Susanna's Birthday

Birthday preparations: 

Those of you who know me know that I like to make birthdays a big deal. I figured out this week that I'm really going to love my kids' birthdays! Paul and I had a lot of fun making things special for Susie. 

We went back and forth about the party idea but eventually decided it would be fun. And it was!! So fun!! I've never thrown a kid birthday party before so I didn't really know what to do but we had a blast. Susie is such a social bug, she loves all of the little kids on our ward. We invited all of her friends from preschool and from nursery for our picnic party. It was Finding Nemo themed, of course. 

We had french bread sandwiches with toppings and fruit and chips. I made a Nemo cake with the help of a young woman in our ward. (She taught me a cool trick). I'm so very grateful for the people in our ward who have helped us to come to love Arizona. Good friends are such a blessing.

We had the birthday party the day before her actual birthday because Paul had to work during the day on her birthday. We put up a few decorations the night before in our house. Here we are having lunch with Sam and Emma:

Later when Dad got home we went to Chick Fil A for dinner and played in the play place. Then Susie got to open the family gifts she had. Paul and I got her the green chair and a dog that walks and barks. Oh boy she loves that dog! Grandma Braden sent a beautiful tiara. We put in on and Susie kept saying "'Rella? "Rella?" Yes Susie, you look just like Cinderella. After presents we let her stay up for a movie night with Mom and Dad. Popcorn and chocolate milk, it was so fun!

It is so fun to watch her grow up. I'm excited for our growing family. There is nothing better than family! 

Half Marathon

So, I thought it would be really cool to do a half marathon pregnant. My sister is law, Trixie, was my inspiration. :) She ran one about half way through her pregnancy and we got together for Thanksgiving right afterwards. She was telling me about it and I had just found out I was pregnant, and I thought---sounds fun! I had just run a half marathon myself so I thought it would be no problem. 

Then I got really sick. I wasn't sick with Susanna at all so I didn't think this was going to be a problem. I was nauseous and tired to the point of exhaustion until about 14 weeks. Then things got better and I still had a month before the marathon to work back up to 13 miles.

There were a couple long runs when I had some bad cramps and I was a little worried. I talked to my doctor about it and she gave me some good advice. I made sure I was very hydrated before each long run and worked on my breathing to ensure I was getting enough oxygen. 

I felt ready the day of the race but was still a little nervous. It went so well though! I was able to keep a good pace and even picked it up a little after mile 10. I came in only 15 minutes later than my time in November (not pregnant). This was my 4th half marathon and I can't wait to do another. I'm even thinking maybe a full marathon next year? Do I dare?! 

This is me after the race so I look real cute. I'm 17 weeks pregnant here.

Valentines Day: 14 Days of Service

This Valentines Day, Paul and I decided that to celebrate we would give each other one special act of service each day for 14 days. It sounded like a great idea and we were both excited to get started come February 1st. After the first couple of days we realized we were both already running out of ideas! I took to my notepad and brainstormed all the things I could think of that Paul might like. It helped to have my ideas for the remaining 14 days jotted down! I took a few pictures of the services we did, most of them aren't pictured. 

A few of the services Paul did for me were:

waking up with Susie so I could sleep in (he does this a lot!)

a romantic note 

making dinner for the family, a night off!

back rubs and foot rubs (my favorite!)

doing all the house cleaning 

bringing home flowers 

Some of the services I did for him were:

making poppyseed muffins

weeding and mowing the lawn (eh)

making hamburgers for dinner (his favorite.. I don't like them so I've never make them!)

making (eh-- attempting) jello legos

a V-day decoration for our house 

a big Valentines breakfast (you'd think heart shaped pancakes wouldn't be so hard!)

So yeah, a lot of mine involved food. Mother did always say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. It was really a fun thing to do though. Besides having trouble coming up with stuff, it was nice to be thinking about thoughtful things we could do for each other. I know I appreciate all that Paul does for me. It helps me to feel closer to him and taken care of. I know making service a priority for my marriage helps me to be a better wife. And it makes me happier, too! 

A pinterest triumph!!!

Pinterest:

Me:

A pinterest FAIL!!! 

Pinterest:

Me:

We all had breakfast together early on Valentines Day. I got Susie a monkey ballon at the dollar store and between that and the syrup covered pancakes, she had a pretty good morning. :) She loved that ballon! Later that day her Dad came home from school and surprised her with a Nemo stuffed fish. Oh boy! No wonder she likes Daddy best. 

Our Baby Boy

 

We found out Thanksgiving Day that we were expecting another baby. We were so excited! We were in North Carolina celebrating Thanksgiving with Paul's family and we told everyone. I know it is better to wait... that kind of made me nervous. But it looks like it's going to work out. I was pretty sick most of December and all of January (not to mention TIRED!). I wasn't sick at all with Susie so this was new for me. There were days in January with preschool and babysitting when I felt like I wasn't going to be able to do it all. But January ended and I started feeling better and getting my energy back.

Monday we got to go in and have an ultrasound to find out the gender. It was a special experience. I felt as I watched him move around that this was a very special spirit we would be blessed with. I feel so close to my little boy already. Susie loved the ultrasound. I'm not sure how to gets it but she kept saying, "Wow!! Baby? Wow, mama. Baby?" She wouldn't let Paul or I touch the ultrasound pictures after they were printed. They are hers, apparently. I think she will be a great big sister. We all love our little boy so much already. 

I love this little face! We went to Chick Fil A with some friends and Susie finally summoned the courage to brave the slide. Then she went down, over, and over, and over, and over again. Until she screamed as I put in her in the car. :) I love being able to be home with her. We have lots of fun talks. She loves all of the kids that come and play. She would rather play with them than with me! Which I guess is kind of nice! 

We have lots to be happy about. Phoenix winter weather is hard to beat. With the sun always shining it's easy to always have a smile on! We'll see if I can keep smiling this summer, 9 months pregnant, in 120 degree weather. That might not be so happy! 

I hope everyone has a great Valentines Day! 

Fun with our Susie

Not a whole lot to report. We are back to our normal routine. Paul is working hard at school and Susie and I stay busy at home with preschool and daycare. At night it's just us 3 and we love spending it together. 

 

We switched Susie's crib into a starter bed. She loves it. She had fun helping her dad disassemble. She know gets up from her nap whenever she feels like it, all on her own. She has fallen out of bed once in the middle of the night, and cried pretty hard but Daddy rushed upstairs to save her. We keep a monitor in our room, which is downstairs, so we can hear if anything goes wrong. She has always been a good sleeper though (except for those first few months when I didn't get any sleep at all!).

She gets cuter all the time. Recently she has started singing songs randomly. She picks something she likes (like fish) and just sings it over and over. Her favorite is the "fishy song" (see the last video). The lyrics go something like this: "aaah fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy, I want fishy, fishy fishy, ah fishy." We love to hear her sing. I sing primary songs to her every night when I tuck her in. Now when I sing to her at night she says, "stop!" and asks me to sing the fishy song instead. So I sing primary songs.. then the fishy song. Ha ha! She is so fun! Crazy, whiny, often cranky, but adorable and snuggly, too. 

Christmas 2012

We had a nice long Christmas break. Susie and I flew into Las Vegas and Tiff picked us up and drove us home. We went 5 days before Paul because he still had school. Susie and I were actually really sick but we went anyway! We relaxed at home and loved spending time with everyone. Paul eventually drove up and then the Christmas festivities really began. We had our annual Christmas Eve Devotional where everyone (almost everyone) prepared a thought or performance to share the Christmas spirit. Olivia played a Silent Night Medley on the piano, Ty sang a few songs, Paul read the Christmas story in Luke, I read a poem, and Mom showed us a great video of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." It was a wonderful reminder that even though there is evil and sadness in the world, we know that the good and the right will win in the end. God is not dead nor doth He sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail with peace on earth goodwill toward men. 

Grandma and Grandpa West came to Arizona to visit as well. When we got back from Cedar they drove up with Nicole from Tucson.  They were able to spend a few days with us and Susie loved it. Grandma has a really fun fish tank app on her kindle and she and Susie had lots of bonding time. 

Christmas Fun

We are enjoying the holiday season together. We've done some fun things as a family. I love it. Paul's sister Nicole made us this traditional West family advent calendar. Paul grew up doing this each Christmas and he loves it. It's so fun to do with Susie every day. She picks a piece from the bag and puts it up with Dad's help (he knows where they all go :) ). 

Santa came to our ward Christmas party and we were so excited to see what Susie would do. I was sure she would cry. But... he was handing out candy which Susie can not pass up. She keep her little eye on him the whole time but tolerated it for the candy. No tears, or smiles for that matter. She sat on Santa's lap, got her candy, and was done. 

 sneaking away..

 He had to wave the candy in front of her to make her look at the camera! Ha! 

Me singing with the YW at the Christmas party. 

We also  went to see the Mesa temple lights. They have hundreds of different nativities from all over the world in the visitor center and it was really neat checking those out. The lights were beautiful! 

Tonight we made a triple batch of Christmas sugar cookies. Susie ate way to much dough (whoops). She loved helping. It was a fun Sunday, spending time together as a family.