some of you right now.
YUMMY!

....Reeses...butterfinger...hot chocolate...
...I think I am going to go try Chocolate candy bars
I have never tried before because I now can! YEAH!

I heart General Conference!

I remember when I was younger that General Conference wasn't my favorite time of the year. The talks were boring to me and it took two days! I wanted to play! But now, I love, love, love conference time. It was a lot harder to watch this year because of Maya's constant need to be moving and entertained. We were able to pay attention to most of it anyway.

(To my friends that aren't LDS, every year in April and October, the church has a General Conference were our Prophet Thomas S. Monson, and members of the church leadership, give talks on important topics of the day.)

My favorite talk, though not at this conference, was by Sister Beck called "Mothers Who Know". I was inspired by the talk and think of it often. You can find the talk at here.

I am so thankful that we have the opportunity to listen to a living Prophet. I have a testimony of the Gospel. I am so thankful to have it in my life and for everything it has given me.

Help us please

Hey everyone! I know I have already emailed most of the people who read my blog so sorry about this but we need you to go to Branch's blog to help us with something. Thanks!

www.branchhunsaker.blogspot.com

JJ-Traditions

Family Traditions: What are your favorite childhood traditions? What are your traditions with your family now?

One of my favorite family traditions was that every Christmas we would go over to the hill that we would sled on, get some dirt, come home and make luminaries. I loved doing that because the whole neighborhood would do it at the same time, then that night we would go around town and look at all of the them. There were some neighborhoods that really got into it! I loved it because we always did it together as a family. I also loved that we would eat clam chowder by candlelight. I actually didn't mind setting the table for that dinner. Another that I started with dad is that we always watch "White Christmas". Funny that all my favorite traditions are Christmas related. No wonder I love Christmas so much!

Branch and I have a couple of traditions that we have started. The first is that for Halloween every year we go to dinner and a movie. In our full costumes! It is so fun to see others reaction to use in our Halloween attire. Last year we were going to be mummy's, but that didn't work out so we dressed as zombies. I can't wait to include Maya in our tradition this year.


Another tradition we love is for Christmas. We buy the cheap $1 stockings, and fun decorations, then we decorate the stocking for each other. We like to see who does the best stocking. Branch always wins. I think I am going to let him decorate Maya's stocking this year.

(You can kind of see last years stocking in the the picture behind Branch)

I like that traditions bring families closer together. I know that I looked forward to a lot of these things every year as a child and I hope to make our childrens years just as fun!

Our girl

Little Miss has had a fun and exciting week. First, her daddy had a surprise 5 day weekend so they got to spend a lot of time together! It was really nice for all of us. We didn't do anything really exciting except go to the Sixth Floor Museum. By the way if you are ever in Dallas I recommend that you go there, it is definitely worth the $13 dollars (even though we got in for free!)

Little Miss is getting so very big. She now eats oatmeal, sweet potatoes, green beans, and applesauce. She does pretty good too!



She is finally taking a pacifier.



Just in her own special way of course!

She is really active too, always on the go which makes me one tired mama! Everyone in our ward comments on how active she is. She literally is only still when she is asleep and not always then either. She is finally going to bed earlier too and staying asleep for most of the night. Thank goodness! She is also very vocal, always screaming or babababaing the night away. We can't make it through sacrament without needing to go to the foyer so she can talk without disrupting everyone.

She is sitting up really well and falling backwards really well too! She is so close to crawling, kinda. She gets up on her hands and knees, looks forward with determination, kinda wobbles back and forth and plops down. She cries. Then gets up again and does it again. very cute!





We are so blessed to have Little Miss in our lives! She really is a good little girls that has completely stolen our hearts!

Journal Jar question

I have decided that every Thursday, I am going to grab a question from the journal jar and and answer it in my blog. I have a hard time keeping a journal and this is the only writing I do so I thought I might as well be productive. I hope it doesn't bore it!

Side note: I have over 10 pages of possible questions with about 40 on each page and I decided before I actually make my journal jar I would just randomly choose a page and then just close my eyes and choose the one I would answer and what do you know but I choose one that has a lot to do with one of my passions.

What do you think about movies? What is your favorite movie?

What do I think about movies? I LOVE THEM. Well most of them anyway. I still remember going to the movies with my dad once on a special date. It was just us and he took me to see The Little Mermaid. I remember loving that night. I think that is when it first started for me. This was a while before my parents divorce, but after my dad moved to Murray, UT, when ever we would go to visit him one of the things he would do is take us to go see a movie. I don't know if my brothers or sisters enjoyed it as much as I did but it really bonded dad and I. He is my first movie buddy. I dragged him to all the chick movies and he never complained. He never made fun of me because of it.

The thing I think makes me love movies is that you get to "experience" so many cool things that I never really could. It may sound stupid but I have enjoyed these "experiences". I have been all around the world from the Himalayas to the Sahara. I have met some very interesting people like Ghandi and Jane Goodall. I have fallen in and out of love. I have helped Harry Potter defeat Voldermort on several occasions. I have sung with Bing Crosby and Denny Kaye, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland. I have defeated mummys and vampires. I have even saved the world!

My favorite movie of all times is "Never Been Kissed" with Drew Barrymore. It is a cute movie about an under cover report that gets to go back and redo High School. It is such a cute movie. I remember the first time I watched it and how it made me feel. I have seen it too many times to mention. I highly recommend it


This is my favorite quote from the movie. Josie is talking to her best friend Anita about kissing guys and how she has never really kissed a guy but she is whating for that special first kiss. "That thing, that moment, when you kiss someone and everything around becomes hazy and the only thing in focus is you and this person and you realize that that person is the only person that you're supposed to kiss for the rest of your life, and for one moment you get this amazing gift and you want to laugh and you want to cry because you feel so lucky that you found it and so scared that that it will go away all at the same time."

Free Museum Admission!‏

I am so excited about this. Branch and I love doing things for free! We already decided that we are going to the Sixth Floor Museum (which is about $20 each so we are saving a lot of money here!)

Saturday, September 27th, is free Museum Day and visitors will be admitted free to hundreds of museums and cultural venues nationwide! To qualify for this opportunity, you must present a specially printed admission card that can be found in the September 2008 issue of Smithsonian magazine on newsstands everywhere. Another source for this admission card is online and downloadable at the link below. The card gets you inside the doors at no cost, but does not include entry to special exhibits or IMAX screenings, where applicable. Also, rain checks will not be honored. There is a link on the site that lists all of the participating venues.

http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/about.html


******UPDATE:
I just read that in 2009, you can get into Disney Land for free on your birthday. Not sure of the details, but Branch and I have decided that we are going on my birthday or his in 2009. That is June 26 or December 29. Anyone else want to come?*****

Little Miss

I actually really don't like filling these things out but this one I decided was a good topic so humor me for a minute. It is a baby questionnaire so it is all about Little Miss.

1- Where​ were you when you first​ found​ out you were pregn​ant?​
At our apartment in Dallas

2- Who was with you?
Branch

3- How did you find out that you were pregn​ant?​
Took a pregnancy test.

4- What was your first​ react​ion to findi​ng out you were pregn​ant?​
I freaked out a little truthfully, I had just moved here, been working for one week!

5- Your Husba​nds react​on?​
He was excited. Later I was annoyed I was the scared one and Branch was the excited one. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around.

6- Who was the first​ perso​n you told?​
My mom, Branch's parents then my daddio.

7- Did you plan to get pregn​ant?​
Yes but not for a couple more months

8- Was every​body happy​ for you?
I hope so.

10- Did you go out and celeb​rate?​
We went and cleaned the church after!

11- Did you want to find out the sex?
Oh yeah! We both did.

12- What was the sex?
A girl.

13- Did anyon​e throw​ you a baby showe​r?​
We had a combined shower for the 4 nieces that came within 5 months of each other. Then one that Tara threw for me and one at work.

14- If yes, who?
Mom, Tara and Tamala.

15- Did you get any outfi​ts at the baby showe​r that you just knew you weren​'​t going​ to put on your baby?​
There was one that Tamala gave me that I thought was going to be ugly but was really cute

16- How much weigh​t did you gain?​
25 pounds.

17- Did you loose​ all of the weigh​t that you gaine​d?​
Yes, but I still have a pouch though.

18- Did you get a lot of stret​ch marks​?​
I have a round spot of stretch marks were Maya's head was.

19- What did you crave​ the most?​
Chocolate, oranges, something different every month

20- Did you crave​ anyth​ing crazy​?​
I wanted to but never did.

21- Who or what got on your nerve​s the most?​
People that told me I was looking really big. I was only measuring 31 weeks at full term, I wasn't big.

22- Were you marri​ed at the time?
Yep, 3 1/2 years.

23- Did you have any compl​icati​ons durin​g your pregn​ancy?​
Little Miss was breech. She had to be turned before they induced me. She was measuring small and had low fluid leavels.

24- Where​ were you when you went into labor​?​
Labor and Delivery room at St. Pauls Hospital.

25- Did your water​ break​?​
I was sleeping from the sleeping medicine they gave me, then it broke. I looked at Branch and said I think my water broke. He got the nurse and sure enough!

26- Who drove​ you to the hospi​tal?​
Branch did.

28- Did you go early​ or late?​
9 days early.

29- Who was in the room with you when you gave birth​?​
Branch, Dr. Littles, Dr. White and a nurse.

30- Was it video​ taped​?​
Not the actual delivery but everything else was.

31- Did you have any drugs​ for the pain?​
Epidural! Loved it but not the headache I got.

32- Did you go Natur​al or have a c-​secti​on?​
Natural.

33- What was your first​ react​ion after​ givin​g birth​?​
I said "Oh my gosh, she had Branch's lips!!"

34- How big was the baby?​​
Little Miss was 6 lbs, 1 ounce, 19 1/2 inches long.

35- Did your Husba​nd cry?
No, the big jerk.

36- What did you name the baby?​


37- Did the baby have any compl​icati​ons?​
Nope, she was perfect!

38- How old is the baby today​?​
5 and 1/2 months old

39- When is the next one comin​g?​
In about 2 years we think.

40- Are you marri​ed now?
Yes, almost 5 years now.

41-​If you could​,​ would​ you do it all over again​?​
Yes. I would even with the colic and everything!

We're ok

I wanted to write a little post to just to let everyone know that we are ok. While Hurricane Ike was pretty bad for southern Texas, especially Galveston and Houston, it barely touched Dallas. It was a tropical storm by the time it came our way. They were predicting 40-60mph winds and it was barely windy, they were also predicting up to 12 inches of rain and we might have gotten about 4 put the rain wasn't bad either. We have had worse before. The worse part for me is that it has been really gray outside and it made me gloomy! The gas price went up a little from where it was. We were lucky that it didn't go up as bad as it did in the southern part of Texas.

Anyway, we are great!

Where were you that September morn?

Today is the 7th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

I remember very clearly were I was that day. I had gotten up at 6am for an Institute meeting. It was just another normal Tuesday for me. After the meeting I went back to my dorm and went to sleep for a couple more hours until my first class. At the time I never listened to NPR but the night before I had been listening to some classical music and so when my alarm went off, it was on NPR. It was a reporter talking about the World Trade Center, which I had never heard of, the local elections that were going to be postponed and they were talking to Mayor Rudy Giuliani. They kept saying that they thought it was an accident. I was so confused. I had no idea what they were talking about. I laid in bed trying for 20 minutes trying to figure out what was going on. Finally I thought I had it figured out and I went out to talk to my roommates. We didn't have tv so we couldn't turn on the tv to get more information.

I remember being scared thinking that it could happen to us. I remember being so mad and so scared with every new report of the second plane, the Pentegon, the towers falling, the plane in Pennsylvania. I remember being so sad for those that lost their lives and for their family members. I remember how everyone banded together after and donated blood and did what they could to help those who had been affected by the attack.

I still can't believe it has actually been 7 years.

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

I'm a big kid

Little Miss had a big week this last week.

She went to her first baseball game to see the Red Sox beat the Rangers. Se did pretty good, though near the fourth inning she was so tired and hungry she would cry her really sad cry every time there was cheering, which was a lot. I finally had to go into the bathroom and feed her! Thank goodness they had some folding chairs in there and I had my hooter hider. Branch and his family are big fans of the Red Soxs so I was excited that we got to go see them play.

Little Miss has been pretty good about going to bed early too. 8:30 or 9 is wonderful for Branch and I. Unfortunately, I usually am so exhausted I am not up to much later than 10:30 myself. Because she is going to bed earlier she is also getting up earlier too!

We think Little Miss is teething. She has been super cranky lately. She has a small fever, not napping well, she got up twice last night. She had been sleeping 10-12 hours straight so I am not use to being up in the middle of the night anymore! I don't see any teeth buds but I still think she might. Any suggestions?

Another big thing in our life is that our little girl is growing up so fast! She is 5 months old yesterday and she started eating rice cearal on Saturday. She does really good actually. She is always trying to grab our food and so we knew it was time to start her on solids. I was actually a little sad because it is such a big step in her life. I am glad that she is growing up and learning but holy crap it is happening way fast!

Well, in the grown up lives not a lot has happened for me anyway. I got a new calling teaching primary. I teach the CTR 7s which actually means I have 6, 7, and 8 year olds and they are all GIRLS! It is hard because they just want to talk, talk, talk, talk, talk and talk. I am adjusting! Branch is having a good semester. It is nice having him home more. We are trying to enjoy it as much as we can because next semester he has rotation and then he will be working! He has his senior paper topic (knee replacement stuff with cartiladge or something like that, ask him if you are interested). He has to have 30 sources! Yikes!

Well anyway, I have to go! Love you all!

What a week

Well, it has been a crazy week. Branch started school again last Monday (only 2 more semesters!) then on Tuesday we had our flood. The update on that is that we did get our padding replaced but they sucked that up. There are areas were you can feel a inch gap in old and new padding! Argh! Then when they did replace it they broke the door to our bedroom and didn't tell us about it. So we call our apartment maintenance about that and how our washer still is broken. But it was a three day weekend and when I called to see when they were coming they said to give them a couple of days! Yeah right! We haven't had a working washer in a week! And our door to our bedroom is off its hinges and they were supposed to hang a thing for me in the wall a month ago! Argh! I still try to remember that it could have been worse. Plus we did stay in a nice expensive hotel for free so that was fun and we had red lobster so we can't complain for the "mini staycation".

Then on Thursday, I really wanted to get out of the house so we decided to go to the zoo in Fort Worth. I have lived in Texas for a year and had never been to Fort Worth. I didn't really want to go until October because it is so stinking hot here still, but we went. We invited Tara, Allen and their two kiddos. It ended up being so much fun. It was cool to see the animals. My favorite was the Gorilla that was sitting near a window literaly 10 inches from me and he kept looking at me. He was also eating his own feces but that is another story... It was really hot and humid but we had buildings to escape into. Little Miss did really well too, thank goodness!

Before the whole flood business we had decided it was time to start sleep training Little Miss. It is hard and yet a lot of people complain about the crying but we had a colicly baby who is still really sensitive so the crying is not that bad to us. I don't know if it is actually working yet. Do you mothers have any tips, ideas, anything? Please let me know...

So far this week has been good. We are going to a Pampered Chef thing for Tara tomorrow so that will be nice to get out of the house, then on Saturday we are hopefully going to a Rangers vs Red Sox game. Branch and his family LOVE the Red Soxs so this is going to be really cool for Branch and I. Last time I went to the Rangers I was 4 months pregnant and so tired that I actually fell asleep!

Well anyway, I will try to post pictures and video tomorrw! Love you all!

I have always wanted a swimming pool...

...just not in our apartment!

I bet you can guess what happened to us this week. Yuppers! While I was out shopping for dinner (see what happens when I cook?) the washer flooded most of our apartment!

So read all about our great adventure go to Branch's blog www.branchhunsaker.blogspot.com and see the video of our apartment!

Tagged and stuff

So we went to Sam's Club a couple days ago and saw that a lot of the diaper boxes had been opened and we asked an associate what they did with those boxes. Well he showed us the section were they sell marked down stuff like diaper boxes that had been opened. So we actually found a box (238 diapers) of our favorite brand (Pampers) for $30. Awesome! We got a membership so we could save money on diapers so we really liked finding this little surprise.

Branch is getting new AFOs and I got to go with him today as he tried on a test AFOs. It was really cool to see because that is what he is going to be doing soon! I could just see him doing what his Orthotist was doing. He is going to be so awesome at his job! He goes back to school on the 25th. This semester is going to be a lot easier for Branch. He has MWF 8am-Noon, all day Tues. and No school on Thursday. It is going to be so nice being able to see him home more. I think Little Miss will especially love it! This break has been so nice because we have just spent almost every second with each other and have relaxed as a family. It has been wonderful!

Here are my tag answers.

1. 10 years ago... I was 16 and driving like crazy (literally) and going to school!

2. 5 years ago.....I had just gotten engaged and was busy planning a wedding and going to WWCC.

3. 1 year ago... Just moved to Texas, started a job I hated and found out I was pregnant!

4. Yesterday... Fed Little Miss, slept, fed Little Miss, ate, fed Little Miss, changed Little Miss, watched the Olympics, fed Little Miss, changed Little Miss, ate lunch, went walking at the mall, changed Little Miss, fed Little Miss, watched some more Olympics, fed Little Miss, at dinner, fed Little Miss, changed Little Miss,fed Little Miss, watched even more Olympics,fed Little Miss, went to sleep, fed Little Miss. Wow what a day

5. 5 favorite snacks... Dr. Pepper, cake, cinnamon toast, chocolate, gushers

6. 5 favorite books....Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, Old Testament, New Testament, Go Forward with Faith. That is such standard mormon answer right?

7. 5 favorite places to run away... Home, movie theater, drive-in movie theater, Utah, Wyoming.

8. 5 bad habits...Procrastinating, fear of things like driving, laziness, get frustrated easily, get overstimulated too I think.

9. 5 things I would never wear...Of course a bikini and very high heels (can't stand them), strapless gown, see through shirt, and truthfully a thong (GROSS!)

10. 5 things I enjoy...watching tv, watching movies, watching Maya grow and learn, spending time with Branch, spending time with family.

I tag Branch, Liz and Sarah. Just copy and paste the questions and delete my answers. I will be checking back!

Vacation Pictures

The four newest babies in our family. Chloe in pink
is 7 months, Ellie in purple is 8 months, patriotic
Rachel is 7 months, and of course Kittle Miss is 4 months.

Little Miss, Rachel, Chloe, Ellie


This is just a cute picture of Little Miss, horrible one
of me!

Grandpa Bob and the babes!

Chloe, Liz, Ellie, Little Miss, Me at a yummy
chuckwagon dinner.


Having fun with the cousins in Jackson:
Alyssa, Alex, Chloe, Ellie, andLittle Miss

In Jackson, Wyoming

With Grandma Ann, Ellie, and Chloe. Matching onesies say
"What happens at Grandmas stays at Grandmas!"

I kept forgetting that Little Miss is the youngest,
but she kept up well with her cousins.


***MORE PICTURES TO COME!!***

Our vacation

This blog is about my vacation, pictures coming soon!

So, Maya and I have been back from our vacation for a couple of days now and I sure could use another one! I am so tired! We really had a lot of fun visiting family and friends and it was such a cool opportunity for use to be able to be out there.

We flew out on the 23rd and my worries about Maya on the plane were unneeded. She fell asleep almost immediately after take-off both times and only woke up when we landed. When we got into Utah we met up with Grandma Becky, who hadn't seen her since she was three weeks old, and made our way to Spanish Fork were Maya meet Great-Grandpa Hunsaker and Great-Grandma Hunsaker, she met Chris, Cory, Melissa, Nate, Emma, Amberly, Galen, Isaac and Marlyce. The next day she attended the 24th of July Day parade which she slept through and then we headed to Mommies home town of Green River Wyoming. She was able to meet her uncle Keelen, which I think was confusing to her because he looks so much like her daddy.

The next day we headed out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to meet up with Grandma Ann, who hadn't seen her since she was two weeks old, and went camping with Grandma Ann, Tony, and got to meet Liz, Jacob, Ellie, Seth, Julie, Alyssa, Alex and Chloe. It was so fun to be camping and Maya did really well. She had fun with her two youngest cousins too. Ellie is eight months old and Chloe is seven months old. It was suprizingly quiet with 3 babies camping. Maya got to see a lot of things she had never seen before including an upclose view of a buffalo walking past our vehicle, Old Faithful and Yellowstone, Jackson and an old fashion gunfight, and a yummy chuckwagon dinner.

We then headed back to Green River where we spent the next couple of days relaxing and visiting friends of mommy. Some former coworkers thought I was babysitting! They didn't know I had a baby! Grandma Becky and Grandma Ann had fun showing Maya off to all of there friends. Who wouldn't? She is a beautiful baby.

We then headed down to Murray Utah to Grandpa Bobs house. We then immediately went to a house in Park City we rented were we met up with Seth and his family, Liz and her family, and Maya got to meet Brody, Helen, Kayla, Maxwell, Kolby and baby Rachel. It was a full house with Dad, Louise, 4 of 5 siblings, 3 spouses, teenagers, 3 youngens, and 4 babies under a year old! Then we had 4 of 7 of Louise's children and their kids over for dinner. It was fun to be there to celebrate my dads birthday. We were able to get a hold of Sarah who was able to call and wish dad a happy birthday.

Thenwe went to visit Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Loveridge. Maya who had been so good the last two weeks wasn't happy at dinner though and we spent most of our time away from the dinner table. We then spent the last couple of days recuperating at my dads house. We celebrated Liz's birthday the day before headed home.

All in all it was a wonderful vacation. It would have been perfect if Branch could have come but he stayed home studying for and completing his 4th sememster. Only 2 more semesters to go! WHOO HOO! It really sucked to be away from Branch for so long, especially for him to be away from Himaya. It also would have been cool if Sarah and her family could have come out but we have girls weekend coming up! I was so lucky that I could come out when Seth and his family were coming out also. It was so good seeing them. I hadn't seen them in 2 years and it probably would have been another year until we could have gotten together. It was so fun also to see all 4 of the babies together! Even though they are only 4 months apart from oldest to youngest it was so neat to see them together. I can't wait until the next girls weekend when they will all be walking and talking!

I am glad to be back though. Even though I don't particularly like Dallas it is home to me now because home is were my heart is. I love you Branch and Himaya so very much!

Now I need a nap!

Traveling with baby? What am I thinking?

So, on the 23rd Maya and I are going to be flying to Utah/Wyoming for two weeks. I am getting really excited for the trip...except the flying. Don't get me wrong, I love flying, but this time it is going to be just me and a still colicy baby. Oh no! Help me!

So I really do need help. What have you mothers done while flying with a young baby? What do I need to bring on the trip? What do I need to bring on the plane? Any suggestions on the whole of the trip would be appreciated!

PS-Visit Branchs blog and see the video of Maya flipping over. I will post it on my own website later.

MOOO!

I love Branch so much! I don't know anyone else who would be willing to make a fool of themselves for me!

Watch the video and you'll see why...



Oh and the coolest thing happened on Saturday! Maya rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time! We are so proud of her! It is the most amazing thing to see her as she is growing and learning. She is such an amazing little person!

What am I thinking right now?

Branch and I have this strange connection with each other. We don't finish each other's sentences but we often say something and the other goes "I was just going to say that!" Or "I was just thinking that!" It seriously happens 2 or 3 times a day while watching tv, in the car, at the store. It is really strange.

Well, on Saturday I was talking to him about how cool that is that we can do that. He then says "What am I thinking now?" I look at him for a second and say, "Donuts". I am not exaggerating when I say his eyes got as big as saucers and he said "No way! I was thinking of donuts! You mentioned a couple of days ago you wanted donuts and now I want donuts!"

So we got donuts and hid them in the diaper bag and went to see a movie!

I just think it is so awesome that we do have this little "connection" with each other. I doesn't always work but we are amazed at how often it does! I love him so much!

Funny Pictures of Little Miss

Captian Jack

Rockin' It

Bow to me now!

'Ello Govner!


Which witch?


Poor girl. Mom has too much fun at stores!

Coupons! Coupons! Coupons!

I have a friend named Tara. She and I are alike in a lot of ways. We are both 26. We both have husbands going into prosthetics and orthotics at UT Southwestern. We both just had babies.

She is super nice and is willing to do anything to help anyone. She is also the coupon queen. She is the only person I know that can walk into CVS, and walk out with a ton of stuff spending less than $10 bucks. So I have told her she needs to teach me. She is my sensee (sp?) and I am her grasshopper. We started our first lesson yesterday.

We went shopping at Target for diapers and wipes. She had coupons, upon coupons and a special offer to get a $5 gift card. I had to do three transactions in order to get this super deal. The first one was two diapers and two wipes which would have totaled $32 but with the coupons became $16, and I got two $5 gift cards. The next transaction I got two more gift cards and used the first two so the next two transactions totaled $6.50 each! So I got $96 (204 diapers and 1260 wipes) for $29 dollars plus $10 in gift cards! Crazy huh? She found out this deal from a website (www.couponforum.com) were people actually figure out the best deals and share it with everyone.

(This is only some of the diapers and wipes we bought yesterday!)

We also went to P&G Live, were they gave us a TON of coupons and shared their new products. Then we went to a nice restraunt with a $25 gift certificate for a meal over $35. Nice!

So I am going to learn all I can and save a ton of money! Yeah!

WALL-E and Prince Caspian

Every one knows that I love movies. Love 'em love 'em love 'em. I also get calls from family members asking about what movies to rent so I have decided that every time I watch a movie I am going to review it for you guys. It is not going to be really detailed or well written but I will let you know if it a good see or not.

First off I also must say that I love drive-in movie theatres! They are so awesome! Maya was such a trooper at her second experience. The first "Indy 4" was a screaming fest. Good thing our car is sound proof!

The first movie we saw in the double-feature was WALL-E. WALL-E is the only robot left on earth, left to clean up the mountains of garbage left by humans who left on a 5 year cruise while the robots clean up. 700 years later, WALL-E is alone and has developed a "personality". He watches "My Fair Lady" a lot and wants someone to hold hands with. Suddenly a ship shows up and he mets Eve. He is in love. He ends up on the ship with the humans on there 705 year cruise.
The movie is really cute! At first I was worried that the movie was going to be a little boring because there is very little human dialog. The robots do "speak" but very minimally but are still able to give out emotion. There are humans in the story that speak, but very minimally.

The movie had some points to think about. First, we are so focused on commercialism and stuff that we are very close to having those mounds of garbage. Also, in the movie there is a scary result of the humans time in space that is so scary for todays people, especially the youth. The people had been cared for by robots so long they no longer had human interaction and were so fat they no longer walked. How scary is that.

It was a good story. Fun to watch and definitely I would give it an 4 stars.

Prince Caspian was cute too. What I saw of it. The movie was long and I wish that I would have watched "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" again before I saw the sequel. I just couldn't remember a lot of what had happened in the first movie and so it was hard to follow the movie. It was well acted. There was a lot of fighting in the movie by the younger actors, but they are trying to save Narnia.

Thank goodness the original kids that were in the first were in the second one.
For this movie I really recommend that you watch the first movie again, or for the first time, before you see this one. I give this move 4 stars also.

Twenty-six!

Today is my birthday. I am 26 years old. I look back on the last year and I can't believe how much I have changed and grown and how much I have been blessed.

I looked at an old blog on myspace I wrote close to my birthday and it is quite interesting to see.

"First, I turned 25, which is no big deal but it kind of hit me that not only am I older now, but I am also moving. If we were staying here it wouldn't be a big deal but add the Dallas ingredient and It is big to me. I am old and I am moving far away for the first time in my life. I have always lived in Wyoming. I have always lived near family. I have always had this comfort zone."

I really have grown a lot. I have lived now for a year out of Wyoming, out of my comfort zone. I still wish I were back there. I really do like it in the West and can't wait to move back but I like it here a lot more than I thought I would. It has been a great learning more about myself, about Branch and about us as a couple. I am a lot stronger than I thought I was.

"Not that I am not excited about moving. I really am. I am excited to grow and experience new things, especially with my husband. Like I said, I am just experiencing growing pains I quess. But that is a good sign. It shows that I am changing."

I have certainly changed! I drive now a little more. I feel less nervous doing that and that is a big thing! I worked at a job that I hated and grown from that and now know a lot more about my character.

"I wonder what I will be like in two years when he is done with school. Will I be more mature? Will I have a child? Will I be a better person? I hope so on all of those accounts. Heaven knows I do need some help!"

It has only been 1 year but I look back and marval at how both Branch and I have changed! Branch has turned into such a great scholar and is doing so well in school. He is definityl loving this field. He was made for it. And the biggest thing! We became parents! It was shocking when we found out we were expecting but Himaya has been the greatest blessing in our lives. I am now a stay-at-home mom. I am not good at it but I am learning.

So yes, I have grown so much whenI was 25. Now I look forward to what I will experience when I am 26. Will I continue to grow as a mom? Where will we end up? Will Himaya ever get over colic? I am so excited to see! Heaven knows I do need some help though!!

I'm so glad when daddy comes home...

Glad as I can be!

I had the best Father's Day this year. First I have the world's best father who was down visiting us...I mean visiting Maya. I was so amazing to see him with her. I am the youngest of 5 so I think that him seeing me with my own child was awesome for him. I know it has been awesome to see her in the arms of all of her grandparents.



Then, I have the world's most awesome husband. Branch, I can't even describe in words how I feel about you, but I will try. You literally mean the world to me. My life is better because you are in it. You have made me so happy! Then you gave me a daughter. I didn't think at the time I had more love to give or that I could get more happy! I can't believe how my dreams have come true! You are favorite. And best. You are favorite AND best! I love you! I love you! I love you! Happy Father's Day!

Grandpa Bob

My father Bob has been down the last couple of days and it has been wonderful to have him here. Himaya has him wrapped around her little finger. I will post more pictures and videos later.

Oh crap!

So I have been a mom now for 2 months. I feel like I am doing ok in the mommy department. She is healthy, gaining weight and seems to be happy when she isn't colicky (which is slowly getting better). Well, I guess I have a lot to learn, or Little Miss has a lot to teach me.

Yesterday Little Miss was up most of the day yesterday and I was thinking "Oh,she is going to sleep good tonight". I was finally able to put her to sleep and she stayed asleep at 3:30. I am running on 4 hours of sleep. I would try to sleep myself not that she is asleep again but I guarantee the minute I fall asleep she will wake up! I am going to try though. Like I said she is a lot better at night now. We still have to give her colic soother but she isn't crying the whole time now, which is nice. She just has her days and nights mixed up. How do you fix that??

My father is coming tomorrow to met her. I am so excited! Yet, if she continues to stay up until 3:30... it is going to be a long visit for all!

Then she has the ability that the minute I think I have time to eat or shower after putting her down for a nap she will wake up, yet if I think that she is going to wake up soon and I don't take the time to eat or whatever, that is when she can sleep a lot. Yet then after I realize that she is going to sleep for a while the minute I start to make something she wakes up! How does she do that?


Then, and I feel really bad for her, she had 3 full poopy diapers this morning! No wonder she was having a hard time going to sleep last night! Even I felt better! Her digestive system is improving and now only going poopy once a day but man alive that was a lot!

I still don't know how to put her in her crib at night without her waking up 90% of the time (at night only). I don't know how to bounce her in my arms the way her daddy can, and I don't think I ever will be able to. I am learning how to talk to a baby and not feel silly. I still don't know how to do things with one hand. I need to learn how to relax when she is asleep and yet still have time to clean the house! And to keep it clean!

So I have a lot to learn but I am learning! I guess I have started to learn what the different cries mean. I know how to change a dirty diaper, change her clothing, bather her. I know how to hold her and carry her and put her in her carseat. I finally learned to open the stroller. I know how to feed her. I know how to love her even when she is crying REALLY loudly in my ear. I know how to laugh at her cute crying faces and realize that she will only be little once.I know how to love her unconditionally and care for her.

I am so excited to have this chance to be her mommy. I have grown so much because of her. Branch and Little Miss mean the world to me and I am so happy to have them in my life. I am so lucky!

I am going to post some pictures later. Again I know that is what you really want anyway!

Cry baby...

Little Miss had her 2 month check-up today and it sucked! Well, not all of it. She weighs 10 lbs 3 oz and is 21.5 inches long. She is doing really well in that aspect. She peed on the weighing table which I thought was cool. Then came the suckiness. She had to get her hips ultrasounded for hip dysplasia and the clinic messed up on when she was supposed to get them. So now we have to get her hips ultrasounded again. I am going to call the clinic tomorrow because I don’t think we should have to pay for their mistake. Let’s see how well that works out.

Then! THEN she got her 2 month shots. My daughter has colic so she knows how to cry but I have never seen here cry like she did then. About 3 hours later we are at Target when she starts to cry really suddenly and really loudly. I go to change her in the restroom and she is screaming like it is the end of the world, so much in fact that an employee knocked on the door to ask if everything was all right. Poor girly. So we I have to find Branch with a crying baby because my phone is at home. We looked at her injection sites and one side is swollen and red. I am by this time freaking out a little. By the time that we got outside (in the natural light it looked better) she isn’t crying as much but I am by this time feeling like a horrible mother. Anyway we get her home and she is still crying and unhappy and all I can do is hold her.

So now I am watching her like a hawk, giving her infant Tylenol, and taking her temperature every two hours or so. My mother said to be worried if her temperature reaches 101 because she is on Tylenol. I am so lucky to have a husband who is a worthy priesthood holder who was able to give her a blessing.

She seems to be doing better. I’m not. I foresee a long night for me and Branch.