The Bailey Bunch

I thought I'd have it all together by now.

2012-01-08T02:09:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened in the past few weeks. We celebrated Zane's second birthday on December 13th,

followed by Reese's 5th on the 19th.

Christmas came and went all too quickly (as is the norm), and a couple of days ago I turned 29.

Yeesh. 29.

I always assumed that there was something that happened at a certain age or stage in life that magically turned you into a responsible adult. I never figured that at the place I am now, married with two absolutely wonderful kids, expecting my third (THIRD!), I would still have no idea what I was doing.

Growing up, I never suspected that my mom struggled with anything. She seemed to have everything all together. Always. Maybe it was because I was the 5th kid. Maybe that 'thing that happens' comes somewhere between 3 and 5 kids. I don't know. But I don't remember my mom ever losing her temper, raising her voice, failing to get all of us to church (I even think we got everywhere on time and presentable), and we always ate a healthy home-cooked meal, complete with vegetables, every night around the table. You'd think, growing up with that sort of example, that I would be a stellar mom. I am not. I am very impatient, always late, and very rarely cook anything more fancy or healthy than macaroni and cheese (which we generally eat on a folding table in front of the stupid TV).

To say the least, I have plenty of room for improvement.

With the start of each new year, I love the feeling of getting a 'blank slate', with limitless opportunities for self-improvement. With the arrival of another baby on the horizon, I've been thinking a lot about the time I spend with my family and the many opportunities for quality time that seem to slip through my fingers like sand. Time spent with my children is more precious than time spent on the computer, cleaning my house, working, or any other activity that seems to whittle away at my moments. Will there still be more fun things to find on Pinterest that I will likely never devote the time to actually doing if I don't look right now? Of course. But my kids might be an inch taller when I wake up in the morning. They may just not quite fit in my lap anymore when I try to rock them to sleep.

I don't want to miss anymore moments with my kids, who are growing and changing all too quickly. I want to relish every moment (ok, maybe not every moment...). When my children are grown and gone away I want them to have countless memories of the love and experiences we shared, and not that I was always too busy to give them the time of day. I'm tired of wondering how other moms find time to do so many fun things with their kids. I don't want to have time to wonder, because I want to be that mom. Can I just flip my switch now and 'have it all together'? Maybe it's less about having it together and more about putting it together. I think this is my year to put it all together. Maybe I can choose to grow up before I turn 30 next year (ha!).

Now that I have bored you to death with my seemingly pointless musings, what are some things you do to maximize your time with your family? What do you do to keep what matters most in perspective?

What Matters Most

Now that we've established that I suck at blogging...

2011-09-24T00:29:00.000-07:00

My blog is looking frightfully like my journal these days, with only one post every year or so. Maybe one day I'll be good at documenting my life. In the meantime, I'm not holding my breath, and I would recommend that you follow suit.

I heard recently that your most creative thoughts come to you right before you fall asleep. I think that since I technically should be in bed right now, but instead I am taking a break during a graveyard shift at work, the fact that I feel a sudden incessant need to blog makes at least a little bit of sense. Hopefully I'm coherent enough that my post will still make sense in the morning.

The easiest way to sum up the past year (and also a convenient excuse for my blogging absence) is that life has been busy. CJ is finally back in school, finishing up the degree he started in 3D animation. Between him working days and going to school nights, my photography business and working on the social media team for JetBlue, we don't get to see much of each other these days. The great thing is that we have it worked out that one of us is always with our kids and we never have to find outside childcare. This is fabulous, since I think babysitting-aged kids wouldn't agree with me when I tell them that I shouldn't have to pay them for the privilege of spending time with my awesome children (full disclaimer, they're only awesome like 95% of the time, so I'm sure I will re-evaluate my stand on this should the need arise).

Reese recently started her second year of preschool. She has this horrible habit of waking me up 10 minutes before my alarm nearly every day to ask if we're going to be late for school. I think it's safe to say she's enjoying herself. She loves her new teacher and says all the girls in her class are her new best friends. I can only hope she continues to love going to school this much throughout the next 14 years.

Zane is growing like a little weed and turning into quite the chatterbox. His favorite word (at the moment) is 'darnit!' I'm not sure if I should find it as cute as I do, but I love it. He always says it in this little growly voice, and then Reese will start to giggle and say, 'Zane, say darnit!' and they will go back and forth for a good 15 minutes. Cheap entertainment.

In a quick nutshell, life is good. Life is crazy. I think in some sick way I must thrive on crazy. I will put in the effort to update more often, as I know this is a pathetic excuse for a post when it should be covering the last 15 months.

Reese's first ballet class

2010-06-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, I took Reese to her very first ballet lesson. She was in seventh heaven dancing around with all her new little friends! I hope she continues to love dancing as she grows up. Watching her brings such a smile to my face!

Zane's check-up with "Dr. Hoko"

2010-03-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

Zane was fussing while I was in the shower today, so Reese came in and said she would make him all better. I peeked out and saw this...

She said her name was Dr. Hoko.

She found that the odoscope was helpful for checking eyes as well as ears.

Zane was so brave, he didn't even cry when he got a shot in the cheek!

Taking a listen to the ole' cranium.

Say 'AHHHH...'

A new approach to taking blood pressure...

At one point I asked, "How's he doing, Dr. Hoko?" Reese shrugged and said, "I dunno." My babies make me so happy!

Pictures in studio... Zane 2 weeks, Reese 3 years

2010-02-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

New Arrival!

2009-12-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

We got a surprise early Sunday morning... our little guy decided to join us on the 'outside'. We woke up to what I thought was my water breaking, but turned out to be heavy bleeding. Of course it was during the worst snowstorm this year so far. But we scrambled around to get ready, got Reese off to Aunt Jodi's house, and headed out for the hospital for (thankfully) the last time this pregnancy. After a while being hooked up to monitors to watch the baby's heartbeat and my contractions, they decided to keep me and get the labor started. I got hooked up on my IV, and started on antibiotics followed slowly by pitocin. When the doctor decided to come in and break my water, I asked for my epidural. Instead, because of my placenta previa condition, he came in to check me and see if a regular delivery would even be possible or if we should go for the c-section. After a painful examination that caused a lot more bleeding, I was informed that c-section was my only option if I didn't want to risk bleeding to death. So I was taken back into the operating room in tears, set up, and about a half hour later we were back in our room with a beautiful and healthy baby boy! He started out with the cord wrapped twice around his neck, which also could have been a lot more dangerous had we attempted a regular delivery. The little guy came into this world at a whoppin' 6 pounds and 4.4 ounces, 19 inches long. A bit different from my 9 pound, 8 ounce girl! But he is healthy as can be, and I'm feeling better all the time. Unfortunately we can't have visitors at the hospital except my Mom and CJ's Mom, so not many of our loved ones have been able to meet him yet, not even his big sister. So we are very excited to be released tomorrow, take him home and let him meet all of his wonderful family and friends. I can't wait to see Reese hold him for the first time. She loves babies!

After such a stressful experience, I have to say how grateful I am to be here in a time with modern medicine at our fingertips. It scares me quite a bit to think that if this pregnancy had happened at an earlier time in history, probably neither the baby or I would have made it through. It's very humbling to know that things like this can happen so fast and everybody can come out of it just fine on the other side. I'm so happy to have my family, and to be going home to my family healthy, with a healthy baby in tow. I truly am a blessed woman!

2009-12-10T21:21:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Oh, and one more thing...

2009-12-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

The government has changed your name to 'Ginormica'.

My Beautiful Girl

2009-11-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

I was going through all the pictures I've taken recently, trying to see if anything was worth posting. Apparently nothing exciting has been going on... except that we set our induction date for the baby, so he will be here on December 21st (or 22nd, if he's like his big sister...). All the pictures on my camera were of my adorable daughter... and though there's no rhyme or reason to them, just random cuteness, I think I'll share. She has a way of brightening your day. She has brightened my whole life, really!

Reese in her 'house'. She played in here for hours when we put it together!

With Sangria. Reese likes to cuddle with the cats much more than they do with her.

Lookin' adorable for a dinner night out.

Her cute hairdo that night (I'm pretty good, huh?)

Zonked out in her high chair. I think I have more pictures of her sleeping here than doing anything else.

Watching a movie with her cousin Zeb.

There are no words...

After seeing 'Where the Wild Things Are', with Dru.

Riding her bike in an awesome get-up.

She likes to set up her toys like this.

She loves to be my light tester when I'm about to take somebody else's pictures, but doesn't really like having her own taken.

Splashin' in the tub!

She didn't want to get her hair trimmed the other day, so to keep her happy we gave her the squirt bottle and let her shoot the kitties. She was giggling the entire time.

I hope you got a smile or two from my little ray of sunshine! I still can't get over how beautiful she is!

Halloween!

2009-11-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

We had a great holiday! Reese had so much fun with her costume that we had to take it everywhere we went that day. If she couldn't see it, she would freak out and ask where her 'bee' was. I must say, she was the cutest dang bee I have ever seen. We let her wear her get-up to the playground for a little bit, she got to carve a pumpkin with her wonderful daddy (she carved one with mommy last Sunday but we didn't get pictures and now it's moldy...), we went trick-or-treating to a few of our friends' houses, then ended up at Jodi's house for a little Halloween partying. You can see where it went from there...

Staticky slide hair...

Racing Daddy home...

Reese and Daddy with their pumpkin (I would have posted pics of the carving process, but I was trying to save Reese's shirt for trick-or-treating so she was a little indecent...)

Mommy and my Little Bee!

My hot sister putting on mascara. If any of you know Jodi, this is way over the top for her. She thinks any amount of makeup makes her look promiscuous. :o) My favorite part, though, is that all you can see on her shirt is, 'yeah, I'm pretty...'

Me and my 'Sexy Sistuhs' Jodi, Tammy and Dru. Dru decided we all needed crazy hair and makeup.

Blue Steel

And, what the heck? Me at 32 weeks. I started Halloween dressed as, well, a pregnant chick. I ended up as... um... a pregnant chick with crazy hair and makeup. Or a knocked up 80's cheerleader? I don't know...

Don't be jealous...

A bunch of random stuff...

2009-09-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

First of all, as requested, here are a few belly shots. I am 27 weeks along, and Baby Zane is growing like a weed. At the last visit with our midwife, she said he was up to 2 pounds and 5 ounces! He's already caused me plenty of trouble, but I just figure it's because he's a boy. Reese was never so difficult. :o) Reese didn't think this idea was as much fun as I did...

We made a visit to the state fair last week. Reese had a lot of fun but we thought it was overrated. At least on the days you have to pay full price. $40 for admission, two crappy corn dogs, and a bag of kettle corn is a bit much.

My niece Dru was baptised by her Uncle Mikey on Saturday

And another niece, Eva, was blessed yesterday. Busy weekend!

After the blessing, we took a drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon to scope out the fall colors for all the family pictures I have coming up in the next couple weeks. It was so beautiful!

My new ambition...

2009-09-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

I've recently started taking a cake decorating class with my sister-in-law Rachel. It's been a lot of fun to learn new techniques, and of course eating what we make for class is always enjoyable. Reese absolutely loves Tuesdays now because she 'helps me' get ready for my class by licking all my utinsels clean. I decided to share a picture of my first class project, as well as Reese in all her chocolate cake-batter glory. My mom said it looks like I'm a natural... apparently she forgot the disaster that was Reese's first birthday cake. So for your enjoyment, I've also included one of those too. Keep in mind, as much as I'd like to say she had already gotten her hands on it, or that I dropped it from a great height... that's the best it looked. Needless to say, her birthday cake this year will be much better. :o) Enjoy!

Before...

After!

Reese was one happy camper today!

And luckily she was too young to notice that this cake sucked! At least it tasted good...

Day Six... California Adventure

2009-07-16T11:53:00.001-07:00

Day Five... Disneyland and California Adventure

2009-07-16T11:44:00.001-07:00

Day Four... Disneyland!

2009-07-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

Day Three... Universal Studios

2009-07-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

Day Two... Sea World

2009-07-16T10:56:00.001-07:00

California Day One (Well... Two...) San Diego Zoo

2009-07-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

The actual first day of our trip was spent in the car, driving for hours and hours, pulling over occasionally for the pregnant lady to lose the meager contents of her stomach. So since I don't care to remember that part much, we will start with the next day when we visited the San Diego Zoo.

01-01-10

2009-05-19T08:40:00.001-07:00

I've been pretty crappy about keeping the blog updated lately. Not much has been going on over the last couple months except work. We've gone to the zoo a few times, so I guess I could post some pictures from those trips, but not today. If you want to see what I've been up to lately, visit my photo blog... JuBaleePhotography.blogspot.com. Lots of weddings, engagements, and bridals.
However, we do have some exciting news to share at long last. We are expecting baby number two on 01/01/10 (what a fun birthday, huh?)! It has been a long journey this time... we were successful on the fifteenth month of trying, and I had been on infertility drugs for a couple of months. We got to go in for the first appointment last Wednesday. We are spoiled because the clinic I go to does an ultrasound at every visit. So even though the new one (Reese calls it either 'baby sissuh' or 'baby dragon'... I guess a baby brother is out of the picture) still looks much like an amoeba, we have already been able to see their little heart beating. It is such an incredible experience to see life developing inside you... it kind of takes your breath away. We are feeling very happy and blessed these days, and we can't wait to welcome this new little one into our home!

A crazy, fun week!

2009-03-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Last week was full of fun and excitement. It started out on Wednesday, when the weather was nice enough to go out and let Reese play on our playground. She started out running up the stairs to go down the big slide, and by the time we left, she had gone up and down so many times that she practically had to drag herself up the stairs. Needless to say, she crashed hard and slept for a good two hours when we went back indoors. It was so fun to watch her play. She even braved going down on her belly a couple times... still feet first, but she's getting a bit more daring.

Thursday was Little Gym day. We signed Reese up for the Spring semester and she has had so much fun! It's a blast to watch her try out the new skills and develop new talents. Last week was 'bring a friend' week, so Reese's cousin Tia and friend Coalter tagged along. It was so great to have them there! They were loving the chance to get to explore the bars, balance beams, etc. It was also fun for me to have my brother Mikey and my friend Nicole there to keep me company while our rugrats played.

After Little Gym, Reese and I went over to my nephew Zeb's school for his patriotic program. He is such a little ham it's always fun to see him in that kind of situation. He's always singing or pretending to be some superhero or another.

Saturday we celebrated Zeb and Xan's birthdays. We started out at Flip's gymnastics in Bountiful for Zeb's friend party where the kids all got to go through an obstacle course, throw things at each other, play with a giant parachute and eat junk food to their hearts' content and then we headed for Jodi's house to celebrate the two boys with our family. It was a great time! I think the highlight of the night was the Megatron voice changer that Xan got as a gift... Tia put it on and thought it was the best thing ever. It was so cute. Xan wasn't quite as sure about it, but I'm sure it'll grow on him. I think for the first little while, his dad will be getting the most use out of it though. He was highly entertaining with it on and threatening to beat up the little kids.

What happened in Vegas...

2009-02-17T09:53:00.000-08:00

I just got home from a quick two-day trip to Las Vegas. I heard of a training for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (a non-profit organization I signed up to volunteer for) that was being held yesterday at the MGM Grand.

I got a wild hare to go and went about trying to find some company to go with me. CJ had to work but my Dad thought it sounded like fun so he and I set out Sunday morning. We got down there around 5:00... but we got off the freeway at the wrong exit and had to work our way to the strip through a slightly scary neighborhood. Then it took us an hour to work our way from the North end of the strip to the South end when we were trying to get our bearings for my class the next day. Of course it had to be on the opposite side of town. Once we found where I needed to go, we set out to find the Las Vegas Temple.

That was a shell shock different atmosphere. Going from the wormy feel of Sin City to the quiet beautiful grounds of the temple was kind of a relief for both of us. I know a lot of people like to go to the strip for vacations and stuff, but I wasn't a big fan. Yesterday morning, after a bunch of runaround trying to get registered and past security at the MGM conference center, I got into my class only a few minutes late. It was an incredible experience listening to one of the co-founders of the organization, Sandy Puc, talk about how the organization started and the effects it has had on her life. She had some amazing experiences to share.

*Just to give you an idea, NILMDTS is an organization of photographers that provides 'remembrance photography' to families that suffer the loss of an infant. It is their mission to help families heal by providing a way for them to remember and honor the angel that they won't get the opportunity to take home. As you can imagine, being a part of this takes you through quite the emotional roller coaster ride. I have only done one session of this kind, and it really took a toll on me. I was bawling for weeks. But the family was so grateful to have the images to help them remember their beautiful baby that I feel blessed to have done it.*
After hours of stories and history about the foundation, I wanted nothing more than to get home and hold my own precious baby. I am so happy to have her in my life that I can't even imagine how lost I would be if anything had happened to her. Babies are such wonderful blessings. It's hard to understand why some don't get the opportunity to grow up.
When the class finally let out in the afternoon, I met back up with Dad to lose a little money in the slot machines and take a ride on the monorail before starting the long trek back home.

It was a lot of fun to get to spend some one-on-one time with my Dad. I was glad he was able to go with me. I have such a loss of a sense of direction outside of the state that there's no way I could have found my way around on my own. Thank goodness for his mad navigation skills!

Wanna Dance?

2009-02-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

I got on the computer to do some blogging this evening and as my music started playing, I heard Reesie's cute little voice from the hall... 'wanna dance?' I peeked around the corner and found this...

And...DIP!

The kitty most definitely did NOT want to dance, but Reese is very persuasive and generally gets what she wants. I just adore my little princess! She never ceases to bring smiles to my face.

Karaoke Birthday

2009-02-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

Last night we convened at the 'Casa Del Wilson' (Durven's) for Tori's three-year old birthday bash. Durven has this way of hosting parties for Tori that make you feel slightly inadequate as a parent. He had all of his DJ equipment (he has been a DJ for almost 20 years) set up in the front room complete with lights and karaoke system. There was a bubble machine going at the front door, and the whole house was done up in pink streamers and balloons because the beautiful birthday girl requested a 'pink' party. He got the night rolling with his own rendition of 'Blue Suede Shoes'. Then Tori got up to sing for the crowd and after that the mic was opened up to everyone. I pressured CJ to go up and sing (and I use the word 'sing' very loosely with CJ and his siblings...) 'Wanted Dead or Alive' because he loves to sing it on Rock Band. He returned the favor and signed me, Veneita and Maudine up to sing 'Super Trouper'. Yikes. Anyway... it was an exceptionally fun night and I love that Reese sang 'Su-pa-pa, su-pa-pa' the whole car ride home. Happy birthday to our wonderful Tori... we are so lucky to have you in our family!

"Wasted away again in Margaritaville..."

Tori and Reese eyeing the cake

"Supapa Troupapa..."

"I'm a Cowboy... On a Steel Horse I Ride"

"Carry On My Wayward Son..."

Celebrating Disney Style

2009-02-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

This should add an extra special touch to our trip this year...

Little Rocker Chicks

2009-01-26T09:50:00.000-08:00

Last night we invited Cameron, Rachel and their girls up for dinner. After we ate, we decided to break out Rock Band, and as I was setting it up, the girls jumped right in. I thought it was so cute that I got a quick video on my cell phone. I was sad that it only lets me record 15 seconds at a time, but it's still way cute even though it's super short. Enjoy!

Life. Wow.

2009-01-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

A million things have happened to prevent me from giving in to my blogging addiction in the past month. Obviously Reese turned two... I had that post ready to go on the 22nd and didn't send it until a moment ago. Doy. We had a great party for her with family and friends. The crappy weather prevented a l0t of people from coming, but since we have a very limited amount of space, that is probably for the best. My wonderful little sister put up the decorations for me (as I was running around like a headless chicken trying to get our place under control), and as you can see she did an incredible job. I wish I could take credit for the adorable cake, but alas, I still haven't learned how so I let the ladies at Albertson's make it for me. Next year...

Of course Christmas was our next big adventure. Reese was a pro at opening presents by that point and she loved it so much that she opened all of hers, most of mine and CJ's, and even a few of her cousin Jordan's later on Christmas day when we went over to Cameron and Rachel's house for dinner. But it was a great day. We got to see all of our family (minus one exception... SCOTTY...) and had a blast celebrating the holiday with them all. Christmas Eve my side got together for games and stuff at Jodi's and I wish I had videos to post from our game of Guesstures! My Dad was tap dancing, CJ was belly dancing, and Mikey just about fell on his butt trying to get to some props for his next clue. Good times.
I have to say, CJ has this amazing ability to spoil me rotten even when I am under the impression there are no means for it. He always finds some way to go over the top on Christmas and this year was no exception. The gifts I gave him paled in comparison. The highlight for me was my own Rock Band game for the Wii. We have had so much fun with it! One day my sisters came over and we started a band... we rocked for a long time and had the time of our lives. Good practice for when we're singing 'Super Trouper' for Jessa's, Dru's, Reese's, and Tia's weddings. Lol! And it will be complete with sequins and huge bell-bottoms. Woot!

For New Year's we had another bash at Jodi's. It's so nice for us because it's only 5 minutes down the road so we don't have the commute OR the mess. :o) I must say I have more fun than ten fun things... no... eleven... whenever my family gets together. I may be slightly biased, but I think they are the most awesome people that have ever lived. Bar none.
I turned a year older than I was last year on the 6th. Birthdays aren't that exciting anymore once you pass 21, so I don't keep track. Something I have always loved about my birthday though (okay, maybe not ALWAYS... I didn't like to share much when I was little) is that I get to share my birthday with my big brother. And no, we're not twins. He's five years my senior. I always joke that we were supposed to be twins but I got cold feet and came late. Anyway, every year on our birthday, one of us calls the other and we answer and sing, "YOU SAY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!" And The other one sings "NANANANANANANANA!" Then of course we finish it up with "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TOO, YEAH!" Sounds so dumb, but it's always the highlight of my day (It's a Beatles song in case you're wondering... we're not clever enough to have made it up on our own). Anyway, happy late birthday to my awesome almost twin brother!

Next in line comes Reese's two-year-old checkup with our fabulous pediatrician, Dr. Clawson. She got her last immunization shot until kindergarten (something to celebrate) and measured in the middle of the pack on her weight, height and head size. Of course she is on the smart side, though. How could she not be with a mother such as I? If you are related to me, don't answer that. So my baby continues to grow and develop faster than I am ready for. I was watching Mama Mia today and dancing with her during the song 'Slipping Through My Fingers' and just crying. I love her so much it's hard to think of her ever growing up and leaving me.

And last, but not least, the most recent thing that has kept me busy has been the bridal show. This is the second year in a row that we have bought a booth in the Salt Palace Bridal Showcase.

(That is actually the booth last year, but this year it was pretty much the same except I updated a few prints)
It is such a stressful thing for me to get ready and to try to sell to that many people, but luckily I have an incredible wingman that thrives on that kind of stuff. CJ, like Big Tom Calahan, could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves. Mostly thanks to him, we walked out of the show with 6 weddings already on the books. Hooray! Last year we only booked 4 in the entire month of January so 2009 is shaping up to be a very awesome year. I don't know what I would do without my wonderful hubby's unending love and support in everything I do. He is the best and I am so blessed to get to spend Eternity with him.
Well WOW! Kudos to anybody that read this entire post... I hope it wasn't so long that you got bored and gave up early. Haha!

My Baby is growing up too fast!

2008-12-22T09:38:00.000-08:00

My beautiful daughter turned two on Friday. I can't believe how fast the time has gone since she made her first appearance in my life! She really lights up my world, with her to-die-for dimples and spunky personality. She warms my heart with her charming little grin. I don't know what we ever did without her! I adore that girl! I am the luckiest woman in the world to be the one she calls her Mommy.

Johnson Christmas Party

2008-12-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

Last night my whole family got together for our annual Christmas party. It was so much fun, and for the first time in I don't know how long, EVERYBODY was there (I think maybe last Christmas was the last time)! We all met at Rich and Jamie's house (Jamie is always an incredible hostess... she really knows how to throw a party). We ate soup in bread bowls for dinner and brownies decorated like Christmas trees (my contribution) for dessert. Then we let all the kids do their gift exchange.

Reese was so excited to get her very own scooter from Xan! She looooves scooters! She has been wanting me to push her around on it all morning.

Mikey and CJ collaborated to put it together and then she rode it all around the house.

It's very cute. After the kids settled in to play with their loot, the adults did our white elephant exchange.

It was surprisingly nice. I expected more gag gifts in that group, so I almost felt bad for Dad, who got my itty-bitty running shorts that look like they were from the 80's and for Rich who got the pair of Granny-panties. :o) At least he was a good sport about it. He even posed Superman-style so we could document and enjoy forever.

I love being with my family. I couldn't ask for a more awesome group of people to be related to!

We got mad dancin' skills!

2008-12-07T11:27:00.001-08:00

My friend Ashley had this on her blog and it was so funny that I couldn't resist making one too! I hope it brings some Christmas cheer to your house too!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2008-12-01T09:24:00.001-08:00

Last night my whole family got together to surprise my Dad with a 60th birthday party. It was so much fun! It's always fun to tease people about getting old, and Dad especially so because he takes it so well. We got there and put up signs that said things like, 'if you were a car, you'd be an antique' and 'You're somewhere between "The Young and the Restless" and "The Old and the Senseless"'. When Mom and Dad got home from church, we were all inside waiting for them and Dad walked in and got all teary-eyed. I love seeing my crusty old Dad go all soft. It's so cute. Anyway, Mikey and Tammy gave him a package of Depends and an inflatable toilet (a 'sensible solution for senior citizens'). Jodi and I found him a gianormous card that says 'A long, long, long time ago...' and you open it up and hear the Star Wars theme blast and it says... 'You were born.' Everybody got a kick out of it. Great night. I have an awesome family.

Mikey blowing up Dad's porta-potty...

All the kids wanted to try it out-
Dad with his birthday loot (lol!).

Tia always has the greatest hats. :o)

While I'm at it, today is my Grandma Johnson's 80th birthday, so I'd like to wish her a happy birthday too! Sorry I can't be there to do it in person at your big bash this weekend!

Decorating for Christmas

2008-11-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

I don't deal well with crowds, so rather than brave Black Friday at the stores like most people, we decided to stay in and have a nice relaxing day getting our home ready for Christmas. We had a lot of fun putting up and decorating the tree and everything else. Reese is old enough now that she is finally getting excited about all the new stuff we were bringing out of storage. She hung a few ornaments up herself... and broke a few as well. Luckily none of them were Mommy's favorites. Those ones are all up high. I'm a little nervous to have a tree full of breakable things in the same house as a two-year-old and two kitties, but we'll see how it all holds up in about a month.
Here's a sampling of a few of our favorite Christmas ornaments...
This one is from our Honeymoon in Florida. We found this one at the hospital when Reese was born. It was good timing to find Christmas stuff in the gift shop... just a week before Christmas!

The final productAnd the stockings were hung....... by the, um, mirror with care. Reese helping me put the star on top (Daddy had to step in and get it to stay on)

I surprised CJ and Reese with this ornament called 'Dancing with Daddy'. I love it when the two of them dance together!

Reese and Daddy hanging the new ornament.

Our Nativity. My Mom got us one part of this collection for Christmas every year until we had the full set.

Now we're ready... bring on the Holiday!!!

FINALLY!!!

2008-11-15T15:38:00.001-08:00

I have been wishin'... and hopin'... and thinkin'... and prayin' for a family picture in which Reese has a smile on her face and doesn't look like she wants to run away. Today we went with my friend Courtney to Gardener Village and took pictures of each others' families. We have decided to make this an annual tradition. We just traded cameras, took a few shots, and headed home to photoshop our own pics. It was a fun morning! Thanks to Courtney, Jeremy, Dyllan and Bridger for making this my long awaited success! (And to CJ, who has been patient enough with me to smile in 3 different family shoots!) Reese told these ducks off and sent them back to the pond...

Boy Meets Girl

2008-11-12T08:59:00.001-08:00

How I met my CJ!

How did you meet your significant other?Answer all the questions HONESTLY and re post as "How I met _____"

(Thanks for the tag, Ashley!)

1.Where did you meet?

In our country swing dance class at SLCC.

2.What was the first thought that went through your head when you met?

I remember thinking how sweet he was for asking girls to dance before class even started (mostly me and the 2 cute little handicapped girls in the class... what a stud!). Ask him what HIS first thought was... it's a much better story!

3.Do you remember what he was wearing?

Not exactly, but probably an out-of-date shirt and jeans rolled up at the bottom. I have redone his entire wardrobe since then.

4.Where was the first time you kissed this person?

In a pavillion at the park across from his parents' house. He had the night all planned out so perfect! It was finals week so I was all stressed out. He told me to meet him at his house after my last test and to 'dress warm'. When I got there, he took me to 7-11 to get hot chocolate, then blindfolded me and drove me all around the area and stopped at the park, led me up to the center of the pavillion where the tables were all arranged in a circle with candles. There was a radio with a CD he had burned for me, and he said we needed to 'practice for our final' that was coming up the next day. We danced outside by ourselves while the snow was falling all around and he asked if he could kiss me (who could resist at this point?) and I finally told him yes. It was during the song 'It's Your Love' by Tim and Faith and it was total magic. Of course that was the song we danced to at our wedding!

5.Where did you go for your first date?

Lucky he didn't scare me off, but it was at his house and we played Lord of the Rings Risk. UGH!

6.How long did you know this person before you became a couple?

We met at the beginning of the semester in August, became best friends and started hanging out 24/7 around the first part of November, and were an official couple in December. So about 5 months.

7.How did he ask you out?

Well, he was ready to go from being my 'best friend' to more of a couple situation, so he sent me a text message saying we needed to have a 'chit chat' and to meet him after class for drinks in the cafeteria. Then he used that ever so sweet line from The Bachelor; "S*** or get off the pot". Yeah. He also said I was driving him crazy. Excuse me? Apparently in a good way. He said he couldn't stop thinking about me and that he either needed to start dating me or find a reason to hate me because it wasn't working for him the way it was anymore. Wow. Um, ok? So I told him as long as he understood that if things didn't work out we would go back to the way things were, we could date. Then we split, him for his next class and me for home to take a nap. when I woke up, he had dropped some roses at my door with a note that said, 'if you risk nothing, then you can gain nothing.' How true that statement was!!!

8.Has this person ever proposed to you?

Yes, at a French restaurant called Chenez in Park City. It was the day before my birthday, so now he always forgets and mixes the two days up. :o)

9.Do you and this person have kids together?

One beautiful little angel girl named Reese. She will be two next month!

10.Have you ever broken the law with this person?

Only if you count speeding.

11.When was the first time you realized that you liked this person?

One night I was having a bad dance practice because my team was all flaking on our performances, so afterward I called him to vent and he said, 'would chocolate help?' And I just smiled and said, 'yeah, I guess it would.' So I got home and changed, put my coat on, and waited for him to come get me... thinking he was going to take me for frosties or something. About 45 minutes later, he shows up with 2 grocery bags full of every kind of chocolate you can think of from the store. Candy bars, chocolate milk, chocolate cereal, you name it. He was like, 'I didn't know what kind you liked...' It was so sweet. No pun intended. Then I had him stay all night and play cards with me. Needless to say, I felt a lot better.

12.Do you get along with his family?

Yes.

13.Do you trust this person?

As long as he doesn't have that 'look' in his eyes..... then I have to watch my backside.

14.Do you see him as your partner in your future?

Forever and a day! I'm so glad we signed on for Eternity!

15.What is the best gift he gave you?

Himself, followed very closely by our daughter!

16.What is one thing he does that gets on your nerves?

Just one? There are lots, but none of them are things that matter.

17.Where do you see each other 15 years from now?

Still in love, more kids, in a house and with less financial stress!

18.What causes the most arguments?

We don't argue very much. He's too quick to let me win.

19.How long have you been together?

We've been married for 4 and a half years, but best friends for 5 years.

20.Are you Married?

Heck yes we are! And loving it!

21. Who Do you Tag?

Jodi, Mikey (you guys both bailed on the last one so you're stuck on my tag list), Lynsee, Nicole, Christy, and Desi.

What's wrong with this picture...?

2008-11-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

After my initial irritation at having to deal with yet another mess, I saw the humor in this situation and decided it was cute enough to share. I hope my Little Miss Mess brings a smile to your face as she always does to mine!

Halloween

2008-11-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2008 was a lot of fun. I loved Reese's costume, but the little menace wouldn't ever leave the head on so we never got a great picture. We borrowed Aunt Jodi's lion costume since all her kids have out-grown it. Reese was an adorable lion. Mostly an adorable headless lion, but cute nonetheless. We did go back over to the Rhodehouse's for pumpkin carving the day after the pumpkin patch, and also hit a trunk-or-treat at our church.

On Halloween, we had a Johnson family party at Jodi's. The daddies took Reese the lion and Zeb, the headless horseman trick-or-treating. It was Reese's second time, and her daddy's first time. Sad childhood, I know. He was probably more excited to go than she was, but once she got the idea of the free candy, she was all over it! She got angry with CJ when he tried to help with her heavy bucket. He got a lot of 'NO, MINE!!!' and a few smacks. She is protective of her sweets, I guess. Then afterwards we played a bunch of games and ate Mexican haystacks for dinner. I wish I had thought to get pictures of everybody else's costumes. Trek was a scary vampire, Dru a corpse bride (I had a lot of fun doing her makeup), Xanny Fanny was Super Why, and cute little Tia was Boo from Monster's Inc. She looks just like her when she has piggy tails. Tammy and Mikey also dressed up, Tammy as a witch and Mikey as Trailer Trash Bosephus... complete with mullet and flask of Moutain Dew. I wore my flamenco dress from Spain to work that morning but was too lazy to dress up again for the party. Lame, I know. Next year Jodi and I decided we will go all out.

Pack's Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-27T19:02:00.001-07:00

Today Reese and I met up with Jodi, Trek, Dru and Zeb to go pick out pumpkins for Halloween. It was so much fun! Reese loves being outside no matter what we're doing, so she was already in 7th heaven... add her cousins to the mix and she was happier than ten happy things. Maybe even eleven. :o) We picked out a couple cute ones, and then the kids went through the hay bale maze and we took some silly pictures. After, we went back to Jodi's house and the kids went out to play in the leaves. Tomorrow night we are getting back together for a neighborhood trunk-or-treat followed by the pumpkin carving, so there are more fun pictures on their way!

Autumn Afternoon

2008-10-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

CJ, Reese and I headed up Millcreek Canyon once again for the afternoon on Saturday. It was so incredibly beautiful! I wish Fall would last all year long instead of just a meager few weeks. I love the colors and the crisp feel in the air. I guess if it was any longer we wouldn't appreciate it so much when it rolled around every year.

Anyway, when I was Reese's age, my mom took me up Millcreek Canyon when the leaves were in full autumn glory and I have a few pictures of the two of us. I have always wanted to take similar pictures of Reese and I and display the two sets together. So this was our action plan, and we had so much fun! Reese was fascinated with all the ladybugs, and loved throwing leaves into the creek. She is such a fan of the outdoors. I love to watch her grow and become excited about the world around her. She is such a joy in my life! I don't know how I ever lived without her. And CJ is such an adorable Daddy... watching him read stories to our little girl at night and playing games with her makes my heart so happy! I love my little family.

Another Tag...

2008-10-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

For this tag, I was supposed to go to my picture file, go to my 10th folder, and post the 8th picture. Easy enough, here it is!

It was taken in November of last year and it was Reesie's first encounter with a fire. She was mesmorized like a little moth. That day we had been to Aunt Tammy's hair salon and you can't tell from the picture, but she had purple spikes. Very hot.

This one tells the story a little better...

Now I tag Jodi, Mikey, Jess, Ashley N. and Becky! Just post the pic, come back and leave a comment to let me know that it's up!

Blast from the Past Tag

2008-09-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

I got tagged through Christy's blog...

1.Did you date anyone from your high school? Not really. I didn't have any official 'boyfriends' during high school. The closest I came was a good friend of mine that went to Hunter (don't hate me, Pirates!). The sad thing is that I married an Olympus alumni. Yikes. Whoda thunk?
2.What kind of car did you drive? For a very short time I had a light blue Audi, but my Dad said it was junk and sold it for the price of the tires. After that, I was carless. Good thing for Christy's Maxima...
3.Were you a party animal? Not really
4.Were you considered a flirt? No
5.Were you in a band, orchestra, or choir? Concert Choir my senior year
6.Were you a nerd? Depends on who you ask, I guess... :o)
7.Were you on any Varsity teams? Spirit Club sophomore year (if that counts) and tennis my senior year
8.Did you ever get suspended or expelled? No
9.Can you sing the Fight Song? A few words here and there
10.Who was your favorite teacher? Mrs. Storrs, Mr. Moore, Mr. Monson and Miss Smith stand out the most in my mind
11.Where did you sit for lunch? On the floor by the office in the common area with all of my friends
12.What was your schools full name? Cyprus High School
13.What was your mascot? A Pirate
14.If you could go back again would you? No thanks. High school was not my favorite. I'd do jr. high again though. Now that you all think I'm nuts...
15.What do you remember about graduation? I had just colored my hair pretty crazy colors and was glad to have the stupid cap to hide it. Mr. Moore said I had 'magenta and chestnutt highlights, if that gives you an idea. My family went to The Training Table for dinner, and then I went to the overnight party with my friends.
17.Were you in any clubs? CHAG (Cyprus High Associated Girls), who planned some of the dances my senior year. I think there were more, but I can't remember. I was in the musical my senior year.
18.Have you gained any weight since then? While I was preggo I added a good 30 pounds but I was lucky enough to get good genes because afterwards I dropped 40! Yahoo!
19.Who were your Prom dates? I only went once and it was with my best buddy Shawn Solberg
20.Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? If they actually have one. They slacked on the 5-year.

I ALSO TAG: Anyone who wants to, I know you're not all Pirates... but I won't hold it against you!

A visit from Grandma

2008-09-12T10:30:00.001-07:00

My Grandma Johnson has been in town from Arizona for the last few weeks. It was so fun to have her close by for a while! The last time she was in town was over 11 years ago, so it was definitely a big deal. It was great for Reese to get to know her a bit(she's only seen her one other time and Reese was only a month old), and it only got a little bit confusing for her to have 2 'Grandma Johnsons' around. She wasn't quite sure who to hug when we told her to give grandma some loves. Thanks for coming, Grandma! We look forward to your visit next year... we will hold you to it! We love you!

Grandma with my family

Four generations of Johnsons

Scentsy Party

2008-09-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I am hosting a Scentsy party on Wednesday the 17th at 6:30. I would love for anybody that wants to come to feel more than welcome! Let me know if you're interested and I can e-mail you my address. I have had a Scentsy warmer for only a few hours and I am hooked! We're going to have treats and everything, and feel free to come and bring friends if you would like. Check out their website at scentsy.net, and I have samples of all the scents (there are like 80 or so) if you'd like to try them out.

Little Gym

2008-08-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

I took Reese to Little Gym this morning for the first time. Her friend Dyllan is in the Wednesday morning class and his mom Courtney talked us into going in for a free trial. Holy fun, Batman! Reese loved it. She wasn't so big into the 'everybody do stuff together' thing, but she was happy as a clam to wander around all the mats and other gymnastics equipment. Luckily, they are ok with the kids wandering and exploring on their own. The only thing that sucked about it was that of the 8 kids that were there, 3 of them were little girls named Reese. I thought we were original! Oh well. Every 5 minutes or so the teacher would say something to one Reese or another and the other 2 would look too... none of them knew which one he was talking to. Anyway... I must say that I am relieved that my Reese wasn't born with my innate fear of everything. She threw herself into things without a second thought. She was hanging on the bars, walking along the balance beam, jumping and tumbling like it was nothing. I'm considering paying for the rest of the semester... I would love for her to be talented in gymnastics! Her uncoordinated mama can't even do a cartwheel. I am insisting that my children grow up with more coordination than both their parents have. I hope they are able to excel at what they do rather than being mediocre at everything.

(PS-Sorry, I am a blogging machine this week! This is getting ridiculous.)

Good food, great friends, and FUN!

2008-08-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Sunday night we had 2 of my very best friends over with their families for dinner. Christy Henrie (along with hubby Tyson, 3 year-old Hayley and baby Jaxon) and Nanny McKenzie (with hubby Kevin and 3 year-old Abbie). It is so nice to get some time with my girl friends! I don't even realize how much I'm missing them until I get to see them again. I decided I am a lot more sane when I get to have time with my friends, so I don't think CJ minds having them over occasionally. Dinner was great, we had a fun walk down memory lane (clear back to 4th grade), the boys got some Xbox time in , and the little girls had a ball watching Barbie movies and converting Reese's changing table into a bunk bed. So cute! Thanks for the fun night girls!

The Diaperhead Brigade

2008-08-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

I got to have my brother's kids, Xan and Tia over on Friday. We had a lot of fun, but it was a bit overwhelming to have two 1 and a half-year-olds and a 3-year-old by myself for 9 hours. It looked like a bomb went off in my living room. Luckily we survived with only a few minor bumps and bruises and minimal disagreements. Hooray! And we didn't have to give Tia an Epi-Pen for her peanut allergy. The idea of having to do that scared me into sweeping and vacuuming my floor at 7 in the morning to make sure there weren't any stray pieces of granola bar or something for her to get her hands on. Little Miss Tia was so funny... she got ahold of our supply of swim diapers first thing and at one point in the day she put one on her head like a hat. I thought it was so funny that of course I grabbed my camera and started snapping away. Reese felt a little left out and grabbed a diaper hat herself, followed quickly by Xan, and finally Tia handed me my own. I felt so honored to be inducted into such an elite society.... The Diaperhead Brigade!

Campfest

2008-08-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

CJ, Reese and I spent the first of this week at Pineview Reservoir for the second annual 'Wilson Family Campfest'. The Wilsons are CJ's mom's family, and we just love them all to death. We have so much fun when we're all together, and Reese absolutely adores her cousins from that side. They are actually her daddy's cousins, but she fits in a little better. All the adults have always felt more like brothers and sisters than aunts and uncles to me, so I guess that makes sense. We got to stay in a campsite that was right next to the lake, so we woke up to a great view out our tent door every morning. Reese discovered a hole in our tent that was just big enough for her to climb in and out of so we had to make sure she slept on the other side of the tent so we didn't lose her in the middle of the night. She also found something new to love... riding on scooters. She would stand on a scooter and let me push her around all day. My back didn't like it, though, so it never lasted as long as she wanted. CJ was happier than ten happy things on Monday when he, for the first time in our marriage, out-fished me. He was absolutely glowing with pride. And ego. I'm sure I have yet to hear the end of it. Anyway, it was great fun and once again we are reminded of how lucky we are to have such an awesome family!

Johnson Family Pictures

2008-08-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

We all got together last night to update the family portrait. Last time Reese and Tia were not around yet (still twinkles in our eyes...) so it was time. I just thought I'd post one of my favorites. We're getting to be quite the mob!

Homesickness, a 'full tank', and blue crayons...

2008-08-03T08:22:00.000-07:00

I spent most of last week in Rexburg, Idaho. I went up there with my mom, my sister Jess, my aunts Wendy, Colette, and Shirley, and a bunch of cousins and family friends for BYU Idaho's Education Week. What a fun experience! For 3 days straight we were constantly in and out of classes that just made you feel good about yourself. It's nice to be bombarded by warm, fuzzy feelings sometimes. We got our emotional 'tanks' filled, so that we could come home to our chaotic lives and not go crazy and choke somebody. So far so good anyway. Speaking of home, I really had a hard time leaving my cute little family behind. Prior to this trip, the longest I had been away from Reese was over one night. This took me away for 3. Man my heart was aching for her! And my hubby too. I was absolutely glad I went, but sooo happy to get home again. Saturday, when we were packing up to come home, I got a call from CJ to inform me that he was taking our little girl to the InstaCare AGAIN. My heart fell into my feet and I asked what happened. He told me that she had something big and blue... stuck up her nose. Wow. As if we needed another doctor trip after this leg issue, right? But after having just taken a class about the power of humor in mothering, I just had to laugh. What a fun thing to be able to tease her about for the rest of her life... bwa ha ha!

I HATE EMERGENCY ROOMS!!!

2008-07-28T23:18:00.001-07:00

The title says it all. Reese has still been sadly limping around all week and everyone we talked to said we should go to the ER at Primary Children's. BIG MISTAKE. We spent FOUR HOURS mostly waiting around to be exactly back where we were a week ago, with no breaks showing in her bones but no clue as to what is making her little leg hurt. Plus, the stupid co-pay was a hundred bucks and who knows how high the medical bills will rack up. I swear there should be a law that if they can't tell you jack squat, they should have to charge you jack squat. So now, on top of the Urgent Care visit and the ER visit, we now have to take her to see a specialist. Can we say bankruptcy? Not that I wouldn't spend all our money to make my little girl happy and healthy again, but I wish it would at least get us somewhere. I am so frustrated I could scream.

Reese's "Oopsie"

2008-07-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Reese was going down a slide and hurt her leg. Afterward, everybody thought she was just tired and ornery, wanting to be held all the time. When I got home, she snuggled with Daddy for a bit and then went straight to bed. Saturday morning, she was ornery again. She was acting like she was sick... she just couldn't get comfortable, she wanted you to hold her, but not touch her (sounds like a fun situation, huh?). So I had her on my lap while I was working on editing some pictures on the computer and she was whining and whining and me, being the mother of the year that I am, said, 'get off my lap if you're just going to be a grump!' and set her down. Of course she cried harder. So CJ and I decided to take her to the park to see if we could cheer her up. I got her shoes and put the left one on, and then when I pushed her right shoe on, she went crazy. I took it off and looked inside to see if something had bit her, saw nothing, and tried again... another freak out. Then we connected (observant parents that we are) that she had not walked at all since the incident the night before. She had been held, or just sat somewhere ever since, and cried every time she tried to stand up. Wow. Worst mother in history. So to the InstaCare/KidsCare in Bountiful we went. We got some x-rays taken of her foot, met with the doctor, and went in for more x-rays... only to realize that during the first ones we had been so frazzled that we had x-rayed the wrong foot. So we had to re-take the first ones. All the while Reese has no idea what's going on, except that Mommy and Daddy keep holding her down on this table and she is NOT liking it. She screamed the whole time. Of course, when the doctor was messing with her foot and leg, she was stoic as could be and only barely flinched. Nutter. She gets upset at the strangest times. Last time we went in for a checkup, she cried when I put her on the scale. Silly girl. Anyway, they didn't see any broken bones, but put her in a splint just in case. She's still crawling everywhere she goes, and if she doesn't start walking on it in the next couple of days we have to have her x-rayed again. Maybe this time we'll pay attention and do the right foot the first time. Hopefully, though, it was just a sprain or bad bruising. I have never had a broken bone and it breaks my heart to think my little angel might already have her first one. Poor baby!

Reesie's toes even look funny in x-ray! This is the foot that she actually hurt, not the one we just x-rayed for the heck of it.

Reese with the 'Oopsie Bear' that Aunt Jodi brought over for her yesterday. She is so lucky to have her Aunt 'Do-Do'!

A Baby Tag

2008-07-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

Reese got tagged by cute little Spencer (Tawnya's baby) today, so here are some things you may or may not know about my angel...

1- Reese loves our two kittens... to DEATH. She is always picking them up by the tail, a leg, the neck, or even the occasional ear. We have to watch constantly to make sure the little furballs are not getting tortured. She is lucky they haven't retaliated and scratched her little face off. For some reason this relationship works well for all of them.

2- Reese is a climber. Holy crap she has given me a few heart attacks. If there is something higher than what she's standing on, she gravitates toward it and next thing I know she's either balanced precariously or already falling off of something.

3- Reese is a morning person... I know that all of you that know me well are laughing. I do not function at all before 9 AM, and it's still pushing it until 10. Reese can go to bed at midnight and still be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by 7 in the morning. This has got me into trouble a few times. I occasionally just let her roam while I continue to doze off and this has resulted in broken glasses, ink-covered hands and clothes, and various missing trinkets.

4- Reese has a brand new cousin named Kylie and she loves to kiss her little head. I asked her to kiss her once to see if she'd do it and after that she kissed her forehead over and over for like 5 minutes. I think she'll make a good big sister (...one day).

5- Reese has really funny toes. They all alternate being on top or bottom like the letter W. They have been like that since birth and it looks like they are going to stay that way. I love her cute tootsies!

6- Reese speaks fluent dinosaur. Some of her first 'words' were growls and grunts. I think she and her cousin Zeb were cut out of the same mold... I swear he spoke in all growls for like 3 years straight.

7- As I am typing this, Reese found a tampon in her diaper bag, opened it and pulled it all apart. That's a new one. At least she didn't get a chance to chew on it before I caught her with it.

8- Reese has the nicknames 'Little Bean', 'Reesie Bean', 'Beanie Baby', and 'BamBeana' because when I took my positive pregnancy test, I got all excited and said I had a little bean in me. Who knew it would stick so well?

9- Reese absolutely LOVES slides. She could climb up and slide down all day long. One day her Aunt Jodi and I took her to the park and one of us would go to the top of the slide with her and the other would catch her at the bottom but she started to get so excited about it that she wouldn't wait for help. She walked herself right to the top of the slide and went down so fast that her legs almost went clear up over her head! We just about died laughing.

10- Reese loves to try out Mama's Guitar Hero game after she sees me play it. She is a little rocker in training. I can't wait to see her try it out when we get the new Aerosmith edition. Woohoo!

11- One of Reesie's most favorite words is 'turtle'. She definitely recognizes them and says 'tu-to', but she also thinks that fish and other sea creatures are also 'tu-to's. We went to her 18 month checkup where the waiting room is painted like an undersea scene and she was looking all around saying 'tu-to' over and over. So cute.

12- Reese is definitely a 'mama's girl'. While she absolutely loves to play with her daddy, cousins, aunts and uncles, and friends, at the end of the day I get all her cuddles. Yay me!

13- Reese makes the most adorable little cowgirl I have ever seen. She loves to ride on the rocking horse she got for Christmas and swing around her cheap little Smith's cowboy hat. She makes my heart smile!!!

Sorry this ended up so long... I find it way too easy to gush about my little girl. I'm sure everybody with kids understands that! Reesie would like to tag all the rest of her little friends and family that haven't been hit yet... Trek, Dru and Zeb, Hayley and Jaxon, Maddy and Madi! I can't wait to hear all about your babies!

Trip to Moab!!!

2008-07-02T14:23:00.001-07:00

Reesie and I just got back from an awesome trip to Southern Utah with my sister Jodi and her family. It was so much fun (other than the fact that it was hotter than Hades)! We spent the first two days in Canyonlands and the last two in Arches. What a place. We went on a ton of great hikes and were surrounded by such incredible scenery that it was a photographer's dream. We loved spending the time with Jodi and Justin, their kids, and Justin's family. Reese came home confused because Justin's dad was calling her 'Liza Jane' all the time, Justin always calls her 'Sally', and on the last day she looked like such a rough-and-tumble boy (in her baseball outfit, unkempt hairdo, and scratched up face from biffing it in Arches the day before) that we were calling her Zane. I don't think she knows her real name anymore.
We are lucky to be surrounded by such awesome family that we can do such fun things with. Our only regret is that CJ wasn't able to get work off and come with us. We were missing him bad! It was nice to get back home and in his arms again yesterday.

Life is Good!

2008-06-26T10:53:00.001-07:00

So we have FINALLY moved into our new home! It has been so much fun to be in a place that we can really call our own... we can make holes in the walls, paint, whatever we want. I am in seventh heaven. It was a little unnerving when we, for the first time in our marriage, brought ALL of our stuff to the same place. We had a mountain of boxes filling the living room, as well as a good-sized 'hill' in every other room.

Our Mountain of Stuff. How do you accumulate this much junk in so little time?

CJ surprised me the day after we moved in by bringing home 2 kittens from the Humane Society. He promised me a kitten the Christmas we were engaged (2003), and since then we haven't really lived in a place where we could have one. He was so giddy when he could finally fulfil his promise. What a cute husband I have. I don't deserve all the wonderful things he does for me.

My 3 babies... Reese, Sangria and Styrie

Life has been so enjoyable these last two weeks. We have had so much fun unpacking and putting this puzzle together. We have already taken two loads to the DI and are just about ready for a third. Good thing Reese isn't old enough to complain about losing a few toys. It's been very cleansing to go through everything and cull what we no longer need.

It's also been fun for me to attempt the housewife thing lately. Thanks to Anna's blog, I have frequented the FlyLady website and have really been trying to keep our new home free from CHAOS (what they call 'Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome'). So far, so good. We still have a handful of boxes to go through, and my scrapbook closet is a work in progress, but it's been a lot more enjoyable to keep a (somewhat) clean home and to make dinners for my family almost every night instead of wondering which fast food joint we are going to stop at. I'm sad to admit, though, that even after 4 years of marriage we still eat a lot of 'newlywed food'. We bought the Costco packages of ramen noodles and Easy Mac. I'm definitely not yet at the caliber of my mother, who makes an elaborate 3 course dinner on a daily basis. She never ceases to amaze me. Anyway, my daughter appreciates my mad cooking skills. Here she is enjoying her first taste of Ramen noodles. She is definitely a big fan.

So life is good. We couldn't be happier with the way things are working out for us.

We are so blessed!

The Blues...

2008-05-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those days that seem like everything can and will go wrong? I am having one today. I cannot shake this down-in-the-dumps feeling I have and it is driving me nuts. I need to shake this funk I'm in! What do you do if you ever have blah days like this?

5 Things...

2008-05-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

I just got tagged by cute little preggie Nicole, so here goes!

10 years ago...
I was just about to finish my education at Hunter Jr. High and move on to bigger and better things at Cyprus High School. I was really scared to make the transition because most of my friends were going to be going to Hunter so I thought I would be a loner. But I tried out for and made Spirit Club which allowed me to make awesome new friends like Nicole, Jen, Tiffani, Lynsee, Aubrey, RayLynn, and a bunch of others as well as continue the great friendship I have had with Christy Henrie since 4th grade. It made the change a lot easier on me... we had practices all through the summer and then on the first day of school we just had to look for another hot chick in a blue uniform and we had insta-friends!

5 years ago...
I was attending Salt Lake Community College to get my Associates Degree in photography. I did it really slow and lazy-like... taking classes like ballet, tap, country swing, oil painting, french, personal finance, etc. Pretty much just anything that sounded like fun at the moment. I didn't really knuckle down and take it seriously until I met my husband, but that's still a few months away... :o) I was also working at this time at JC Penney Portrait Studio and at the Franklin Covey Wellness Center, waking up before sunrise just so people could get a towel and a locker key.

5 months ago...
I was getting ready for Christmas. We had a Charlie Brown tree that started at 7 feet tall and had to be cut down to 1 and a half feet because we live with my parents and the only space for it was on top of our TV stand. We didn't bother getting any decorations out of storage so it only held the 3 or 4 ornaments that we bought this year. Not that it could have accommodated any more. :o) But it was a fun Christmas and we kept telling each other that one day we would look back on it and say... 'remember that one year that we had the tiny tree at your parents' house...' and laugh. We already do so I guess it wasn't all bad. We look forward to celebrating the next one in our own place though. Hooray!

5 things on my To Do list today...
1- Laundry (Only 2 more loads to go!)
2- Pack some boxes
3- Clean the living room
4- Play with my beautiful baby girl
5- Kiss my hubby

5 snacks I enjoy...
1- White Cheddar Pringles (But they stopped making them about a year ago :*( )
2- Apple slices with peanut butter
3- Peanut butter M & Ms
4- Plain potato chips dipped in ranch
5- I'm addicted to NesQuik. Does that count?

5 things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire...
1- Stop working and just stay home with my girl
2- Forget the condo and pay cash for a mansion
3- Go back to Europe but this time stay as long as we want, travel to every country, and not worry about the exchange rate!
4- Pay $100,000,000 in tithing (Haha!)
5- Pay off all my parents' and siblings' houses
(Do I have to stop at 5? My creative juices just started flowing!)

5 of my bad habits...
1- Procrastination
2- Running out of patience too quickly (CJ and Reese can attest to this)
3- I am a complete pack rat. I can't throw things away
4- Spending money on things we definitely don't need
5- Sleeping in. If I didn't have to get up with Reese or to work, I would probably just sleep until noon every day.

5 places I've lived...
1- Juneau, Alaska
2- Taylorsville, Utah
3- West Valley, Utah
4- Holladay, Utah
5- Farmington, Utah
(And soon to be 6- Centerville, Utah!)

5 jobs I've had...
1- JC Penney Portrait Studio (Photographer)
2- Franklin Covey Wellness Center (Office Assistant)
3- Laughing Gravy Entertainment (MP3 Guru or something)
4- Courtney Ryan Photography (Photographer)
5- JuBalee Photography (Owner, Photographer, and everything in between)

5 things people don't know about me...
1- I'm afraid of almost everything
2- I love writing stuff down... lists, ideas, sometimes I will just sit there and write out the full names of everybody in my family.
3- My favorite comedian is British and he's a transvestite. I got to see him live in (bet you can't guess!) San Francisco
4- I have been to so many weddings that sometimes I catch myself quoting the ceremony and vows with the officiator (add that to my movie habits, Christy! Haha!)
5- I cut 5 inches off my hair yesterday and nobody (including my sweet hubby) even noticed except my mom

5 People to tag...
1- Christy
2- Anna
3- Kristin
4- Aubrey
5- Danielle

Turning Over a New Leaf...

2008-04-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

We feel like we are starting a brand new life lately. CJ just got a new job that allows him to have every night and every weekend off. It's been so nice! This will allow him to go back to school and get his degree. We are wishing we hadn't put it off for so long, but grateful for the opportunity to start it back up again. He is excited to go back to school. We also just bought a condo in Centerville. It is not quite finished yet, so we will be moving in 5-7 weeks. We are so blessed! We have lived in Farmington before and loved it, and we've been wanting to go back there ever since. My wonderful parents and baby sister have been awesome enough to let us stay with them for the last year so that we could get on top of things, and now we finally feel like it's paying off. We are so stoked to be getting our own home. It is 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms... it will have so much space that I won't know what to do with it all! I have already drawn it out on graph paper and placed all our furniture. There is room to spare and we don't have to share a room with our baby anymore. Hooray for space! We have been feeling so blessed lately. We have so much to be grateful for.

Reesie's Hand Print

2008-03-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Reese loves playing with Mommy and Daddy's toys. She left this print on the screen of our lap top and it made me so happy to see it whenever the screen went dark that I couldn't bring myself to wipe it off. Finally CJ got so frustrated with the grimy screen that he made me take a picture of it so he could clean it. Reese makes me so happy. I am in love with that little girl! It makes me sad to think that one day I won't have her little messy prints all over the place.

Handprints

Sometimes you get discouraged

Because I am so small

And always leave my handprints

On furniture and walls.

But everyday I'm growing

(I'll be all grown someday)

And all those tiny hand prints

Will surely fade away.

So here's a final handprint

Just so you can recall

Exactly how my fingers looked

When they were very small.

Reesie's First Haircut

2008-03-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

I took Reese to see her Aunt Tammy for her first haircut on February 26th. Her bangs had grown so long that they would get in her eyes and drive her crazy. She was so good for the whole experience... once we gave her some curlers to play with she didn't wiggle or anything until we let her down and tried to take them away. I had to snag one from her and hold it up by the camera just so she'd look at me long enough for me to take a picture.

Before.........

...........And after! "Wow, Mommy... I can see!" I saved a lock of her hair for her scrapbook, but the poor thing has her Mama's uber-thin hair so we had to save pretty much all of her bangs just so there was enough to tie up in a ribbon.

Trip to the Museum

2008-03-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

My cute hubby and I took Reese to the museum in Thanksgiving Point in February. It was so much fun! She is finally old enough to get excited about this kind of stuff. She was walking around with both hands pointing wherever she was heading. So cute. I can't wait for this summer when we can take her back to the zoo and to feed the ducks and geese at the park. She is so much fun! I love to watch her light up when she sees things that excite her.

Our week with two kids (AKA: Good Birth Control)

2008-03-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

We stayed at CJ's Uncle Durven and Aunt Jen's house for a week with their 2-year-old daughter Tori while they went to Hawaii. It was fun sometimes... but you could tell these 2 girls were both used to being 'only children'. They weren't always very nice to each other and they don't like to share anything. It was pretty entertaining at times, like watching the Mini WWF.

Reese definitely isn't as in to being dolled up like a 'girly girl' as much as Tori is.

We'll miss you, Grandma!

2008-03-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

My Grandma Wilding passed away February 5th, 2008. She went peacefully in her sleep, and is finally back with my Grandpa after being alone for 19 long years. We like to think they had an early Valentine's celebration in Heaven. We will miss her! Look at all these grandkids they left behind... what a legacy! And my darling baby wanted to play a piano solo at the family luncheon.

My First Bridal Show

2008-03-04T20:00:00.001-08:00

We bit the bullet and put together a booth for our very first bridal show this January. It was high stress but well worth it... so far we have booked 10 weddings this year! Here is a picture of my booth...

Christmas 2007

2008-03-04T19:45:00.000-08:00

We had a fun Christmas this year. Our Charlie Brown Christmas tree started out a lot taller, but when you are living in Mom and Dad's basement and are short on space, you have to think small. It went from being about 6 feet tall to one and a half. Luckily all of our past ornaments were in storage. We could only fit the few we snagged this year. We were all spoiled as usual. Since Reese just had her birthday, she had the unwrapping down to an art.

This is Grandma and Grandpa Bailey's dog Hank (or as we like to call him... Hanky Panky). I got talked into taking pictures for a primary activity where all the kids met Santa. He was so cute I had to get some shots of Reesie on his lap. Needless to say, she was not too happy about the idea of being pulled out of her carseat and plunked onto the lap of a strange old guy while I laughed and took pictures!

Reesie's First Birthday!

2008-03-04T19:37:00.000-08:00

My beautiful little girl turned one on December 19th. I can't believe how fast the time has gone! Mama had grandiose plans of making a fantastic birthday cake that was decorated to look like a princess crown, but in the end it looked like I had stood in front of Reese and dropped it on the floor. Not a great day for me, but I loved celebrating my angel!

Family Pictures

2008-03-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

We went out to the Great Salt Lake to take some family pictures on November 28th. That has been my single most favorite place to take pictures lately. CJ was complaining that it was too cold but it was his fault we waited so long. He shaved off his goatee and we had to wait until it grew back.

Time to give in the the Blog Revolution...

2008-03-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody! We (and by we, I mean I) decided it was time to join you in blogworld. I figure we are too far out of touch with all our good friends and this is a great way to keep everybody updated.

This past year we have had the time of our lives. We had our beautiful daughter Reese in December of 2006 so it has been a joy to watch her grow and learn. It's crazy how different life is now that she's here, yet we can't imagine life without her.

Last Spring we were lucky enough to be able to take the trip of a lifetime to Spain for a family wedding. What an incredible experience! We spent a week in a Spanish Villa surrounded by Olive Groves and another on the beach in Marbella overlooking the Mediterannean. We got to see the most amazing sites. I loved being surrounded by all the history, and if you know me at all, you won't be surprised to hear that I took thousands of pictures while we were there.

That's about as miniscule a sampling as I can give you. I have a hard time limiting pictures to just a few.

I have kept busy over the last few years photographing weddings (and I'm one of those rare people that actually love their job...). It is so much fun to be a part of the happiest day of peoples' lives. I really enjoy what I do. Getting paid for it is just a bonus. CJ has been spending the last few months in car sales. He is working towards a degree in Business Management. Reese is very successful in her job... being cute. She really works hard at it. She will just smile at a person until they look up and go gaga over her. She doesn't care how long it takes. If they aren't paying attention at first, her cheeks just get tired. As soon as she gets her desired reaction, she moves on to the next person. I love to watch her use her charm on people. I'm afraid for what it will do to Daddy over the years. He is so tightly wrapped around her little finger that I am afraid it will fall off.

Well, rather than type your eyes off, I am going to put an end to this initial blog with promise that the rest will not be quite so verbose. I hope everyone is well! We love you all!