Swimming!

Aspen went swimming for the first time today; she had lots of fun. Although it was a wee bit cold and her feet and lips were blue when we took her out of the pool! But it was fun! :)

She is such a good sport! :)

"Hi Dad"

Aspen is a little jabberbox. Of course, most of what she says is just babbling, but she's started consistently saying some things and I just have to share!

Aspen says the following spontaneously:

*Daddy or dada or dad

*mamamama

* dog (as of last week, the G is finally pronounced at the end so we know she's not saying dad)

* "don't" - my least favorite thing that she says.

* No (again, not my favorite)

* "HI DAD!" Now this is by far my FAVORITE thing she says...its SO cute! She says it when

daddy comes home or walks in the door or the room. It is SO cute! "Hi dad"

*Hello, although its really "halo." this comes out when the phone rings or when she's talking to

someone on the phone.

That's it for now! I'm sure more words will consistently pop up in her vocabulary. She will copy some other things, like the other week she said "apple" but we've never been able to get her to do it again....so I can't count it! Darn!

But for sure, my favorite is "Hi Dad!"

Too much time on the computer?

Strange, strange day

So my day started out today by me nearly brushing my teeth with icy hot. I was half asleep and reached for the icy hot instead of the toothpaste tube....luckily as soon as it got in my mouth, I could smell the wretched stench of icy hot and promptly removed the toothbrush from said mouth. That could've been really awful!

Then....Aspen....poo.....everywhere! Several weeks ago, she figured out how to get her diaper off and so we've been really conscious about making sure her diaper region is covered so she can't get it off...until today. She was REALLY hot today and so I took her onesie off for her nap...she napped....she woke up....she was in her crib just laughing away and so I let her stay in there for awhile. After a little bit, I HAD to go check and see what was *sooo* funny and I was fully imagining her playing peek-a-boo with her blanket because she does that lots and its so sweet! Right....not so much. As soon as I peeked in the door I'd wished I hadn't. Poo on her face, her belly, her legs, her diaper was poo side down on her sheet. Her stuffed bunny....covered. And there is my daughter laughing away....so I promptly removed her from the crib and put her in the tub....it was the grossest moment of my life. As soon as she was clean, I took everything out of her crib and threw it into the washing machine and all the while, Aspen is still laughing and just having a jolly old time. So so so so gross.

And then tonight while I was watching the American Idol finale (in which my guy, David Cook, WON!!!) little miss Mia somehow got her foot or something stuck in my ribs and was digging around in there....man that hurt! I don't know if it was really stuck in there, but she sure wasn't moving it away from the rib region!

Now I must go to bed and hopefully have a less gross day tomorrow! :)

Lots better....

So I had my millionth dr appt today and things are going great. I've been on "modified bed rest" for a couple of weeks now and I've not had any contractions or "other stuff" going on for the last several days....so we're going to give it about another week and then I may be able to get off some of the restrictions. But little Mia's heart rate is stronger than its been and so are her movements. She is still on the small side, but growing well....so its good!! I felt really good when I left the dr office; her ultrasound looked great, her nonstress test was better than the last few have been. Its just good. Its amazing what prayers will do to help things go better. :)

Anyway, just wanted to share. :)

Silly girl...

This is just a short little video; I love her smile. :) One of her favorite things in the world is peek-a-boo and there have been many times that I hear her in her room just cracking up laughing....I go in to peek at her and she'll be playing peek-a-boo with herself....she'll be sitting in her crib and cover her head with a blanket, take it off and laugh so hard. It is so funny. And if she's sad, often all you have to do is play peek-a-boo and her smile and laugh come right back. So the last couple days, she's been climbing under the material in this little tent and she'll stop with her head IN the fabric, just waiting for you to say "Where's Aspen?" and then she'll pop through. She is so much fun; I just love my little Aspen so much! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone! Mother's Day has been a hard one for me for a lot of years as I struggled with the heartache of wanting so badly to be a mommy for nearly 5 years with no luck. And this year, this May 11, 2008, I am a mother to the most wonderful little girl in the world, my Aspen. And I am pregnant with my little Mia. I feel overwhelmed and blessed with the great resposibility and joys of being a mom; I never imagined how much love I could have and willingly give. Its been a great Mother's Day and I can't help but reflect and appreciate all of the wonderful women in my life, throughout my life, who have guided me, loved me and molded me into the person I am today. To all those with a "mother's heart," whether a mother or not, I appreciate you. :)

Of course, the most obvious example in my life is my dear, sweet mom. She has been an example to me my whole life of love and unselfishness. She has always made her children feel loved and like we are the most important people in her life. I know she has had struggles and challenges in her life and it had to have been a hard thing to raise 3 children as a single mom, but none of us have EVER felt like a burden to her. She is an amazing woman and if I can grow to be even a little smidgen of how great of a mom and woman as her, I will feel like I've accomplished something! :)

My sister and my sister-in-laws have taught me so much and I love and appreciate them this mother's day, too. :)

Then my aunts, my grandmas, my friends' moms....all have taught me great things and shown me love througout my life. And for some reason, I have been so blessed with awesome friends my whole life, I feel incredibly honored to have the love and friendships I have had. Many of my friends are mothers now and I know they are great....many of them are not, but are incredible women who I learn from with every encounter.

A good friend of mine passed away last week at the age of 25. As I watched her mother at the funeral services last week, I thought about how hard it must be to see your child leave this life. It made me really want to make sure that all of the people in my life who mean so much to me know that they do...life is short and our Heavenly Father has put special people in our lives for a reason...there is always something we can learn from them.

I want to take this time to thank each and every woman in my life and wish you all a happy mother's day. :)

Ahhh...this is turning into a long post. I will end it now! :)