Best Conversation Yet

To decipher Macie's quotes, you need to know that most 'g' sounds are pronounced with a 'd' sound, and most 'c' or 'k' sounds are pronouced with a 't' sound.

Macie: When I drowed up I'm dunna be a Mom. You tan drow up and be the dirl.

Me: But when you are a mom I will be a grandma.

Macie: Oh. (pause) Then who's dunna be the dirl?

Me: When you are a mom you will have your own kids.

Macie: Where do I det my kids?

Me: Well, first you have to get married.

Macie: Otay, I will det married and then you tan be my dirl. I will tall you Ta-risha.

All Growed Up

I've spent some time lately going through Macie's old clothes and organizing them into bags by size. It really got me thinking about some things. First of all, I can't believe the amount of clothes she has. When you consider how fast kids grow, they are bound to go through clothes at an unbelievable rate.

Secondly, I think girl clothes are totally cute. It's so easy to find cute items to buy and Macie loves to wear them all. Not that I buy an excessive amount* of clothes, because I really don't, but every season I have to get new stuff because she grows so fast. In fact, I just ordered a bunch of clothes from The Children's Place online because she needs summer clothes. They were having a big sale, plus I had a coupon code for another 15% off, so I really couldn't resist loading up. Ty, on the other hand, only got a couple things. It just goes to show that buying girly clothes is way more fun than buying boy clothes. I just can't get excited over them like I do the pink stuff.

Finally, I actually got a kind of sad going through her old clothes because it reminds me how fast she's growing. Some outfits I swear she was just wearing yesterday and they're already put away. I can't believe it! Her clothes have sentimental value and I don't want to get rid of them. So I now have bags of clothes tucked away in a closet. For someone who hates clutter and hanging on to things, I can foresee this being a problem in the future. Oh well.

*Shoes are an entirely different story. I buy too many pairs and I can't help it. They are my weakness.

Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean

Ah, the smell of a clean house. I'm enjoying that right now. Keeping my house clean is one of my biggest sources of stress. I can't stand things being dirty. This is probably the biggest reason I hate public places. Dirty = Germs. Since my Ty guy came along 5 months ago, keeping the house clean has been even harder. It lead to even more stress. I was exhausted, Josh was busy and tired, and my house was on the edge of being dirty...dun, dun, dun. I know this sounds absurd to some people, but this one problem that needed to be remedied.

Growing up we always had a cleaning lady come to our home once a week. I didn't mind being the cleaning lady for my family for a while, but the task has simply overcome my capabilities right now. So, I currently enjoy 3700 sq. feet of absolute cleanliness at my own expense, and someone else's hard work. I highly recommend my cleaning people to anyone else who might be interested. They deep cleaned my home so well the first time, that now they just come to keep it up in shape. We're talking scrubbing baseboards, ceiling fans, pot shelves, windows and shutters, etc. All of the big things that I don't have the time to get to now are taken care of. Having a clean house it right up there at the top of my priority list, and is now one less stress for me. I can keep it picked up with a basic surface clean on my own, but now my deep cleaning is done and I can enjoy some moments of sanity. Hallelujah!

So Far This Year

There were several things I wanted to blog about but never had any time. Go figure, right? I decided to compile a list to catch up:

1. This one actually happened at the very end of last year, but that's ok. My youngest sister Miranda was sealed to our family on December 30th. It was such a wonderful, emotional experience for my family. Miranda's adoption process was a very long road, and finally after 14 years it was completed.

Miranda is the second on the left.

2. We spent most of January sick. Ear infections, bronchitis, RSV, sore throats, you name it. Between all 4 of us, someone had it. It was highly stressful.


3. Macie started dance classes. It is by far the cutest thing I've ever seen. I spent the first class observing through the window with a big smile on my face. Macie is in a class with 3-4 year olds, but as the youngest you would never know. She participates, listens to her instructor, and has an absolute ball! I could go on and on about all the cute things they do in class, but that is probably only exciting for me. Her recital is in June and I can't wait!

Macie and her friend, Harper. They are great friends and after dance they get to play together for a couple hours each week.

4. Macie bid a fond farewell to her pacifier. Some of you may be shocked that she actually still had one, but it's true. I convinced her to say bye and throw it away, and she actually did! We went to the store and I let her pick out a new toy. I was so worried we would have endless crying and tantrums because of the pacifier, but she was pretty good. She did ask about it several times for a good couple of weeks, but if we changed the subject she would only shed a few tears.

5. One of my college roommates came to town for a visit with her new husband. They got married 2 weeks after Ty was born so I wasn't able to go to the wedding. It was great to finally meet him. We had a fun weekend hanging out and reminiscing about the good old days at BYU. When you live with the same girls for 4 years there are lots of great memories. We missed Laurel W. who lives in NYC though.

Laurel, Me, Lindsay

Macie had a great time with her new buddies and all the attention they gave her.

6. My little Ty is growing so fast. I started giving him some brown rice cereal and he loves it. The picture below is from his first taste. At 5 months old I can already see such a huge difference between boys and girls. Ty is super strong and can already sit up on his own for a little while before toppling over. He is very smiley and I can't get enough of his laughter. He loves Macie so much. She can make him smile and laugh faster than anybody. He even thinks it's funny when she's mauling him...definitely a boy thing. I'm sure he will be giving me a run for my money when he becomes mobile.

7. Since Macie is old enough to understand holidays now, I think it's fun to do something festive to get excited about it. For Valentine's Day my sister Mel came over with Sadie Roses to make strawberry cupcakes. They were delicious!

The girls decorated a letter for my brother Ben who is doing ARMY officer training in Alabama. We missed cousin Bella so Macie mailed her a valentine too.

We got Macie a princess card and heart cupcake for Valentine's Day. She was very excited the whole day. Josh and I went out to dinner that night at the JW Marriott and had a nice time. I love my 3 valentines!

8. One last thing to add: I've gone back to my old friend bleach, as you can see in the picture above. It's been a while, but I really like it and prefer it over darker color. As an added bonus my life is like way more fun now, like totally.

Watch Out American Idol

Macie loves to sing primary songs. "Book of Mormon Stories" is one of my personal favorites to watch her perform. She always starts by telling me to get my book out...it's so cute.

Stocking Up: My Worst Nightmare

Why is it that I can never find everything I need at one grocery store? Ideally I need to go to Costco, Walmart, and Smiths to get what I want. I guess that would be plausible if I want to be committed at a young age. I like Costco for the bulk items, but it drives me crazy that I can't find certain things at Smiths and have to go to Walmart, or vice versa. Come on people! AND, whoever thought of placing the candy and small toys at the checkout area obviously never had small children. Macie ALWAYS wants new gum and other random things. "Mom, tan I have dis? Please, please, PLEASE!"

What A Day

In between baby feedings, playing princess, changing diapers, wiping noses, Super Why, and snack and lunch time, I'm watching the inauguration. Life if busy with Macie recovering from Bronchitis and Ty possibly coming down with it. So yes, I am catching pieces here and there, but I find that sufficient. I like taking part in this historic day. Even though President Obama (that sounds interesting) wasn't my choice for office, I have to hope that good things can happen during his term. I'm especially hoping he'll give a little so we can catch a glimpse of him out there on the left from time to time. From all that we've heard from Obama, I am apprehensive about what will happen during these next four years.

Having said that, I am proud to be a citizen in this great country that affords us the freedoms we enjoy. I am honored to have a father, brother, husband, and other extended family members who are members of our military and share the desire to defend our freedoms with their own lives if necessary. God bless America and please, bless Obama too.

Going Broke

I would like to know what planet the "people" are from who are responsible for my health insurance. I paid just over $100 for three prescriptions! It's a good thing I'm made out of money. Oh wait, I'm not.

Christmas '08

I'm finally getting around to a quick re-cap of Christmas. We had a great time this year and I loved how excited Macie was for the whole thing. For our ward Christmas party Josh and I were asked to be Mary and Joseph, and Ty was baby Jesus of course. Macie was an adorable little lamb with a sad face because she wanted to be an angel. She is so sweet.

On Christmas Eve day we took family pictures with the Waldrons and had a nice evening with extended family.

Christmas morning Macie woke up to find lots of presents under the tree. She looked through all of them for the ones with "M for Macie!" It is so enjoyable celebrating with little ones. I loved every minute of Macie's expressions, excitement, and happiness over all her little gifts.


This girl gets some serious bed-head. I love it.

Macie got a doctor's kit and Josh was demonstrating how to use the stethoscope correctly. Since Josh thinks blogging is silly, I guess a silly picture of him is completely appropriate.

We spent some time with my in-laws opening presents and making gingerbread houses. Ty was thrilled with his gifts.

Ta-da! We glued the house together.

Macie enjoyed eating the candy more than putting it on the house.

The day after Christmas we went four-wheeling. It was fun to go out and ride around.
Macie wanted desperately to go on the purple one, of course. But after a minor mishap on the rhino with Grandpa, Macie came back with a bloody lip and was done for the day.

My cute Ty guy. I just can't get enough of his smiles and giggles. Christmas came and went and he didn't even know the difference.

More Sleep Please

I just woke up inside Macie's play tent. How did I get there? I remember Macie telling me we were having a sleep over so Josh and I crawled in with her. I don't remember anything else. First of all, the tent is very small so only the upper 1/3 of my body fits inside. Josh said my cell phone was ringing so he got out, and Macie was in and out climbing all over me. Hm, I don't remember that at all. You see, I am SO TIRED that I was out instantly. I woke up totally refreshed and felt like I had just taken a 2 hour nap. Josh said only 10 minutes had gone by. Interesting.