Church Vacation

Well today I got released from my calling as 2nd counselor in the primary presidency. I knew this was coming for the past month so it wasn't a surprise. I have mixed emotions about it. I am not the biggest fan of other people's children so in that sense... hasta lavista primary. BUT I liked being in there with Paisley and see how she interacts with others. I also made sure my sharing times were awesome for her. I liked being in the loop with what songs they were learning so we could be sure and practice at home. Some of my play group friends are now in the new primary presidency so I'm sure I can still get the scoop on the songs and how Paisley is doing.

Fow now I don't have a new calling. I think since the baby is due in about 3 weeks they will leave me alone for a little while. These moments of having a break from a calling at church come few and far between so I am going to enjoy not having any responsibility on Sundays. It will be quite the adjustment to go to Relief Society. It is really quiet in there. I haven't been there in about 2 years. Before I was in the presidency I was the sunbeam teacher so I was still with the kids. I look forward to what the future may bring, and hopefully I can handle it!

Our Newest Addition

Such a Girl

I am not the biggest fan of painting nails. I don't like to have my finger nails painted because it makes my fingers feel funny, and because of my bad nail biting habit. I don't mind my toe nails being painted but because of my extreme lack of flexibility it is really hard for me to paint them myself (especially now being pregnant). This morning however I had to go over to a friends house to practice for a musical number. The rule at her house is no shoes, so since I was going to be wearing capris (the only pants that fit me these days) and shoes without socks I decided to pretty up my toes. It would have been funny to video tape my attempt at this alone but eventually I was able to squish wubbzy enough to get them done all by myself (he was definitely fighting me on this the whole time). Of course, once paisley saw painted nails she NEEDED hers done also. When we got home from our friends house she ripped off her socks and shoes and got her nails painted also. She is such a cute girly, girl! (I know, I have hot tan lines on my feet!)

I love our mailbox... area

We have very cute flowers climbing up our mailbox post. It is so pretty. I love to go out there and get the mail or drop mail off and look at how beautiful that part of our yard is. Other parts of our yard have issues and aren't as pretty, but we are working on it. But this beautiful first impression of our yard right here is fantastic! I can't take credit for it, we inherited this pretty flower with the house, but I'm so happy for whoever decided to plant it right there, and I'm so glad it decides to keep coming back bigger and more beautiful every year!

Man, Have I got a crick in my back!

So a couple days ago this intense back pain started when I bend in certain ways (which obviously now I am avoiding bending in). It is putting a damper on my efforts to begin to get the baby out. Whenever I am downstairs and want to go upstairs I like to run up the stairs to see if I can get a contraction going. We also like to go on walks around. If I walk briskly I can usually have a couple braxton hicks while we go. Every practice contraction counts!! BUT now with the left side of my back killing me with certain movements I find myself baby-ing that side and so walking isn't going well and neither is stair running. Blast! Get out baby!!!!

California Upholds Gay Marriage Ban!!

Good job California. Just when I thought you were a big waste of space and a breeding ground for evil you come through and conquer this battle (for now). The article I read about was here on yahoo news. I was feeling very nervous for the people of California, but I am so relieved that the Supreme Court realized that regardless of their own opinions, the voters have spoken and they wanted marriage to remain between one man and one woman. Hopefully this move by California will show other states contemplating gay marriage to stop. Although the gay marriage ban holds they also decided to let the 18,000+ gay couples who got married while it was legal to remain married. This makes no sense. If the legal definition in California of marriage is one man and one woman then those marriages are invalid, but whatever. I'll take the bigger victory. Of course gay rights activists will take up this fight once more and try to get it on the ballot again and again until they get their way. I believe they eventually will get their way, but now goodness has won over evil and gay marriage is banned!

Paisley's Cute Quote of the Day

So by 9 am I already had a cute conversation with Paisley that I just HAD to post! This is how it went:

I was folding some of Wubbzy's freshly laundered clothes and she was watching me. I got to the last outfit that was a pair of overalls and she said
"Wubbzy is going to wear hosen? (as in lederhosen) I laughed pretty hard and said, "No, these aren't lederhosen, they are called overalls, but they do kind of look like lederhosen." I then gave her a big squeeze and a kiss.

Isn't that the cutest? Now I don't think that it is common knowledge for any 3 year old to know about lederhosen. It made me very happy at that moment that she has been to Germany and seen real lederhosen in the flesh and that what she learned well over a year ago has stuck with her. I love having a cultured 3 year old! She is a smarty pants!

This is for Nicole

I LOVE the Jonas Brothers so I don't mind including this on my blog so Nicole can see this cute music video! I hope you love it!

Baby Shower

Last Thursday was the baby shower for Wubbzy. It was a blast!! We had a terrific turn out, incredible decorations and delicious food. I got there a little early so I would be there to welcome all the guests. When I first arrived I had taking pictures on the brain so I snapped some photos of the decorations and food and then put my camera down to help, and didn't pick it up again... oops!

The three pictures I did take of the evening definitely don't due justice to how cute, clever and creative the whole thing was. The food was so yummy, and super fun! We did a chocolate and cheese fondue bar. I had never experienced fondue before and it was a blast!

We played three fun games. The first was "guess Stefanie's circumference" (not a good pick-me-up game!) :) Yarn was passed around and everyone cut the length they thought they would need to go around the widest part of my belly. Most people had it cute WAY long, I tried to not be offended! :) The if you look in the picture of the fireplace mantle with the bags that spell out BABYSHOWER that was the second game. Inside those bags were baby items and we passed them around and shook them and felt them to guess what was inside. It was a blast! I got all 10 right (I think I was the only one) but I kept my mouth closed so that one of the guests would win the prize! That was way fun. The last game was matching mommy animals with baby animal names. For example: Dog goes with puppy. There were like 25 different kinds of animals so some of them were pretty tricky.

Overall the night was a huge success. People were very generous with their gifts. Wubbzy will be the most stylish baby around with a full wardrobe of adorable clothes. It is so fun to finally have a lot of little boy clothes all over. Although, Paisley has begun to act fussy when I start trying to get the baby stuff organized and walks around saying "I don't want to look at baby clothes." I try to keep her involved in the organizing process and she is usually happy to help, but when it comes to baby things she is not the happiest to help me. She will get over it though and be a great big sister, she just needs to get used to it.

My sweet Mom sent a package she was hoping would get here in time for the shower but it arrived a few days late. Paisley was happy to see inside that not only was there a present for the baby but a present for her. That helped her handle that situation ok. She loves to get letters so if anyone wants to send her one, she would be the happiest recipient ever! We will try our best to make this the least painful for her that we can but 3 1/2 years as an only child is a long time and this will be a shock to her. She is so sweet and nice though, we're glad she is our big girl!

Here are a couple pictures of our cute Paisley. Her naturally curly hair is beginning to grow out so only the ends are curly these days. This was my first attempt at putting curlers in her hair. She was very still for the whole process, I was the one with the issues. I didn't know what I was doing. I was hoping I could get her to sleep in the sponge curlers, but she wouldn't have it so by morning a lot of the curl was gone. It was fun to play beauty salon though.
Overall things here are good. We are counting down for Wubbzy and keeping busy in the mean time. Today we got some more cute plants for our front and backyard. We'll have to post when we get everything settled in.

2 Years Down

This week is our second anniversary living in Kansas. It is no secret that this is not my favorite place to live. We are living in a town that boasts 14,000 people. I have always lived in a big city. I LOVE to be in the city. I don't need to be in the heart of Los Angeles, but I wouldn't mind being in a city of a couple hundred thousand people. I don't like feeling like I live in the middle of no where. Where normal stores are 30 minutes plus away, an airport is an hour away, church is 40 minutes away, and the temple is in a different state! It's pretty awful in my opinion. In some ways these two years have gone by fast, but in most ways it has really felt like the whole two years. Sometimes you look back on a year and think it flew by and didn't feel like that amount of time had past. Well... it feels like we have been here for two years! Kansa isn't all bad though. It kind of has a bubble feeling like I had when we lived in Rexburg and in Provo. It is safe here. The people are kind and conservative. If only normal civilization was a little closer this would be the perfect place to live!

Happy Mother's Day

I am surely loved this Mother's Day weekend. Happy Mother's Day to all you Mother's and future Mother's out there. I hope it is a happy weekend with loved ones.
(I am looking a tad rough after spending 5 hours in 82 degree weather!)

Love This!

Ok I have to admit I TiVo Hannah Montana (but only the new episodes). On the last episode this awesome duet was recorded (thank heaven for youtube sometimes!) I love this song and the harmonies with it. It is so cute! David is so nice. I love this song and needed to post this to have it always! :) I don't know if this is "real" meaning it will appear on someone's CD someday, or if it was just part of the story line for the show, but regardless, I love it!

Small Town Fun

The second weekend in May is always huge around here! It's called All Schools Day. Today is a holiday. There is no work, just play around here. Yesterday we went to a show at the high school. All the cheerleaders, dance companies, baton twirlers, karate people and such from the county come together and they put on a show for everyone. It was a blast. We had fun watching some of Paisley's friends dance in the show. This morning we woke up bright and early to claim our spot for the parade. We had a lot of fun eating junk food and watching all the floats and bands. (Despite the face, Paisley really is having fun.)


(Paisley was a little unsure at first, but she eventually had fun on the merry go round.)

After the parade as per tradition we walked over to the carnival. Paisley rode the Merry Go Round twice. Jason played skee-ball and won the stuffed green dog and some friends won so many prizes they gave the blow up hammer to Paisley. Tonight we still have fireworks to enjoy and tomorrow a petting zoo! We sure love All Schools Day weekend!!

Week 33 OB Appointment

Yesterday we ventured to the doctor for my 33 week appointment. We just did the usual... talk about the baby movement, measured my belly and listened to the heartbeat. I have previously mentioned that my belly has been measuring small. Over this past two weeks I could feel a dramatic growth in the baby and my belly so it was no surprise when she was very excited to say that my baby caught up to where he is supposed to be. I can feel it! I'm so happy he had a growth spurt and is now measuring average! His heartbeat is strong and his movements are good. We are getting really excited to meet wubbzy!

We're going to the Cirque!

Tonight the Wichita Symphony Orchestra is accompanying the cirque! We are so excited! I don't know exactly what to expect other than this isn't the circus. We have taken Paisley to a circus before and she loved it, so hopefully the cirque will be just as entertaining. It starts at her bed time, so she might just fall asleep if she gets too bored. We have some errands to run in Wichita before we head to the cirque and that is always fun, plus going to Wichita around dinner time means... OLIVE GARDEN! Yummmmm!!! I'm really looking forward to our fun Friday plans!

Next Month

Happy May Day!! I'm so excited for it to be May so that I can say I'M GOING TO HAVE A BABY NEXT MONTH! Yahoo! For me the time has gone by pretty slow, but others think it has flown by. I am so excited to bring this baby home and to NOT be pregnant anymore. Being pregnant isn't my favorite time. I'm so grateful that I can be pregnant, especially after the rough road we traveled down to get to this point, but having pregnancy end won't be too sad. I know a lot of people have the idea that the baby should stay in for as long as possible because once it comes out then life is over. No more sleeping, constantly nursing and such. Not me! Get the baby out! I can't sleep being this huge and pregnant so it won't be any different with the baby out. A nursing baby means the pounds get shed from your body a lot easier. I think even though it is hard to have a newborn, it is way better than being a giant pregnant lady!

I go to the doctor again next week so we will see if there is anything new to report. It isn't an internal exam or anything so I don't imagine anything too exciting should come from it. We keep praying that wubbzy is still healthy and growing.

My baby shower plans are coming together and I'm very excited!! It is going to be a casual girls night out type of thing with some yummy food! I think this will be perfect and appeal to more people than locking people down for an hour and half. I love the flexibility of this plan and hope all will join us! I will miss my friends and family that are too far to come. I'm grateful for my great, fun friends here that are putting this shower on for me! I feel so loved! :)