Theme for 2012

I have a ton of pictures and other things that I should blog about for my "journaling" purposes, but my thoughts are almost always concerned with one word-HEALTH. My focus for 2012 is on being healthy in every aspect of my life. Physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, financially...you get the picture. I have been contemplating this for several months so it wasn't necessarily sparked by the new year. It was actually sparked last year by some different things that happened to people we love. But I was pregnant and all of my energy was consumed by growing a healthy baby and giving birth to her. Once I started feeling somewhat normal again it was time to tackle this task of becoming a more healthy me and helping my family become more healthy as well. I have spent a lot time reading and thinking about how best to clean up our diet. I have big plans for this for what I want to see happen with that this year, and I am excited about what I have been able to do in just one month. My goal is for us to 80/20. That means 80% whole foods, 20% other. No more processed crap. 80% of everything we eat this year needs to come from real, made from scratch foods. The very first two steps I did were to stop buying cold cereal and dinosaur chicken nuggets. These were very difficult for me to do because I am NOT a morning person and cereal is so easy to fix for my kids. And what's easier than popping some nuggets in the microwave and adding some fruit and calling it lunch? And those were Jacob's favorite things to eat. He had them everyday for months/years. BUT my kids deserve better. I recently read an article about how feeding our kids sugar daily from an early age is like giving them a cigarette at an early age. They get addicted and the sugar is killing them slowly. Yikes!! What about all the other stuff in the packaged foods we buy? Can you even pronounce the names of half the stuff that's in there? Last night I read an article on ksl.com about a politician in Oklahoma sponsoring a bill that would make it illegal to put human fetuses in food. WOW!!! I was floored that that would even be a concern. Makes you wonder what else they are putting in there. I could go on all night about this. Bottom line is I want to live a long healthy life. I want to be able to ride my mountain bike and hike and do everything else I like to do in 30 years. I want the same for my kids, and I don't want my husband dying on me at age 60 due to something that can be prevented, which almost happened to my mother-in-law last year. I know I will never be perfect. My kids will still get/want their treats, and we will still have pizza sometimes. I took the kids grocery shopping today, and Jacob wanted all this "junk" food. All I had to do was remind him that we are trying to take care of our bodies a little better. And he gets it!!! So I am making him some oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies :) No white sugar or eggs. Just oats, nuts, chocolate chips, a little oil, brown sugar and flour. And on June 25 I will be running my very first half marathon!!

Thanksgiving Point

We did the wagon ride through the lights at Thanksgiving Point twice this year. Each time with a different group of friends. We also stopped by to see Santa's reindeer and to get a treat.

A Pep Talk

I have spent a good part of this week giving myself a pep talk about how this is supposed to be one of my favorite times of the year and to get over the things that are out of my control that are also making me grumpy. So I am feeling a little better and more of the Christmas spirit is coming into my heart and my home. These three make it easier to forget about the things that have been bothering me. We have done some fun things together as a family like the wagon ride at Thanksgiving Point (twice), Festival of Trees, parties, and there's still more to do. I have also spent some time this past week thinking about my little brother (on his mission) since I took 4 trips to the post office in the past week to mail stuff to him. What a great opportunity he has right now to be cocooned from the commercialism of the season and to just focus on our Savior. I think we all try our best to make Christ the center of the holiday, but it's hard to fully do that with all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I hope he has an unforgettable holiday season even though he is away from home. I'm excited to see these little ones' faces light up a few more times this month!

Not feelin it

the Christmas spirit that is. I just want to take my little family far away on a really cool vacation until January 2. If only my funds were unlimited. I will settle for a little trip so if anyone knows how I can get a good deal on a place in Jackson or Bear Lake or St George or Moab during the holidays please let me know!!!

She turned 2

Mya turned two years old on October 28, and I don't want to forget things about her at this age. She's got quite the personality, and she makes us laugh every single day. I've been told multiple times by my mom that she looks like me but does not have the same interests as me at this age. Mya is all about the bling. It is rare to see her without some sort of accessory whether it's a necklace, bracelet, tiara, dress up shoes, purse, etc. She loves it all. She loves to play with her dolls, and I have caught her more than once trying to nurse one of them or wrapping them up in a blanket or trying to burp them. She's particular about what she wears even down to her shoes. If I don't already have her clothes out ready for her to put on there is no way I can get her dressed without her saying, "me pick." The same with pajamas. She's gone to bed with two pair of pajamas on at the same time. Or with leggings under some shorts. She doesn't love getting her hair done unless I tell her I will curl it. Once it's curled she stands in front of the mirror saying, "I pretty." She has a few family favorites and I spend a lot of my day saying we will see Natalie or Aly or Papa another time. One day she wandered around the house with my phone saying, "Hello Papa. Hello. Oh no! Hello? Where'd he go? Hello Papa? Oh no." We finally had to call him when I knew he would be home from work. She loves her Grandpa. Grandma too, but for some reason she likes to tease her and won't say her name. They took her and Jacob to a little Christmas party last week, and she spent the whole day saying, "Ready go Papa's party. Ready go!" When she came home she has been telling us nonstop that she sat on Santa's lap and cried. But then she giggles. She is a sweetheart too and it's not unusual for her to climb in my lap and say, "Hold Mama." I'm glad she still lets me hold her and cuddle her. She loves to help me with Adalyn and to tease Jacob. One of the best things about bringing Adalyn home has been watching Jacob & Mya learn to play together. He can make her giggle and giggle then send her running away screaming her head off the next minute. Ah, that's what big brothers are for, right? I do love the moments of everyday when they play and laugh together. It's the best. Mya brings so much to our family, and I am grateful for her everyday.

She's Here

Miss Adalyn Taylor was born October 18, 2011 just after 3:00 pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs 11 oz and was our first baby to cry coming out. It was music to our ears. She was perfectly healthy and as beautiful as her big brother and sister. She's also our first redhead. We've been wondering when we would be blessed with one. She has certainly blessed our family immensely and we couldn't have asked for more. She hardly ever cries and is a good sleeper and eater. She doesn't scream bloody murder in her carseat which both of the other two did for the first 3 months or so of their lives. In fact, she goes right to sleep in the car. Jarom & I can hardly believe that we have been blessed with our first expert traveler. My recovery has been a bit more difficult and longer than the other two were or maybe I just have a very short term memory when it comes to that aspect of having a baby. Today I have been thinking a lot about how fast our little ones grow up and especially about how much they change in the first year. It makes me want to stop time. I don't want Adalyn to grow up so fast. I have probably enjoyed the newborn stage the most with her so far, and I want it to last a little longer. Jacob and Mya have been so good with her for the most part. Mya likes to hug a little too much at times, but she adores Adalyn. And Jacob is so good to help me when I need an extra pair of arms to hold her for a couple minutes. I feel very blessed with my little family, and I am especially grateful for Jarom. He's been so patient with me the past couple months. I was not a fun pregnant woman the last two months of my pregnancy, and he never complained. I suppose he deserves the ski passes we bought this week!!

Change

In 5 days we get to finally meet baby #3!! I feel like I'm on this never ending roller coaster with no end in sight. First, this pregnancy has kicked my butt in every way possible. It has been by far the hardest one. I guess that is what you could expect when you're 30, chasing 2 very busy kids, and life just seems to get busier everyday. I do like to be busy but sometimes wish we could slow down just a little. Our lazy, go with the flow days are infrequent at best. Emotionally, I feel all over the place about adding to our family. Blame it on the hormones, I guess. We definitely knew over a year ago that we needed to add to our family. We didn't expect to be adding quite this quickly since it took us so long to get Mya here. But I can't help but feel sometimes that our family life feels full, not complete, just full. I guess the incomplete feeling is what drives us to have more children, right? I am excited to see and meet this little girl, but I am sad to be leaving behind this chapter of being a family of four. I'm anxious about delivering her. I have yet to be able to just bring a baby home without them needing something extra as far as care goes. I really really want to be able to do that this time. No lights, no NICU, no antibiotics, no oxygen, nothing. Just a perfectly healthy baby girl. That is what I pray for EVERY night. I'm anxious about being away from Jacob and Mya. I know they will be in good hands, and I desperately need this little vacation from them. But I will miss them!! CHANGE-so hard but so important for us to move forward in life. Hopefully next post will include a picture of our newest addition:)