We are still alive, I promise!

I haven't posted in a while but I promise you we're still alive and well. The past couple weeks we have been pretty busy so I will update a little bit. Last Wednesday night I was desperate for Andrew to go to bed so I could surprise him with this valentine's day candy gram I had made but he just would NOT go to bed. It was finally midnight, baby still awake, husband still awake and I was already tired from a busy week. I "nicely encouraged" Andrew to go to bed...haha ok ok...I sent him to bed telling him that he would be grumpy tomorrow if he didn't go to bed. Then I fed Scarlette stuck her in her swing and got to work. Long story short it took me about 2 hours to make the candygram, write on it/stick chocolate bars on it and hang it up on the wall...all whilst trying to put the baby to bed. I finally got into bed around 2:30am and was just about to doze to sleep when I heard something drop upstairs. I figured one of the chocolate bars had fallen off but I was way to tired to put it back on...Andrew would be able to figure out what it said in the morning. Then about 15 minutes later I heard a KABOOM!!! I ran upstairs and a bunch of the big packages of candy had all fallen off (the sweetarts, nerds, mints etc). So I started reenforcing the tape and that took me another 30 minutes...so 3:20am I finally lay my head down to sleep. Scarlette woke up at 5ish and then again at 7:45ish with gas because I had eaten so much chocolate the day before so I figured I might as well wake up with Andrew and see his face when he saw the candygram. He probably already knew but he made me feel special anyways for doing something thoughtful for him. Andrew bought me a box of chocolate and got me a card which was super funny. I will have to take a picture of the card when I get a chance.

Then on Friday night Andrew and I went out to celebrate out anniversary....we tried to catch "Safe Haven" but Andrew had lost track of time at work and we missed the 6:40 showing. Since I hadn't pumped a bottle we decided just to go out for dinner and then see what to do from there. We got to Moxie's and had a delicious meal where we both got to eat at the SAME time and we chatted about life....Andrew even asked "how is Scarlette doing?"....so I think he is starting the parents discussing children on dates tradition. We then went to this little frozen yogurt place for the first time and got some dessert. Andrew put the toppings in before the frozen yogurt and didn't realize that it was priced based on the weight so he had a bunch of random candy in his bowl and then put the frozen yogurt on (yuck). I tried the different kinds and went with the chocolate with some strawberries, rasberries and coconut sprinkled on top (yum). Anyways, we drove around for a bit because it was nice just being the two of us but then we headed home because we missed Scarlette.

Saturday-- We went a did a little photoshoot with my sister, she was DYING to get photos done and I asked her if she wanted to do a stylized grad shoot and she was totally into that. It was fairly windy that day so I asked if she wanted to reschedule but she was down with the wind and we went out anyways. The fields were pretty windy so we went out to beaver mines to get some cute pics...plus Andrew wanted to see if he could go dirtbiking out there already but it was too snowy.

Sunday--- Was my Grandma's 65th birthday. I really didn't know what to get her and thought about framing a really nice picture of her and Gramps that I took a couple days before Gramps died (at Uncle Dave's funeral). Anyways, I decided that I will do that for another time because it is still really hard for all of us to believe that he is gone. Instead, I got her two cards. One is from Andrew and I, which I put a gift card from cinaplex in because since Grandpa passed away, mom, grandma and I have been going out to the movies every couple weeks. I also got her a card that said "great-grandma" on it and we painted Scarlette's hands and put handprints in the card for her. Sunday was also Andrew's parents Anniversary. We went over there and visited with them for a while and they loved on Scarlette haha.

Monday- Family day we headed out to Waterton and did some sledding. I got some really great shots of the mountains which I will stick up here in a couple days. I took a few that I would like to frame, Andrew wants to display my photographs in our home haha...he is so proud of me and I'm not even good!! We had some lunch then headed back home.

Tuesday-Our actual anniversary--We both were so pooped from the weekend that we didn't really do anything for one another. Andrew didn't want to go out and I kinda wanted a night away so believe it or not, I went to see "Safe Haven" with my mom, grandma and sister. It was actually the BEST anniversary gift Andrew could have given me. I had a couple hours to myself, got to see the movie I had been dying to see and Andrew didn't have to sit in a theater full of girls admiring him! When I got home Andrew admitted that Scarlette had slept the whole time I was gone so he got to chill and watch Netflix while I was gone. Scarlette didn't wake up once the whole night so we both got a great night sleep as well. Thanks Scarlette!!!

Anyways, the rest of this week has been pretty normal. Laundry, dishes, bathroom cleaning etc. I am going out to take some pictures of Joseph and Jordan tomorrow as requested by their mothers for their missions. Also, Pie/Movie night with Bre and Kevin tonight...and boy does Bre make good pie!!

Now you are all craving pie aren't you.....Also, I am way to lazy to read through this and look for grammatical errors so have fun making sense of this long post!

6 Months Old

So my baby is 6 months old on the 13th and I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. Scarlette just went to her 6 month check-up yesterday and had her 4 month shots today (whoops I'm a bad mom haha). Scarlette is currently an ounce shy of 17 lbs....yeah she is a solid girl...but apparently that is the 56 percentile so pretty average. Her head circumference is in the 82 percentile and her length is in the 46 percentile. So overall she is pretty average for weight and height but has a pretty big noggin! I think in my last post about Scarlette I referred to her as a "devil child"....well I scheduled her 6 month check up a week early because I really wanted to know why she was fussy all of the time...and all of a sudden, last week, she was fine. Of course I go into the doctor and have nothing to complain about because she is finally on a schedule and semi sleeping through the night (it is hit or miss with her). Anyways, this is my little peanut at 6 months old---

Scarlette can now sit up but I still hover around because I don't want her falling on her head too many times. She rolls over whenever you put her on her back but she cannot figure out how to flip from her belly to her back. She is starting to expand her vocabulary with sounds like "bah" and "mah" and "nndah" but she doesn't really know what she is saying. She always has a finger or toy in her mouth and I am quite surprised she hasn't cut a tooth yet with the way she was gnawing on my chin the past couple weeks ( I even had a chin hickey to show for it!). Scarlette loves books and can turn the pages, she loves listening to me sing but apparently the Chinook Jazz Choir is not her style of music (she cried after she heard them sing haha). Scarlette is pretty strong with her legs and prefers to stand over sitting (typical--always wanting what she she can't have). I just love her to death though and sometimes when I think back to before we had her I forget what it's like. 

As for me, I am a T.V. addict and finished 2 seasons of Pretty Little Liars and got caught up in the 3rd season in one week. I am also caught up in Vampire Diaries and Grey's (though I have to admit I am quite bored with the last two). Any suggestions for another good TV show? preferably on netflix?

Hopefully I will post again soon so I don't have to write a novel of a post! 

2 Years.

So it is coming on Andrew and I's 2 year anniversary on the 19th of February. I am not sure what to expect but I can tell that it is going to be a good one! I know this may sound crazy but in my personal opinion the first 6 months-1 year of marriage was the hardest...mostly the first 6 months. You have just entered into a totally different kind of relationship after you get married. Things that your significant other didn't see before you got married are all of a sudden out in the open. Most people feel that they know their spouse pretty good but even after dating for almost and year and a half, I can tell you that there was and is a lot to learn about Andrew. During the first 6 months I really felt myself focusing on the negatives but now as we are coming on the 2 year mark I can't believe how much I focus on the positives. I admit, as Andrew will probably point out, that I have my days when I am super hard on him but for the most part I feel that marriage is starting to hit that wonderful stage everyone talks about! Andrew is one of the most giving people I have ever met, he is constantly asking me if he can get me anything and he ALWAYS makes sure I treat myself. Never once has Andrew made me feel bad if I purchase a little extra in the grocery department (Treats etc.) or buy a movie that we definitely don't need. He is always supportive of my dreams and aspirations and always tries to give me encouragement when I am feeling less then confident. Andrew also makes sure that I get my "mommy-time" and never a day goes by that he doesn't take the baby off my hands while I take a shower or read a book. Andrew works so hard for our family and making sure that we are provided for, he would work 24/7 if he could  make sure Scarlette gets whatever she needs/wants! Andrew is kind and loving, always trying to squeeze a hug out of me or get me to calm down and snuggle with him (I'm kind of a busy body). He is 100% willing to do anything I need him to if I tell him it is important to me. Andrew will be the first to admit that he slacks in the cleaning up after himself/cleaning up in general department but just tonight he got up and did the dishes and there has been times where he cleans up the living room without being asked.....now if I could find a way to get him to do a bathroom lol!! Lastly, and most importantly, Andrew is an AMAZING father!!! I couldn't have been on this journey without him. I don't know how some women do it alone. Andrew is always talking away to Scarlette and trying to get her to smile at him. He constantly tries to teach her how to do more things and is patient with her when she is grumpy. You will often here me say that I got a "devil child" but Andrew always says "oh she isn't, she is such a good girl!!" So here's to my handsome husband!!! Thanks for putting up with me for the past 2 years and I'm glad you get to put up with me for eternity!! He definitely got the short end of the stick!!! I love you hunny!!!

Scarlette is 5 months old!!!

Well....not technically. Scarlette will be 5 months old on the 13th and I can't believe this much time has already flown by! At 5 months old Scarlette is really adventurous... she can:

• grab things...some of her favourites include my hair, my shirt and her links 
• scratch...this just happened in the past month but she scratches all types of material to see what kind of sound it makes....she also likes to scratch my wrists and occasionally she will get my face if I don't move fast enough! 
• sit in her bumbo! She has been really good at holding her head up (she's a Maclean baby...not a weakling Hendry baby) since she was little but her bumbo has made her so strong! She will even sit for short periods on her own but her balance isn't very good yet. 
• Chatter...she will chatter on and on to herself. She gets especially loud before bed
• She got a bouncer toy for Christmas but her legs just aren't quite long enough to bounce in that yet haha but she will stand up and bounce on our laps.
• She recognizes her name.
• She whimpers when I leave the room and depending on the circumstance it is either super hard to get anything done or super cute
• She chews/sucks on everything!!! My shirt is constantly wet from her drool and I worry about all the germs from people's hands.
• She is 16 lbs and not slowing down in the eating department.
• She loves mummy's iPod touch haha! She is always grabbing it when I play bejeweled blitz. 
• She is SO high maintenance..she likes being held a certain way and hates being in one room for too long. She sure gives me a good exercise carrying her around the house all day!

I love Scarlette dearly but I sure need a lesson in parenting because she is the grumpiest baby ever! I change her diaper frequently, feed her more then enough, walk around the house with her, take her out grocery shopping, read books with her, put her down for naps when she is tired, give her gripe water for her upset belly and it just never seems to be enough! She is ALWAYS whining...just ask Andrew. The only times she isn't whining is first thing in the morning. Her only saving grace is the fact she is such a good sleeper at night but just this past week she has been up every 2 hours during the night with diarrhea. She then feels the need to nurse and I let her because I don't want to wake Andrew up. We already had the flu and I doubt it is teething already....but it could be I guess. Any moms have any ideas what to do with this little girl???? What helped your kids when they were fussy?

Anyways, as for Andrew and I, we are doing pretty good. Andrew just LOVES his new job working at Mr. R's (he is apprenticing to be a mechanic). I am taking up photography as a hobby and it has proven to be harder then expected but you know me, always up for a challenge! I love school and since I finished last semester I have been needing something to keep me learning. Also, my Grandpa's funeral was last week and it was so beautiful! Can I just say that he would have loved it! Everyone did so well and I know he is doing the Lord's work on the other side. Well, I better get back to my couple hours of freedom while the babe sleeps!! 

My Letter to Gramps

Dear Gramps,

           

Wow, what a crazy week I have had. It almost doesn’t seem real to me that you are gone. It feels like just yesterday you were rushing home to see Scarlette and already her time with you is over on this earth, at this time. How I treasure every moment you got to spend with her. The Lord works in mysterious ways and I sometimes wonder “Why my Grandpa?” “Why Now?”. I know that Scarlette will grow up and ask about you and I know what I will tell her. Simply, “He was the best Grandpa a girl could ask for”. I was your first granddaughter and you always made me feel so special. You came to all of my soccer games, choir concerts, award ceremonies and life events. I looked forward to you picking me up from school to take me to orthodontic appointments and when we would go on trips together. 22 ½ years is a long time to know somebody and I pray that our memories will stay with me in time. What an amazing blessing it was for you to be with me in the temple while my parents waited outside. This gift is something none of the other grandchildren will experience with you in your earthly body. I hope I may feel of your spirit as I attend the temple in the future. Gramps, I just love you so much. As I am writing this I think to myself how many words I left unspoken yet how they didn’t need to be spoken for you to know.

            The memories that I will treasure most include:

1.     Our trip to Wyoming and how we never let you fall asleep.

2.     Our trip to Salt Lake to go to Maggie’s wedding and you taking us to see every temple without complaint. Your sleeping pill incident and how we laughed and laughed as you snored on.

3.     The few times you stopped by unannounced to our new place on the west side. How grateful I am that we were home for you to spend time with us. I wish I had brought Scarlette over more.

4.     When I came over to make the beanbag and I was able to help you make those labels. You were so proud over something so small.

5.     When you rushed home to see Scarlette and how you were able to be in her blessing circle.

6.     I knew if I sat next to Grandpa my toes would get popped!

7.     You calling my “Nikki-Cole”.

There are so many more memories that we share but the most important ones to me are the instances where you simply dropped everything to help me out. Your love was spoken through deeds and I will never forget them.

Tonight as I ponder how tomorrow will go I am touched by the Holy Spirit. How grateful I am for temples here on the earth. How grateful I am for the power of the priesthood. How grateful I am for our Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.

Grandpa, I know you are with your parents and siblings. I take comfort in the fact that you are at peace and in a state of rest. I look forward to the day I will see you again and promise you with all my heart that I will try to live my life in a way that is conducive with how my Heavenly Father would want me to live my life. Your charity is amazing and I hope to be one tenth of the person you are one day. You exemplified the Savior with your missionary work and generosity. I hope and pray the Lord will give me more opportunities to serve others and choose to be more like you. Gramps, I promise to treasure everyday I am given with my family. I promise to always keep you in my heart but to keep on living as you would want me to do. I promise to take care of Grandma and love her like you loved her. I promise to take care of Mom and love her SO much for you. Everyday I will choose to be a missionary and spread the gospel. Tomorrow I dedicate my song to you and every other song I sing I will be thinking about you.

This letter could go on and on if I let it but I know you probably have more important things to do in the spirit world. I will leave my letter with my humble testimony that I know Jesus is the Christ. I know the gospel has been restored here on the earth. I know Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet today. I know that prayer is how we communicate with our Heavenly Father.

I know that families are forever.

I bear testimony of these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

I love you Gramps.

"The one where the blonde girl signs up for stuffing"

We are still alive but barely hanging on! Life with a baby is BUSY!

So a couple sunday's ago the ward christmas party sign up sheet went around. Seeing as I have been married for almost 2 years I figured it was about time to start pitching in. The list included turkey, potatoes, dressing and dessert. I knew with a baby that I wouldn't have time to peel all those potatoes or make a huge dessert and I was for sure not going to attempt a turkey.....salad dressing seemed like an easy enough option. I thought there might be veggies and dip so I might have to mix up a big dill dip or something like that. I don't really know how I came to find out that dressing means stuffing during the Christmas season but I'm pretty sure my mom clued me in. She and a lot of other people she told thought it was hilarious!! So the day before the ward christmas party a lady drops off this HUGE thing of bread, onions, celery etc....."dressing" for 50 people!!! I started to sweat....how the heck am I going to do all this and keep my baby quiet while doing it. Plus, it isn't something that you can just make and put in the fridge till the party...it has to be made in time to still be warm for the party. Thursday afternoon around 2 pm I thought I would get a jump start on cutting the vegetables. I started with the celery..which had to be diced. I diced and diced and diced for an hour before I had what it called for. Then Scarlette was fussy so I went to feed her...I went back to the kitchen and started on the onions....by this time it was 3:30 and I still had a huge list of other things to do for the stuffing (keep in mind I have never made stuffing before so I didn't know how long it would take me). I started chopping up the onions and my eyes were literally pouring out tears....so I started chopping with my eyes closed...probably not a good call. I look around the room trying to find something I could use to stop the onions from bothering my eyes and I spotted Andrew's chemistry goggles sitting on the table. I plopped those on and went back to work (picture a make-upless, PJ wearing mess with chemistry goggles on). I called Andrew at 4 and told him that I need him to come home early or else I wouldn't get the stuffing in the oven on time ( lady told us to put it in for an hour and a half). When I called him I told him I was wearing his chemistry goggles and he burst out laughing. Fortunately, he came home 10 minutes later and offered to take the crying baby but I told him I would rather him chop the rest of the onions. Andrew, thinking I was such a wimp, began chopping the onions. I was watching him intently and the onions didn't seem to bother him (obviously I had been being a wimp). Then he turns to face me and his eyes are so red and pouring out tears...we both burst out laughing. He kept saying "holy hannah..I've never chopped onions like these ones before". Needless to say we got the stuffing in the oven and it came out right in time for the party. I know our stuffing was the worst one there but at least we have a hilarious story to tell our kids about the time that mom signed up for "dressing".

This post is written especially for Brittany.....Andrew and I are headed out to a work Christmas party right now but I will update on Scarlette and some other cute stories tomorrow I promise!!

2 months shots!!

So today we went to get our 2 month shots. Scarlette is technically 2 and a half months but I didn't call soon enough so this was the earliest they could get us in. Last night I was having a bit of anxiety because I didn't want Scarlette to look up into my eyes as the needles were going in and think I was a terrible person for putting her through the pain. She went to bed around 11:30 and slept till 5am and then nursed for 10 minutes and went back to bed till I woke her up at 7:30am. I, on the other hand, could not fall back asleep at 5am because I was so nervous to get her shots. We got to the clinic and the receptionist checked us in and within minutes are nurse came out and got us. She weighed and measured Scarlette who is 11 lbs 8 oz and 23 inches long. She is perfectly in the middle for all of her measurements (so 50th percentile) and the nurse said she looked really healthy. So we chatted a bit about side effects and then Andrew and I decided to get a flu shot in order to protect Scarlette from getting it. Andrew is enrolled at the college and so he is considered high risk....I kind of made him get the shot hahah but he didn't even feel it.....honestly the nurse stuck the needle in and said "your done" and he thought she was joking. Then came the hard part....so what did I do??? I made Andrew hold her for the shots. The nurse was a VERY good nurse and I felt very comfortable with her doing Scarlette's shots. She put the first needle into Scarlette's left leg and Scarlette didn't even flinch...I was standing in the corner with my eyes closed after she stuck the needle in because I didn't want to see her cry but I didn't hear a cry so I turned back around. The second needle went into the same leg and she felt that one so she cried for a couple seconds and then they flipped her around and put the last needle in her right leg and she cried a bit more. The nurse grabbed this bell and started shaking it and within seconds she was mesmerized. She didn't cry at all after she heard the bell. We put her clothes back on and waited in the waiting room for 15 minutes to make sure she wasn't allergic and she fell asleep almost instantly. It's been 2 hours and she is still just snoozing away...I will have to update tomorrow when I find out how the shots have affected her. Anyways, she did really great and I am so glad we got them done and over with till January.

Just and update on Scarlette. For the past couple weeks she has become so much more aware of her surroundings. She use to hate the swing but now her sea creatures are her best friends. For her afternoon nap I lay her down in our bed and she will whine for a bit but will usually fall right to sleep. I had a booster juice last week and she didn't get bloated or gassy so I have continued to eat something little everyday that has dairy in it. Her digestive tract seems to have developed a lot because she hasn't hardly been gassy at all and when she is gassy I just pump her legs and she lets out some farts and she is good. She has been sleeping a lot the past couple days so I am thinking she is growing and after hearing her weight this morning I'm pretty sure that confirms it! For night time sleep she usually has a bit of fight in her to go to bed but once she is asleep we do fairly well. She goes to bed around 10:30-11:00pm and then we wake up at 5am and have a diaper change/feed and that usually take about 15 minutes and then she is back to bed till around 9am. She is a super good baby.....but she is just starting to whine so I better go feed her!!