Ali, holidays, and school, oh my!

So it's been a while since I’ve blogged. A lot has happened. I put up a semi-recent picture. I might change it again soon. But I don't know.

Ali is doing great. She's just growing and developing so quickly. She still can't crawl yet. She's getting so close. I seriously think she would be crawling by now if she was actually set down more often. Lol. There's always someone who wants to hold her. But she's working on it. She can sit up,and clap, and she loves being the center of attention. A few days ago, she got herself from on her knees into a sitting position all by herself so when people noticed and started clapping and cheering, she started clapping too. So cute. She also loves to play peek-a-boo. I think she's teething and she's been teething for a while, but nothing has popped up yet. She started eating baby food and for a while she would finish the 4 ounce jars, but now she's not so interested. She likes bread and cheerios. I usually share whatever I’m eating with her. I haven't given her a food that she doesn't like. She is not sleeping through the night. Which is very frustrating. She wakes up like every two-three hours and sometimes more often than that. A few nights ago was a miracle and she only woke up at 3:30 and 6:30 and then got up for good at about 8:30. That was a good night. I am hoping and praying that it will continue to be that good.

Ali sitting up.

I am actually all signed up for classes for January. School starts in less than two weeks. AHHH!! I’m kind of freaking out. I'm only taking two classes. English and math. I'll be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm taking an institute class at 9 AM and then I have my math class a little later and my English class a little while after that. So I’ll be in school from 9- about 3:45. But that's okay. My mom will have Ali while I’m gone.

So, I know it's super late, but I haven't written about Halloween or Thanksgiving. So for Halloween, we didn't do much. We went to the ward Halloween party, and I put Ali in a pea “costume.” She was so cute. But for Halloween night, we stayed home. I didn't want to take her out into the cold when she doesn't even want the candy anyway. But it was nice. I stayed home with my mom and dad and my dad passed out candy (we hardly had ANY trick-or-treaters!) and me and my mom played on the Wii.

Her in her pea "costume"

Thanksgiving was also very nice. Just a normal day only with lots of food. Lol. My dad did the turkey as always, and me, Shanna, and Ericka did the rest of the food. But it was nice. Ali got some mashed potatoes and she liked them. Overall, it was just a very good and delicious day.

Christmas. Oh my goodness. So my family was kind of worried because we were tight on money. Well, a couple of weeks before Christmas, we had a knock at the door at like 10:00 at night, and there was an envelope with a card and a Wal-Mart gift card. So that was our Christmas. Even though it wasn't as big as some other years, it was still really nice. I also have a friend who I worked with at Wal-Mart who bought some stuff for Ali and gave me a Wal-Mart gift card...just because. She's seriously one of the most amazing women I know. Anyway, so Christmas was very fun. I loved watching Ali open her presents. She was more interested in the wrapping paper, though. I got some things I was hoping for, and Ali got some fun things, too. She loves the toy I got her. She also got a glow worm, a book, lots of fun clothes, a cute purple dress, and a couple of other things. Overall, it was a great Christmas.

She really ws more interested in the wrapping paper.

She's getting to an age where I feel like I have more freedom. I feel like I can get more done in the day because she can entertain herself for a little while at a time. I love it. She's getting so big. She's just my little bundle of joy.

So that's pretty much it in my life. I'm going to be at the Paulsen's house for new year's eve. That will be fun. It's like a tradition now. We started it a few years ago and we just have a little get together every year now. Just play games, have fun food, drink sparkling cider, etc. It's really fun and I’m looking forward to that. I hope everyone has been having great, safe holidays.

It's been a while...

So, I've been thinking about blogging for the last couple of weeks, now. It just seems like every time I think about it, there is something more important to do.

Ali turned 4 months old. She is the sweetest thing. We've all been sick the last week or so coughing, a small fever, and stuffy noses, and I was really worried about Ali, but she seems to be just as happy as ever even though she's been sick, too. She's been a little more clingy, but that's okay. I don't mind cuddling her.

She's growing so fast. At her 4 month appointment, she weighed 14.2 lbs. I don't know what percentile she was in or anything. I misplaced the paper with the info on it. Anyway, she's doing really well. OH! She learned how to roll over from her back to her tummy a few weeks ago. The only person who saw it was our home teacher. I just left her on the floor for like 5 seconds to go talk to Lexi for a minute, and she had rolled over. Since she figured it out, she does it almost instantly when I put her down. And then she gets mad after a few minutes because she doesn't like being on her tummy. It's gotten better, though. She lasts a little longer than she used to. She is so sweet. She also laughs. Not a lot. She has to be in a good mood and you've got to tickle her the right way. Mostly she laughs for me. Which makes me feel super special, but yeah. I just love her. She is doing so well. It makes me sad to watch her grow so fast, but at the same time, I love watching her grow and change.

I'm doing pretty good. I really need to get going on getting things done to register for school. I need to take the SAT, I don't know if I'm going to go full time or half time, either. And I decided that I'm not going to go back to work. I want to do a semester of school and get back into the groove of things before I go to work again. Plus, I want to spend as much time with Ali as I can.

I've gone to the temple with Shanna to do baptisms a couple of times. The first time we got in and out in about 30-45 minutes. The second time we were waiting for like an hour and a half. But me and Shanna both decided that we actually like going when we have to wait longer because we have more time to think and ponder and feel the spirit.

So that's what's going on in our lives. I swear that we are so much more busy than it seems like when I write. I also swear that one of these days I will get an updated picture of Ali and me up here.

3 months...and an update

So, I know that I'm the most boring blogger in the world. I would put pictures on and stuff, but all of the pictures are on my mom's computer and I rarely use it. Anyway, Ali turned 3 months old on Thursday. I can't believe how fast time is going by!! She is as cute as ever, she giggles a lot and is still a pretty happy baby. She doesn't like tummy time. I think she has come close to rolling over a couple of times, but hasn't quite gotten it yet. I can't wait! She just makes me smile. She loves her mommy. She loves her Grandma, too. She is still not sure about Grandpa and Shanna. Michael and Dani don't really care that she's here, but Lexi loves her. And Ali loves Lexi right back. It's really cute. My mom has given her a little bit of ice cream here and there. I don't really know if she likes it. My mom has been telling me that I should start giving her cereal just at night so that she'll sleep longer. But I don't know. She already sleeps for like 5 hours at a time, wakes up to eat, goes back to sleep, and wakes up a little while later. So I haven't decided about that. Anyway, she's just so good. I love her so much and I'm so blessed to have her.

As for me, I'm doing really well. I went to the temple a couple of weeks ago to do baptisms with Shanna, and it was so fun. It was our first time going without a group, so we didn't really know where to go or anything, but the people who work there are so nice and friendly, so it was alright. I'd really like to go again soon.

Michael, Lexi, Shanna and my dad all started school. Michael, Shanna, and my dad started a couple of weeks ago, and Lexi started Tuesday. So it has been good. Lexi loves it. Michael sometimes says that he wishes he could just skip school. My dad...he hasn't really talked about it. I think he likes it though. Anyway, so it's just me, Ali, my mom, and Dani at home in the morning until 11:20 when we pick up Lexi from kindergarten. We actually started walking in the morning while Lexi is gone. We have been talking about walking together forever, and we FINALLY started. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. We have already felt some benefits. And we just walked 3 days! I'm super proud of us though.

I have decided to start school in January. I'm scared to death, but I know it's the right thing to do. I don't know whether I'm going to start work or not. But I need to take the SAT to apply. (Only because I'm under 21. Lame.) I don't know what I want to major in right now, but if I can't figure it out, I'll just get my generals out of the way.

So yeah, life is good. I love being a mom. And I am trying to treasure every moment I have with Ali before I start school (and maybe work?) and won't see her as much. I'm so blessed to have all the help that I do. Until next time...

some exciting things...

So, I thought it had been longer since i had updated. but oh well. things have been pretty good. ali giggles now! it is the cutest thing. before shanna left for young women's camp, we had joked that ali would be laughing by the time she got back. well, it actually happened. the first time, it happened when me and my mom were taking pictures of her. i thought that it might have just been a one time thing. well, the next day she did it a couple of times. i was so excited!! anyways, so that's her newest thing. she doesn't do it terribly often, but she DID do it in relief society in church on sunday. lol.

on the 5th, i met up with an old friend from middle school at the mall and just hung out. she's got two kids, and so her little girl was playing in the play area while we chatted. i was really afraid that it would be uncomfortable and weird, but it really wasn't bad. we just talked for about two hours, she got taco bell for her daughter and i got taco bell for me, and then we left. it was really fun catching up with her though and to see where she is now.

i think it was the first or second, i had the privilege of going to lagoon with becky paulsen, her family, jacob (who is sort of like part of their family and my friend), shanna, and one of debra's friends carissa. it was so fun. i was really worried about having ali there and how we would do rides and such with her, but things worked out, and we had a blast. we got one of those old time photos taken, and they took like 8 pictures, and during the time they were doing the pictures was the only time that ali was really fussy. the whole day she slept most of the time, or she was awake but happy. of couse during the pictures is when she decides to NOT be happy. but it was really fun over all, loved the company, and it was Ali's first whole day out.

so ali had her two month appointment on the 5th, as well. she weighed 10 pounds, and was something like 23 inches long. i don't remember the percentile for weight, but she was in the 74th% for height. i don't know how. lol.

that's pretty much all that's been going on lately. until next time....

A quick update

So, me and Ali don't have a terribly exciting life as in going out or anything. But my life is exciting because of Ali. I know I've said it, but I'll say it again: I love her to death!! This morning was one of the best mornings being a mom. Usually, I wake up to her being fussy because she's hungry. Well, today, I heard her making noise, but she wasn't fussy. She was just in her bassinet, making noise and being happy. When I leaned over the side and said good morning, she gave me the biggest smile. It just made my whole day. After that, she was happy for a while just "talking" to me. Then she got hungry. But she really is just a good baby. She is awake more and more and I love it. She smiles so much and my family loves it. She smiles at pretty much anyone. She's getting chunky, too. I haven't made her 2 month appointment yet, but I'm kind of excited to see how much she's grown. I don't know how much longer she's going to fit 0-3 month clothes.

I'm doing well. I realized last night that I should start walking or something to try and get back to pre-pregnancy weight or lower. I have said for a long time that gaining a lot of weight was one of my biggest fears. Call me shallow, but it's true. Well, I gained weight while I was pregnant. And now, I regret it. I don't think I'm fat, but there's definitely weight there that shouldn't be. When I was 140, before I got pregnant, I wanted to lose weight. LOL. Now I would be happy to be 140 again. Anyway, overall, I'm doing pretty good. I love living with my parents right now. Me and my mom have so much fun. I know that I need to go back to work eventually, but I'm trying to decide on when. I want to be independent, but at the same time, I don't want to go too far because of my family.

Anyway, that's a quick update. I guess while she's sleeping, I should do something productive like clean our room or something.

(Insert cool title here)

So, I haven't updated for a bit. Um...nothing REALLY exciting has happened except that last sunday was Ali's blessing. It was chaotic, but nice. My dad blessed her, and my mom paid for the blessing dress. She looked adorable. I didn't realize how fluffy the dress was until I took it out of the packaging. Um, I think that's it for her blessing day.

I had a good 4th of July. I know it's a little late, but it was really fun. My family went to the Gunnell's house and the fireworks from the stadium were like at eye-level. I could hear a little bit of the music, and I could see the big screen and that Brad Paisley had a white cowboy hat on. I even tried to use my dad's binoculars to see the big screen better. But it didn't really help. Anyways, that was my 4th of July.

Ali is doing good. She cries more now, but overall she's still a really good baby. She's started "talking" a lot more. I think it's just adorable. She has also smiled for real. I know that the general guideline is not until about 8 weeks, but she smiles, and not just because of gas. She has done it a couple of times for me, but she LOVES my mom. And my mom was the first one to really get it on camera. I love it. She still makes so much noise in her sleep and even giggles sometimes.

Anyway, I think that's it. I should go try to be productive.

One Month...

So, Ali is one month old today. It's gone by so fast, and she's getting so big. Yet, I feel like I've had her forever. I guess part of that is being pregnant for 9 months. She wasn't planned, but I just can't imagine my life without her. I know it sounds cliche, but it's totally true.

She has started trying to suck her thumb, I think. She really likes her fists. She is still a good sleeper. At night, she usually sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time, which is good. I thought it would be a lot worse. She has also started doing little coos. It's adorable. She was in her swing this morning and was just talking to herself. I love her being awake. She's a really happy baby. I was so blessed with a good baby. I know that I'm really lucky. I know that there are good babies other than her, but I also know that there are not so good babies, like apparently I was. Lol.

Yesterday a family friend was visiting with her husband and we (Kerri, Derick, Ericka, Tommy, Shanna, my dad, Michael, Lexi, and Dani and me) all went to the bean museum. For those of you who don't know, it's a place that has "stuffed" animals. Not the kind that you cuddle with at night. Real animals that are dead and have been stuffed and preserved via taxidermy. It was really fun. I had been there before, but not for a few years, and they have changed it a lot. You can see all those animals on TV, but man, you don't realize how big they are until you see them in person. They have an elephant, a hippo head, a giraffe head, different kinds of bears, and lots more. It's very cool, and it's FREE. Which is the best part.

Tomorrow is the stadium of fire, which I'm really excited about. I'm not actually going there, but I'm going to the Gunnell's house with my family and they have an amazing view of the fireworks. They live up on the mountain and they have a clear view of the fireworks from their yard. You don't have to crane your neck, they are pretty much at eye-level. So that should be fun.

I'm so grateful for the country that I live in. We have so many blessings and opportunities in this land and it's just amazing. I love this country and I'm so grateful for the people who have fought and even lost their lives defending this beautiful land. Including my dad, brother-in-law Adam, Granddad, Grandpa Lund, Gramps, my uncle Kevin, my great uncle Paul, uncle Alex, my great uncle Horace, and any more that I may have missed, and even people I don't know. I'm so grateful for you and the sacrifices that you give to protect this country.

I hope you all have a fun and safe Independence Day and keep in mind why we celebrate the 4th of July, and don't just think of it as a reason to party.