Merry Christmas!

Ryan decided that a little investment in an Elmo stocking for Olivia was ok this year. I still think it was ridiculously expensive for a stocking, but it is so worth it when I watch her little face on this video. She is such a ham and I love it!

Guy walks into a salon...

My salon. And this guy was peeved. He was cranky from the get-go. Middle-aged. Collared shirt and tie. All business. Complete with iPhone ("I have to take this."). So I was cutting his hair and all of a sudden he goes "Ah!" More like a sigh of realization than an exclamation. So I asked him if I had done something wrong. He says, "No. I just realized that the song that's on the radio right now is on my RockBand country disc at home!" Man in chair proceeds to let out a "Der...Der...Der" to the tune of the song (his best bass guitar impression, I think). This was, by far, the highlight of my entire week.

Struggles...

Ok, I'm struggling! I work precisely two days a week. These are 8-hour days, with a half hour drive each way. That leaves me five full days (with the exception of 3 hours for church on Sunday) in which I should be able to get things done. Olivia is almost 10 months old. And yet, I haven't done anything crafty/fun/creative for myself (except for Tyler's graduation announcements a few months ago) since the day she was born. I shouldn't compare myself to others, I know. But everywhere I look my friends are enjoying their various hobbies, while it seems I am doomed to a life of sleepless nights, nap-filled days and barely keeping my head above water. So, either I am just an extremely unproductive soul, or everyone else has some sort of secret! Share away! :) This is how a day off typically goes:

7am Up with the sun...and the baby

7:30 Breakfast, make bed, dishes

8: Shower, get ready

9: Snack

9:30 Naptime

11: Lunch

11:30 Run errands

1: Snack, play, watch Elmo

2: Naptime

3:30 Start dinner

4: Finish up chores

5:30 Dinner, dishes

6: Playtime

6:45 Bathtime, storytime

7:15 Bedtime

And, if I don't fall into bed in an exhausted heap by 8pm, then I am sitting like a log in front of the computer or reading...waiting for the night shift to begin. :) So are you all like me? Where do I compromise to get some 'me' time back? Please and thank you for your swift responses. :)

Update

Things are pretty routine with us these days! There is nothing new and exciting, but here are a few of the highlights of our lives right now:

• Olivia is crawling everywhere. I have got to figure out a way to keep this child contained! Ideas?

• Ryan and I went to Tyler's first college band concert last night and it was incredible, save the 20 minute Russian Dance number by the woodwind ensemble. LOL. Tyler isn't a horn major, but he made it into the band and is second chair French Horn. We had a lot of fun being out without the baby.

• Ryan and I are both getting into the groove of our new jobs. I'm working only Mondays and Saturdays, so I have the rest of the week to do whatever else I get time to do, since I have a twenty-pound shoulder bag (Olivia, although my actual purse may weigh that much at times)that I have to carry around with me everywhere.

• I am in love with our video baby monitor. It wasn't of much use when Olivia was younger and sleeping right next to me, but now that she's in her own room (and standing in her bed) it's so fun to watch her crawl around her bed and pull herself up (oh, and Ryan's personal favorite, "stinkbug" position. LOL). It was a gift (pricey) but I think it would be totally worth it. Now, if only it had a record button!

A Few Forgotten Photos...

I haven't been taking as many pictures the past couple of months, but I did forget about a few that I had on my memory card. I have tried and tried to get the top ones to upload without being sideways, but I give up. Just turn your heads.

What a dollie! The tiny rocking chair is my mom's and was given to her by her grandmother. She loved that it was just her size. And oh, those faces she makes. I love this girl. Even when she's up at night it isn't so bad anymore. Maybe my body is finally adjusting, or maybe I am just learning how to chill out a little? Just maybe? :)

9 Months and Crawling!

Olivia is nine months today! She's more fun than ever and getting around the house really well! And yes, we are bribing her to crawl for the camera with a creamy :)

Chompers

Olivia got her first tooth last Thursday. While we were camping. Lovely. Woke up screaming like you wouldn't believe. I think the other bottom one must be on its way, because she is extremely fussy. AND...I've been mixing the soy formula with regular formula the last few weeks to see if her tummy could handle it. Well, it gave her bad gas, so I went back to straight soy. And she doesn't like it anymore! She got a little taste of the good stuff and won't go back. What a smartie! So I guess we'll go back to the mixing and hopefully her little stomach will get better with time!

Tyler moved down to BYU today. It's kind of sad thinking he's not at home anymore! All grown up. One day my parents will be empty nesters. One day when we all stop coming back. :)

8 Month ABCs

Olivia is officially 8 months old! Most other moms would be saying how fast the time has gone. But it's different for me. It feels like much longer than that, mostly because I just can't remember what life was like before she came to us. Such a beautiful girl, and we are so blessed to have her.

A: Still on her daily antibiotic for her ureter condition. At least she loves the taste of her medicine!

B: Bedtime is getting a little easier each day. Some days are a step backward, but she is mostly making progress in figuring out that we sleep at night!

C: Isn't crawling quite yet, but will be soon, from the looks of things!

D: Daddy's girl. There is a special smile that is for daddy only.

E: Full of energy!

F: Eating all sorts of foods! I haven't tried making my own baby food yet. Usually we have fruit for breakfast, veggies for lunch, and a mix for dinner.

G: Olivia loves being closer to all of her grandma's and grandpa's!

H: Such a happy girl! Smiling and melting stranger's hearts at grocery stores everywhere. :)

I: Not sure how many inches our little smiley is now, but should get that measurement again in a few weeks.

J: There is a jungle mobile that hangs over Olivia's changing table. It spins and plays classical music. It has saved my life because I turn it on and she doesn't try to squirm out of her diaper while I'm changing her!

K: Olivia now has TWO kitties to play with and she has a special noise she saves just for them!

L: I love our baby monitor. It has a camera that lights up for night vision purposes, but also doubles as a night light. Pricey little thing, but it has given me so much peace of mind since moving Olivia to her own room (thanks uncle Bri).

M: Mr. Mom is Ryan's title a few days a week right now...and I'm pretty sure Olivia couldn't be happier about that.

N: Naps are getting shorter thanks to the sleeping better at night. A little sad about that, but I guess I'd rather have her sleep at night.

O: Incredibly obsessed with Elmo. Elmo's song on YouTube has saved the day more than once.

P: Loves to suck on pickles. Probably all that vinegar isn't great for her tummy, but once in awhile when I'm working in the kitchen, it helps to keep her happy!

Q: Haven't weighed in lately, but pretty sure this little girl is up to about 18 pounds now. Growing too quickly!

R: One of Olivia's new tricks is to reach out, grab both my hands and pull herself up to standing. Great. She'll be walking. Soon. :)

S: Went in Olivia's room the other day after naptime to find her sitting up in bed. She's really figuring out how to move, and her latest and greatest is sitting up from a laying down position!

T: No teeth yet...but I think we're getting really close! The drool is EVERYWHERE!

U: Found a pediatric urologist up at Primary's...hoping to get her in sometime before Christmas for some follow up.

W: Gearing up for Olivia's first snowy winter. At least she's not a newborn...but I think I'll still be obsessed with bundling her up.

X: Our new neighbor Xander is a cute, curly-haired, new friend.

I am skipping 'y' and 'z' for obvious purposes. We must not use those letters much in our house, because my mind is completely blank!

Mid-West Trip

Our vacation was so special this year! We visited Grandma and Grandpa in Nauvoo, IL, and then headed to Saint Louis for a few days with Aunt Debra, Uncle Reed and many other of our favorite loved ones. We did a lot of fun things. But, in case you haven't noticed, I love bullet point posts, so here are a few hightlights from each state we visited:

• Nebraska:

Ryan-"That's the biggest John Deere dealership I've ever seen! Maybe we should stop and I'll have you take a picture of me on one of the combines!" I was less excited about the multitude of green tractors.

Jayelle-"Nothing but corn, as far as the eye can see."

Ryan-"Yeah, I keep expecting to see the Green Giant pop out at any moment. HOHOHO!"

Olivia's first hotel stay. Highly recommend the Oak Tree Inn if you're ever passing through North Platte, NE. LOL

Home of the longest stretch of road construction in the country. '2 miles of construction ahead' the sign said. It lied.

Ryan- "Hey! Cabela's! Exit 49!"

Jayelle- "No, I'm pretty sure the sign said Exit 89."

We never made it to Cabelas. I knew it said exit 49.

• Wyoming

Turns out Wyoming is really very anti-climactic after being in such pretty states all week. It was pretty in it's own way...pretty brown, that is.

• Illinois:

Illinois-home of the place in which I swore I'd never take a baby on vacation again. But it really wasn't bad. Olivia loved most everything we did.

Toll bridge crossing over the giant Mississippi River.

Birthday shopping at Kohl's. I now feel a little better equipped in the clothing department for my return to work. Thanks Grandma.

Beautiful historic sites in Old Nauvoo and Carthage.

My first time inside the Nauvoo temple. I'd go back just for that. It was beautiful in every sense of the word.

Amazing performances by Grandma and Grandpa in their musical productions.

Humidity unlike anything I've ever experienced. Thought I'd never be dry again. But it was worth it :)

• Missouri:

Pool at Aunt Debra's and Uncle Reed's home=nasty sunburn for Ryan and slight sunburn for me. Also worth it :)

Going up the Gateway Arch. 630 feet up in a little 'pod' of an elevator. Amazing structure.

Charming Charlie is this adorable little (big) accessory store. It's kind of like a giant Claire's only ten times better and with shoes and shirts. My parent's got me the cutest shirt and shoes for my birthday. It was such a fun store. A little overwhelming, especially for a non-shopper such as myself, but after you get over the massiveness of it all, it's fun.

St. Louis Cardinals baseball game for Ryan. 2 hour rain delay. Turns out the cheap seats are the only ones that are covered in a rain storm. Ironic. LOL

Flat tire on the way home for my parents. Don't try and get into a tire shop in St. Joseph, MO, on a Saturday. Impossible. Luckily, the Blazer has a full-size spare.

As Promised...

Ryan and I were engaged on July 28, 2006. Almost 4 years ago. It was such a wonderful time in my life! It involved early, long, tiring days at hair school and late nights with my sweetheart. Good thing we didn't date for very long, because who knows how long I would have been able to keep up the whole get up super early for school then stay up super late to be with Ryan routine :) My typical habit was to stay late at school to make up for my missed hours (since I was nearing graduation and didn't want to have overtime fees), put a few dollars in my gas tank with my tips from the day and drive to Erda as fast as I could (literally)! We watched movies, sat on the porch, talked. Makes me smile just thinking about it.

We had planned a weekend trip to Ryan's family's property at Bear Lake in late July. We were going to leave on Friday after I got done with school and stay until Monday. I called Ryan on Thursday night to see if our plans were still the same, and he was quite short with me on the phone. I thought for sure he was going to break up with me (Keep in mind that at this point we had been dating for only 2 months). I found out later that the reason he was so impatient on the phone was that he had been talking to his dad about asking me to marry him and didn't have much time to talk at that point.

I woke up with a terrible headache on Friday morning and decided not to go to school. And since I wasn't going to school, why not just go to the lake early? So we did (Ok, maybe my headache wasn't THAT bad). Only problem was that Ryan had arranged to pick up my engagement ring that afternoon before we were supposed to leave. And since I was with him and we were leaving early, he couldn't very well do that! So he had to make secret arrangements for his mom to pick it up. When we met his mom up at the lake, Ryan handed me some meat and asked me if I would go put it in the freezer. I thought it was a little weird, but I did as I was told (They had to get rid of me so that they could do the ring hand-off!).

I don't really remember the rest of the day, but that evening we decided to go down to the lake. Only you're not suppsosed to be on the beach after dark. Rules? What rules? So we started up the four-wheeler to head down the road. But this bike wasn't just any four-wheeler. It was a special bike that had to be jump started every time you wanted to go somewhere, and couldn't be turned off until you made it back home. We made it down to the beach on the noisy beast and left it running while we went for a quick little walk. We looked at the stars. Ryan said something that made me cry. And then he pulled a diamond ring out of his pants pocket. With the four-wheeler humming in the background, he asked me to marry him. :)

7 Months!

Olivia turned 7 months this last week! I am so excited for her to be growing big and strong, but I did realize how much she has grown after holding my 3-week-old niece. She really DID used to be that tiny! What?! She is doing so many funny and cute things! Here are some facts about Olivia at 7 months:

• Weighs close to 17 pounds

• Was diagnosed with VUR (vesicoureteral reflux) early in the month. She came down with a fever, tested positive for a kidney infection and had an ultrasound and dye x-ray to find the problem. Her bladder refluxes urine back into both kidneys, causing infection over time. Repeated kidney infections are not good for the kidneys (obviously) so she is on low-dose antibiotics (not crazy about this) until we can get into the urologist in a few months. Basically, baby with kidney infection=no fun for anyone, so we continue the recommended course of treatment for the time being.

• Sits up really well! She still tips over occasionally, but is better every day!

• We may have officially outgrown the Bumbo, but it will make one last hoorah to Nauvoo. Can't beat the compactness of the bumbo as a seat/highchair on the road!

• Sleeping through the night! Just kidding. Had to throw that in there. LOL (FYI: still waking up four+ times a night. Eats more in six hours at night than the rest of the day combined. Should fix that one of these days. But for now, I just get the bottles ready before bed and go with it. :)

• Eating solid foods like crazy, and loving them!

• Had her first Fourth of July and went to bed early :( The life of a baby. LOL

• Loves other kids. Like, a lot. Loves to share slobber. Delicious.

• Says "Mamama" all the time, but not sure she is really talking about ME. Still, I'd like to think all of that coaching has paid off. :)

• Has one Great Grandma Boehmer that cannot wait to get her hands on her!

• Will be taking her first real road trip this week to visit Nauvoo and St. Louis. Can't wait to meet/ see all of our loved ones!

• Olivia's favorite thing is to watch videos of herself on our phones. Her next favorite thing is to eat paper. I actually had Ryan google 'edible paper' today to see if there is such a thing. Turns out, there is! It's for cake decorating and such, but sounds like the perfect church toy to me. This baby has SO many toys, and yet, she chooses to love the cell phones and the paper. Why even bother buying toys, I say. Yum. Paper.

Chris in pics + I need photoshop

This is Chris, 17. He was my victim today. I do love taking pictures. I need a good camera. And photography lessons. Then I need photoshop (Or any editing program that has more options than 'contrast' and 'brightness' :). And someone to teach me how to use it. Brittney? :)

Family Photos

Everyone was kind enough to humor me and even wear semi-coordinating clothing. I think they turned out great. Thanks to the Barney's for letting us use your beautiful tree (Ryan and I have wedding photos from the same spot) as a backdrop.

Happy Birthday Brian

Dear Brian, it is that wonderful time of year during which we are the same age. For the next six weeks we shall share the magical number 23. And since we're getting old, I think I should definitely apologize for a few of the terrible things I have done to you over the years. So...

I am sorry for never letting you play with my barbies. I preferred (and continue to prefer. LOL) my imaginatory games in solitude, but all you wanted to do was be Ken.

I'm sorry for calling you "Brianna" for however long that phase went on.

I'm sorry for always being jealous of your ability to make friends. Let's be honest, you're just more likable than I am.

Mom: "Jayelle, do the dishes."

Jayelle: "Ok."

Jayelle: "Brian, Mom said you're supposed to do the dishes."

I'm sorry for that.

He's a good guy. I'm proud to have him as a brother. I really do have the best family. I think I know how I got thrown into the group. You know how when you're trying to make even teams to play softball or something and you have one weak player and you're not sure where to stick 'em? So you put that person on the team with the most strong players so that they can make up for the weakness of that one. Yup. I am on the team with the strong players so that they can make up for my weaknesses and strengthen me. True story. Love my family!

Saturday Sunshine

• This week went by quickly! That is good for two reasons. First, because I am counting down to our Nauvoo trip. And second, because I have been very worried that being a stay at home mom would make the days just draaaaaaag on. But they don't. I keep very busy. And feel pretty productive. Most of the time. Good.

• I had a BLAST at the splash park with Laura and Brittney and their kiddos. Olivia hated the water. It definitely wasn't her bathtub. But we had a good time and she stayed pretty content just sitting on the grass with mommy and sucking on a carrot.
  

• I worked on our 72 -hour kits this week a little bit. I basically just took stock of what we have, got rid of what had expired, and made a list of what we need to replace. Olivia didn't have one previously, so I started hers with the basics and we'll get everything back in place a little at a time! Because being prepared is expensive if you try to do it all at once!

• Brother Heder was my seminary teacher (I can't remember what grade) for one semester in high school. He lives up the street from my parents and is in their stake presidency. His wife's blog has been on my blog list for the past six months. She created the blog in January to share the experiences they had as Brother Heder underwent treatment for Leukemia. He passed away on Wednesday. This is sad news, but the light in all of this is that he was such a great man and is free of pain now. If you have a minute, read some of the posts from their blog. They are short and touching.

• Olivia has been taking two two-hour naps each day. One in the morning from 10-noon, and one in the afternoon from 2-4. This is heavenly. And although it restricts me a little as far as what time I can run errands and such, I am totally ok with that. For 4 'free' hours a day, I'll take it! (and by 'free', I mean laundry, cleaning, and dishes)

• I cooked dinner every single night this week. They were not spectacular meals. And probably not even well-rounded nutritionally, but I made them. And I have discovered two things in this process. One, that there are a lot more dishes when you eat strictly at home. And two, you have to clean the kitchen three times as often when you make three meals a day. I live in the kitchen. Which is ok, I suppose.

Monday: Pizza

Tuesday: Chicken and Zucchini

Wednesday: Tacos

Thursday: Fettuccine

Friday: Stir Fry

• This was a conversation between Ryan and I yesterday:

J: Don't we have free tickets to Toy Story 3?

R: (grumpy voice) Yeah, but why don't you give them away because we can never go to movies anymore. We didn't even go to Iron Man 2. (huff)

Little does he know that I've been planning a surprise date for us to the movies for a week and a half now. I've made arrangements for Olivia (thanks Brit), bought the candy (yes, we sneak it in inside my purse. Naughty, I know), and made a fake excuse about a primary activity to make sure he's home. It's nothing big, but I hope he's surprised and I'm completely excited about it. Oh, the little things you look forward to once you're a parent. LOL

Saturday Sunshine...

• The noise Olivia makes when she sees the cat is SO cute. I can't really explain it, but it's so much more gentle than her other noises. Like she's talking to the cat. Love it.

• Brian made it home and was able to make it to Tyler's graduation. He's been in the middle east since last October, so this was the first time he met the baby. Olivia just loves him. We are just so glad he's home safely. It was hard on him. He's seen things I cannot even begin to imagine. He's got the brightest red hair (definitely the reddest from my side of the family) and I kind of hope Olivia's is like that when it comes back in :)

• Tyler's graduation was great! I was so stressed out by the time we got there, between getting there on time and then walking down the steep stadium stairs with the baby (I made Ryan carry her. I seriously had anxiety about falling all the way down those crazy steep stairs with the baby.). I think Olivia could pick up on my lack of calmness because she was fussy the whole time. After Tyler completed his parts in the program and his name was read, we left. I was just so uptight thinking that everyone around me was getting irritated about every peep Olivia was making. Yeah. Gotta get over that.

• Ryan works late four nights in a row this week. This is NOT a sunshine, because I hate being home alone but I am trying to see the positive. It gives me all evening to work out and clean after the baby goes to bed. I never get anything done until Olivia is down for the night, so good thing Ryan doesn't come home at 5 every day because he would definitely doubt my homemaking abilities.

• Seeing all of our families was so good this week. We love all of you!

• We are having 'pigs in a blanket' (hot dogs cooked inside crescent rolls) for the first time since I was probably 10. Yum!

• Vain moment: My new swimsuit came and it wasn't complete torture seeing myself in it. A plus.

Saturday Sunshine

It's cheesy, but this is my new attempt at a weekly 'good news' post! So we shall see how it goes.

• I worked my last day at the salon yesterday. It was a great day to be there. Some of my favorite people came in and I got to say goodbye. Feels good to be done for now!

• I stayed in my pajamas until well past noon today (Probably the result of my 'celebration' of being done with work. This post is the beginning of me whipping myself into shape so that this day isn't a complete waste!). I have NOT done this since right after Olivia was born. Even in those early days of no sleep, I still got up and got ready every day. Saved my sanity. But today...I didn't. And it was great!

• Olivia took a two hour morning nap today! That NEVER happens while I'm home. And she is asleep again now for her afternoon nap. Hope it lasts that long!

• I'm expecting my new swimsuit in the mail any day now. But I am NOT looking forward to putting it on that first time. Scary.

• I've been doing the elliptical after Olivia goes to sleep on the nights that Ryan works late (3 or 4 nights a week). It has been so awesome for me! I don't dread Ryan working late so much because I have something worthwhile to do with myself PLUS I feel so much better when I exercise.

• Besides giving me more time with my baby girl, I'm hoping that not working will help heal my hand eczema. It has gotten pretty bad lately with all the hand washing I do at home, combined with all the shampooing at work. Crossing my fingers :).

• Next week we are heading to Salt Lake for Ty's graduation. He is giving a speech, playing the piano for the walking of the graduates and also performing a piano solo for the program. Can't wait to go.

Mmmmmm...nanners

Olivia's 2nd sucessful attempt at rice cereal with bananas. She kept trying to suck her thumb in between spoonfuls. Momma doesn't know about this...it's much messier than the bottle! :)

My Pretty

Here

There's a place I'd been looking for

That took me in and out of buildings behind windows walls and doors.

And I thought I found it;

Couple times even settled down.

Then I'd hang around just long enough to find my way back out.

I know now

The place that I was trying to reach was you right here in front of me

And I wouldn't change a thing.

I'd walk right back through the rain.

Back to every broken heart on the day that it was breaking.

And I'd relive all the years and be thankful for the tears

I've cried with every stumbled step that led to you and got me

Here

It's amazing what I let my heart go through

To get me where it got me in this moment here with you.

And it passed me by

God knows how many times.

I was so caught up in holding what I never thought I'd find

I know now

There's a million roads I had to take to get me in your arms this way

And I wouldn't change a thing.

I'd walk right back through the rain.

Back to every broken heart on the day that it was breaking.

And I'd relive all the years and be thankful for the tears.

I've cried with every stumbled step that led to you and got me

Here

In a love I never thought I'd get to get to

Here

And if that's the road God made me take to be with you

Then I wouldn't change a thing.

I'd walk right back through the rain.

Back to every broken heart on the day that it was breaking.

And I'd relive all the years and be thankful for the tears

I've cried with every stumbled step that led to you, and got me

Here

My favorite Rascal Flatts song. Ryan and I started dating 4 years ago this week. He is my 'Here'. He saved me in so many ways. I was finally myself again after this gentleman came along. I am impatient with a little side of red-hot temper. But he continually forgives me. As I got to know him, the past faded quickly. I still hold on tightly to the lessons that I learned through those hard days, but he helped me to let go of all the other crappy stuff!

We got set up. His neighbor worked with my mom. One day my mom said, "There's this nice boy with a nice car and Patrice wants to give him your number." I said, "No."

So she did (I forgive her).

Ryan called me while I was visiting my family in Canada. I couldn't call him back until I was back in the states, because I didn't want to charge long distance to my grandparent's phone line and I couldn't use my cell internationally. Longest wait EVER. When you haven't been on a date in five months and a boy just calls you up out of the blue, you definitely want to call him back ASAP. LOL. I remember driving through Montana and seeing my cell service switch back from 'roaming', but I couldn't very well call him back with my dad and brother in the car with me! Awkward.

I called him that night when we got home. He was at work and called me back on his break. I vividly remember pacing around my bedroom, wearing a hole in the carpet while Ryan told me all about his car (at the time I had no idea what he was talking about) and we said we'd talk again later and set up a date. The next week, I came home one night from hair school to find out that Brian and some of his friends were going to the Joseph Smith movie in SLC, so I thought to myself, 'What a great opportunity to get to know this mysterious, Home Depot boy in a group setting." Brilliant plan, Jayelle. What was I thinking??? My brother's friends are crazy to begin with. Lovely, but crazy. They started jumping in the elevator and I was sure we were all going to die. I was so embarassed! So we dropped him off at the end of that 'date' and I told the others in the car that I was pretty sure I woudn't be getting a call back from that one. Oh well. There'd be someone else.

But he called. And we went on our first 'real' date a few days later. We went to Stoneground in Salt Lake for dinner. Italian food. And I ordered pasta. All over my face about two minutes into the meal. I was really on a roll. Then we went to see X-Men 3. I fell asleep. Charming, once again. And yet...Ryan proposed to me two months later on the beach at Bear Lake. Another story for another day. :)

On a Roll

This is a little old. Baby girl rolled over for the first time on May 7th and it was just so exciting! Sorry to facebook friends who have already seen this one. I am such a proud momma!

Olivia also turned 5 months this past Friday. Her 5-month Favorites:

• Rolling over...mostly from back to tummy, and from tummy to back once or twice so far.
• Laughing when we tickle under her chin (thanks to Laura for finding this ticklish spot! LOL). She just giggles and giggles!
• Reading books in the bathtub.
• Playing in the excer-saucer.
• Watching the cute baby in the mirror.
• Being outside or looking out the windows.
• Basketball. We rarely watch basketball, but a few times we've had it on and Olivia is just mesmerized by the games! Who knew?
• Our good friend and Olivia's babysitter, Brittney, told me that Olivia loves to watch Elmo. I turned him on the other day and she just stared. She was smitten. Her first love.

Our little sunshine is growing more than ever. And changing in so many ways. We love her more and more all the time!

Ahhh....Sleep...

Olivia is nearly five months! Yay! And I am enjoying her ten times more today than I did four months ago. A terrible thing for a mommy to say? Probably. But those first months were HARD for me! Mainly because I didn't sleep for much longer than an hour at a time most nights, between pumping, feeding, changing diapers and then getting baby back to sleep. Oh, how I am so grateful now for the predictable bedtime and the hours of rest! Guess sleep is like other things in life...sometimes you don't appreciate it appropriately until it's taken away from you! Olivia doesn't sleep through the night, but most nights I don't mind being woken up every 3 hours for a quick bottle. Even though I don't mind, it would be heavenly if I could get her sleeping longer at a time, so any advice is more than welcome! Our sleeping routine goes like this:

7:30- bathtime

8:00- bottle and bedtime

11:30- bottle

2:30- bottle

5:30- bottle

8:00- rise and shine!

I've tried giving Olivia more to eat at a time, but just end up wasting formula because she'll only take about 4 ounces. She's still sleeping in our bedroom because I can't bring myself to go up and down the stairs to her room 4+ times a night. And I'll let her fuss usually for about 2 minutes to see if she'll go back to sleep before I give in and feed her.

Maybe she'll just keep improving on her own, but it seems like everyone else has babies who sleep and it makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong! And that seems to be the number one question from my clients. "Is she sleeping through the night?" "No." Cue sympathetic look directed towards the mommy who doesn't know how to make her baby sleep. LOL

Ma Momma

It's simple. My mom made me who I am today. She still loves me (I think) after all I've put her through. After all the times I didn't show an ounce of gratitude after she had worked so hard. After lovingly dragging me along as a needy child when I'm sure she just wanted some 'me time' because I wanted so desperately to go do 'grown up' things with her. I can actually NEVER remember a time when she has criticized a decision I have made, even when it made for bad consequences. She's never said "I told you so." She's never said, "Jayelle, why are you wearing church socks over top of your tights?" She's never said, "Jayelle, why are you wearing pants underneath your skirt?" She's never said, "Jayelle, why are you wearing your hair in a ponytail on TOP of your head?" You get the idea. Her acceptance has given me confidence. I always felt like I was her ONLY child. She taught me to work first and play after. And when it was time to play, she played WITH us. She taught us songs. I grumbled. I still know more hymns than the average church-goer because of her efforts. She's never too busy for me, although she is ALWAYS busy. She may think I don't notice because I am completely awkward when telling someone how much I care for them, but I hope she knows how amazing I think she is. She's my superhero.

Blessed!

Happy Family

With Omi and Opa (pre-temper tantrum)
With Grandma and Grandpa and Uncles Chris and Ty
(Olivia speaking: "Get this dress off of me and put me to bed!"


With Uncle Adam, Aunt Cindy, Grandma Daniela and Grandpa Brad

(I'm not sure what I was trying to accomplish by holding Olivia's hand in every picture. It was obviously making her real happy, right?)

Her precious little shoes. I took this picture during church...it was too perfect with her little feetsies against Ryan's suit pants!

With handsome Daddy

Happier times...the morning of the blessing BEFORE we put the dress on! This picture is an especially flattering angle of my thighs, and yes, that's what my hair looks like before the flat iron gets to it. Love the fuzz.

We had a wonderful weekend in Tooele with all of our family and friends that came to celebrate Olivia's baby blessing! Ryan and I were both so nervous about how everything would go, and it is definitely a relief to have it in the past. Huge thanks to everyone who helped with yummy food and creating such a fantastic day for us to remember.

Olivia looked so beautiful in her dress, but I didn't get a really good shot of just her in the pretty thing. I intended to put it back on her and take a few shots today, but our entire household's Sunday wardrobe has beome the most recent casualty of my post-baby mushy brain, and is still in the closet at my in-law's. Oh well!

Announcing...

I have had so much fun doing Tyler's graduation announcements! They turned out so nicely! I like my creations to be simple, and these were so easy to put together once I found the right paper (Totally worth the searching all over town. I bought all the store had.). I love a good project, but it will be even more gratifying when I get them into the mailbox!

Sweet News!

My younger brother, Tyler, is a senior in high school this year and just found out today that he will be valedictorian of his class! Yipee! He has always been super successful in mostly everything he does. He will be attending BYU in the fall, with a double major in Piano/Organ performance. So proud. Sniff Sniff.

My bothers are all pretty awesome, in general. You might be jealous, but you cannot have them. They're mine. Get your own awesome quartet of boys to call your amazing siblings. :)

And now I can finally finish Tyler's graduation annoucements which I have been making (I am quite proud of them) and perhaps may post a picture or two once they are done.

As a side note: Ryan is, as we speak, taking a nap and using the baby's Boppy as a pillow. I'm dying with laughter (On the inside, of course. I don't want to wake him up.).

Mostly For Mommy and Daddy...

Olivia celebrated Easter this week because she and Mommy were in Tooele last week without Daddy, and Daddy was really excited for 'Baby's First Easter'. He is such a good daddy. Just in case you're wondering...Yes, the candy is for me. Yes, the movies are mostly for me as well (Toy Story is my FAVORITE. When Brian gets back, we shall recite both movies in their entirety just for old time's sake.). And yes, Olivia's 'basket' will soon be re-purposed as storage in her room (I am too cheap to buy an 8 dollar pink basket for use only once a year. LOL). Daddy picked out her purple dress. It was a perfectly beautiful day for its debut. What a cutie pie!

Status'

I am a firm believer in not updating your facebook status more than once a day. It makes the world think that you have no life. FYI. But I have some good ones today. So...this is me not updating my status more than once.

"My almost-4-month old fits perfectly into her new outfit from Costco! It's size 12 months."

"I owe the salon 8 bandaids from my 6-hour shift today. Ouch."

"I love chubby baby legs!"

"I had so much fun visiting my family this weekend! Even though I know they all just wanted to see the baby!"

"It talks! (My baby, that is....and she more just babbles...)"

"I hate wind. Maybe if I ignore it, it will go away?"

"Does anyone else think that Kate Gosselin MUST GO?"

"We put a peephole in the front door and bought a gun so I can feel safer when Ryan's working late. Of the two improvements, I feel fairly certain that I'll be getting more use out of the door hole. LOL"

Not So Many Words...

It is hard to think of anything to blog about that isn't all about the baby! But our lives ARE obviously all about Olivia right now...so here is some more of her. The first picture is typical Olivia. Arms waving like crazy, twinkly smile, and legs up high. What a girl.

Bath Time!

Our lives are becoming more and more routine with each day, and I LOVE that! I was so thrown off at first with Olivia because I depend on my routine to anticipate and prepare for each day, and there has been such a lack of that since she arrived. Going with the flow has never been one of my strong attributes. I have felt so out of control (Control? Me? Never! LOL) and the past few weeks, I've finally felt like I can handle things a little better. Progress. I have never been forced to learn so much about myself in such a short amount of time!

Olivia turned 3 months last Monday. She is more beautiful each day. Here are some fun new things she is loving and experiencing:

I bought a Moby wrap. It has basically saved my life (thanks, Erin for the suggestion!). The wrap has become part of our routine, and if Olivia goes in the wrap right after she eats, she goes right to sleep. She is so happy to just sleep the day away while I work around the house or go for a walk and she has been sleeping better at night since starting to take regular naps. I should have tried this wonderful little invention out a LOT sooner.

Speaking of sleeping, Olivia had two nights this week where she went to be around 11 and only woke up once until 7 AM. That may still not sound great, but for me, it has been HEAVENLY. Feeling more and more like myself every day! And a rested baby is a happy baby!

Olivia gets to go to Primary from now on with me, since my new calling is the primary pianist. She is at a point where she'll sleep most of those two hours in her car seat, and the rest of the time she can sit on my lap while I play. It should be an adventure! I am SO excited.

Ryan and I decided to try putting Olivia in her cradle again last week. We have sort of been taking the path of least resistance up to this point, so she has been sleeping in her bouncer, but no more! She has taken to it quite well, and now my feet have room in the bed again!

Bath time is part of our bedtime routine, and our little fishy just loves it. Getting her ready for her bath my second favorite time of day (my favorite is when she first wakes up and is SO happy!) because she gets so excited. Here are some pictures for your (mostly, for my own) enjoyment.