My Valentine

My honey bunny and I decided to celebrate Valentines Day last night, and apparently that qualifies us as cheaters, but let me tell you, if that is what we are to be called after having a night like last night, call me a cheater. It was amazing, and Friday the 13th is my new lucky day.

We got Olive Garden gift cards from my brother and sister in law for Christmas this year, but they said that we could also use them for Red Lobster. Neither Tyler nor I had ever been to Red Lobster before, but I was really craving some delicious Salmon. So we invited our friends, Clayton and Aubree, to go with us. Tyler didn't have to work yesterday, so we potentially could have gone to dinner earlier yesterday to try and beat the rush, but Clayton and Aubree couldn't meet us until 6:15, so I knew there was no way that we would get there before the rush. I was correct. We got there and there was a line out the door. We put our names on the very long list, after hearing that it was going to be an HOUR AND A HALF wait, but we were told that the wait would be worth it. They didn't even have any buzzers to give us to let us know that they were ready for us, and told us to come back in like 10 minutes to see if they had any buzzers. We had a better idea. Either we could leave and go walk around the mall while we waited, or all four of us (and Noah), could go get pedicures. We chose to go get pedicures! It was amazing to me how busy the place that we decided to go was, but they still had 4 wonderful massage pedicure chairs available for us. Noah sat on my lap the entire time just in awe of all of the things that were happening around him. He was worried when they emptied out the bath water for my feet, and was terrified of the fake hand that was displaying the different finger nail options available. What a wonderful idea that was to go get a pedicure while we waited.

We knew that it was meant to be when we returned to Red Lobster an HOUR AND A HALF later, and right when they walked in the door, we heard those 4 beautiful words immediately, "Tyler, party of 4." We knew right then and there that the stars had aligned and we were loved. We then enjoyed some amazing shrimp cocktail, salmon, and Tyler really enjoyed his lobster. Noah enjoyed throwing my napkin over the wall, coloring on the window with a crayon, and climbing under the table. But all of that was worth it because we knew that we were supposed to be there. It was also really fun watching Clayton and Aubree battle their 2 pounds of crab legs.

We then took our practically perfect night over to The Chocolate, and beautiful dessert place in Orem, and I enjoyed a fresh Snickerdoodle cookie and some ice cold milk, while Tyler and Noah shared a chocolate chip cookie covered with yummy vanilla ice cream cazookie! While we were there, we saw my good friend Kammie Morris's oldest brother Gary and his family there, so we got to chat with them for a few minutes! What a fun night!

It was a wonderful Valentines Day night, and probably one of the best I can remember. My sweetie pie also surprised me at school yesterday with a balloon frog that said "Kiss Me" and some lovely purple and white daisies! That is a funny story, because one of my coworkers asked me if Tyler would bring the traditional chocolate and flowers for me for Valentines Day, and I said, "No, Tyler knows that I am not a huge chocolate fan (especially while I am pregnant), and he knows that I feel like flowers just die." So I ate my words, and was so happily surprised when he showed up in my classroom, with my baby boy, and some beautiful flowers. Flowers really are so fun to get, even if they do die! Haha

For our actual Valentines Day, Tyler had to work. So Noah and I got to spend the whole day together. We ate cereal for breakfast, played with Playdough, cleaned the kitchen, did some laundry, took Daddy a special Valentines Day lunch from Zaxby's, went to Leatherby's with Tyler's family for lunch and ice cream, played at the park, and then met Tyler back at home only to leave right away again to go to the BYU basketball game! What a better way to show my hubby that I love him than to take him to the BYU basketball game. True love. That's what that is. We really have so much fun at the games, and I am glad that we can go to the games together and really, truly enjoy them and each others' company.

Sidenote: BYU basketball games are also another totally different story when I am pregnant. For several weeks during the middle of my pregnancies, which I experienced with Noah and with this baby, I have a period of emotional breakdowns that I cannot control. I am so grateful that I am not this way my entire pregnancy because 1) I would be so tired and 2) Tyler would want to murder me by the end of it. I posted a similar emotional experience when I was pregnant with Noah. I call it "My Library Story". If you want to go back and read that and laugh, feel free. But this "BYU Water Bottle Story" happened just a few short weeks ago, and I could tell that Tyler thought I was a crazy person. I bring my water bottle everywhere, even though I really am not even the best water drinker. I just want to have it with me "in case". So I brought my water bottle to the game, and apparently you are allowed to have your own water bottle, it just can't have anything in it when you bring it in. But feel free to fill it up in the entirely impossible water fountains that take hours to fill up a single water bottle once you get inside the doors. So needless to say, when we got to the doors, and the security guard told me that I wasn't allowed to have water in my water bottle, I had one of my emotional breakdowns. I was furious. Do these security guards know how ridiculously impossible it is to fill up a water bottle in a water fountain???!!! The water pressure keeps changing, so I end up getting more water outside the water bottle and all over myself, than I actually get inside the water bottle. And you can NEVER get the whole thing filled up. So frustrating. Then I ended up yelling at Tyler, and then having to explain to him afterwards why I am so crazy. I also ended up crying for the entire first half of the basketball game. Don't worry, I got over myself, and now I just hide my filled water bottle inside my jacket before going into the game, haha.

One other reason why it is probably not a good idea for me to go to BYU basketball games during this time, is because just hearing the BYU fight song sends me into a fit of tears. I start feeling the loyalty of all the fans, and I just immediately tear up. There is also another part during the game where they start playing this loud song that says "We determine this", and that is another part of the game that gets me every time. It's truly ridiculous. Tyler just laughs now. And luckily, I think I am finally to the point where I am getting over that emotional part of pregnancy, thank goodness.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

PS. Every time I would tell Noah "Happy Valentines Day Noah, I love you", he would say, "No Happy Valentines Day Mom, No me love you." So special.

My Valentines :)

i NEED one!!!

When I was pregnant with Noah, I had a rotation of monthly cravings, which I am pretty sure I wrote about when I announced on my blog that I was pregnant with him. They were generally pretty healthy and not too "out there" cravings. Tyler never had to go out of his way to go get me something in the middle of the night, and it has been pretty much the same with this pregnancy so far.

Week 7 was my sickest week with this one, where I could hardly eat anything, and that is when I am pretty sure most of my coworkers put 2 and 2 together. Usually for lunch I will bring the leftovers of whatever we had for dinner the night before, but this particular week, all I could handle was Wheat Thin crackers with cottage cheese and if I was lucky, a cutie orange. That was all I ate for I would say, probably 2 weeks straight. Needless to say, I lost weight at the beginning of this pregnancy just like I did with Noah.

I went through another bagel and cream cheese phase.

One week all I wanted was kiwi.

Apples have been a staple food since about Week 12.

From Week 15 I have wanted oranges.

I always want cereal. Always. It was the same way with Noah. I could live off of cereal. Even when I am not pregnant. Rice Chex, Multigrain cheerios, Life, Special K with red berries, and then there's Honey Grahams...those are the cereals I could eat all the time, all day, everyday.

For the past two weeks for lunch, all I have wanted to eat for lunch is this amazing recipe that I got from my friend Nicole. We make it in the crockpot on Sunday, and then I eat it for lunch all week long and never get tired of it. Mango salsa chicken. Yum! Let me tell you what it is: 5 chicken breasts and half a container of mango peach salsa cooked together in the crockpot, piled on a tortilla with rice, black beans, and avocado. Those ingredients together are heaven! I think that's what we will make for every Sunday dinner until the end of time.

And finally, the only horribly sweet thing that I have been craving only recently, I can't even have. It is driving me crazy. The Smores' Blizzard from Dairy Queen. It is a seasonal summer treat at Dairy Queen, and they don't even have the ingredients except for in the summer. I told Tyler that I needed it the other day even though I knew what the outcome would be, so we went, I told the workers what I needed, and they said, "Well we have some things that might be similar, but it definitely won't be the same." I was willing to try anything. So they mixed together marshmallow fluff, pie crust, and chocolate shavings. It was awful. It made me so sad. I had to come to the realization that I will not get this wondrous treat until the summer time. Devastating.

Noah's Prayer

We started reading scriptures and saying prayers as a family a couple weeks ago, and my favorite prayer was said tonight. Not that it was a lot different than the other prayers Noah says, but it was just a very real version of what this child of mine is like. I love him dearly, and he makes me laugh, but he can be so sweet too. It is kind of amazing where his mind can take him. Enjoy.

Tyler: Dear Heavenly Father,
Noah: Dear Hev Fawder,

Tyler: Thank you for this day,
Noah: Thank you for day,

Tyler: Thank you for cousins,
Noah: Thank you cousins,

Tyler: Thank you for Jennie,
Noah: Thank you Jennie, Broc, Ella, Druie, Cloe!

Tyler: Thank you for Mommy,
Noah: Thank you Mommy, Daddy, Me!

Tyler: Thank you for baby,
Noah: Thank you for 2 babies,

Tyler: Bless us to feel Thy love,
Noah: Dad! What me say?!

Tyler: Say, Bless us to feel Thy love,
Noah: Dad! What me say?!

Tyler: Say, Thank you for Jesus,
Noah: Me need drink water!

Me: Noah, come say the prayer with Dad.

Tyler: Say, Bless us to feel Thy love,
Noah: Dad! What me say?!

Me: Noah, what do you want to say?
Tyler: Noah, say what you want to say.
Noah: Dad! What me say?!

Tyler: Say, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Noah: Name Jesus Christ, men!

Sometimes he growls the whole prayer, sometimes we can't get him to hold still, and sometimes he can get through the whole prayer with zero distractions. But I can just imagine that these are the beginnings of some quality family experiences that we will cherish forever. Heavenly Father is happy with our efforts, even if they are just comical sometimes, but at least we are trying!

Side Note: Noah went pee in the toilet today! He and Tyler stood up afterwards and said "Hooray!"

Noah also started calling me Bawbaw today, and the past couple days he has been calling me Mawmaw instead of Mom, and Tyler Dada instead of Dad. Such an interesting boy sometimes.

Fall 2014 to Winter 2015

I really love to wait 6 months to update my blog, because so much can happen in that amount of time. And let me tell you, so much has happened...

First of all, school has been interesting this year. I said that I was really excited for my 5th year of teaching, because I felt like it was going to be a lucky year. I don't exactly know if lucky is how I would describe this year, or my class for that matter. Yes, I dearly love them deep down in my heart, but this year has been very interesting so far. I started the year with about 20 students if I remember correctly, but my classroom has seriously got a revolving door on it or something. I have had 3 students move out of my room, and 6 students move in. I was up to 24 students, but now I am at 23, which is still an awesome class size, but having students come and go is super tricky. I have also got a serious variety of personalities this year. I have "Miss Chatty Kathy", who I absolutely adore, but I may or may not have ears by the end of the year because she could potentially talk them right off. I have 2 students who should not live in the same country as each other, let alone be in the same class together and coincidentally, attend the same daycare after school together. They hate each other, and fight constantly, so to say that it's easy to get along with them is somewhere where I won't even go. One of those children has seriously given me a run for my money. On the first day of school, this student used scissors to cut the other wonderful child's shirt because he was doing something that she didn't like. And what makes it even better, is that she doesn't feel like she did anything wrong. I can't even tell you how many times I have tried to explain to her that throughout life there are going to be people that we do not like, but we still have to be respectful to them. I have talked to her about how nobody is perfect, and she has made it clear that she feels as though she is an exception to that rule. Needless to say, I am having a really difficult time relating to her or getting through to her about anything, because I don't understand her, and she obviously doesn't understand me. On the other hand, I have some amazing students who I absolutely love and want to take home with me. My class really does care about one another, and they care about me. We have a lot of fun together and are learning some really fun things together this year. Each class I have had has given me such a different experience and I really am grateful to be in a profession where I get to work with children, even if there are some really challenging days. I love kids. They are amazing people.

Second of all, my baby had another birthday!! And now he is almost 2 1/2! He loved singing "Happy To You", and still loves singing "Happy To You" to everyone who has a birthday! He has grown up so much even from his birthday though, and is such an amazing little person. I truly didn't know how full my heart could be until I had a baby, and now my baby is learning and growing and taking on so many amazing qualities. One of my favorite things he says on a pretty consistent basis now is first thing in the morning, he will come in our room, climb on our bed, and say, "Mom, me have cake please after yunch (lunch)". Replace cookie, or bar (granola bars), or fruit nacks (snacks), instead of cake, and you have got this boys favorite foods. He really is such a good eater though, but he has got himself a serious sweet tooth. Just like his daddy, ok, and his mom too. He also still really loves playing the pad (iPad), but we have really tried to limit his time on it to when I am getting ready for work in the morning for a few minutes, and for a little while before we start our bedtime routine. He still loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but he has also started to love Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Bo on the Go. I love tv too though, and he really is so active during the day, that I still feel like he gets a good balance of screen time, and play time. Some other funny things that he says is when he decides that saying Mom and Dad is too long and just calls us MomDad, he loves basketball and calls his basketball hoop a basketball shoot. He is a serious climber and loves to see what we are doing on the counter at all times when we are in the kitchen, and so he will go get one of his many dools (stools) to watch us cook in the kitchen (or if he wants to sneakily try and get cookies off the counter). He loves cheering for the BYU Cougars and recognizes when we are near the BYU stadium and can also point out the "Y" on the mountain from anywhere in Provo. He loves to sing songs and can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all by himself, but it goes something more like "Twinkle Yittle Dar, How Wonder You Are, Up Bove World So High, Yike Diamond in Guy", he loves MomDad to sing "The Bear Song", "5 Green and Speckled Frogs", "Wheels on the Bus", "Patty Cake", and of course "I am a child of God". He is also really funny when he finds something in our house that he thinks he is sneaky about getting, and he will come in the living room with it in a sing song voice holding it out in front of himself singing, "Nah nah nah nah". He has shown a little bit of interest in potty training, and I swore that I would wait to even try to potty train him until he was ready because I would much rather change a diaper that underwear, pants, sheets and blankets. He knows that we go poop in the toilet, but he still hasn't success when we have had him try to go on the toilet. He will still go and hide in the kitchen, do his business, and then come back in the living room and say, "MomDad, me poopded!" very excitedly. So we are still kind of working with him on that, but we are doing it at his pace, and I believe when he is ready, it will happen. Heloves to read books, and some of his favorites right now are, "If you give a Moose a Muffin", "Brown Bear Brown Bear", " Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb", "Green Eggs and Ham", and this awesome book that my coworker Kristin got us for Christmas about a yellow dot. It's super interactive and I am going to look for more books like it because it has him poke the dot and shake the book, and blow on the book, and different things happen to the yellow dot and he thinks it's hilarious. We have also started to read scriptures with Noah before we go to bed, and having him read along with us and repeat what we are saying has been a really fun experience. He is a pro at saying his prayers, and hopefully we will all just get better and better with time. Noah is also excited to be a big brother this summer!!!

Third of all, I am pregnant!! I am currently 21 weeks along and feeling awesome. I knew I was pregnant this fall after a drive we took up Provo Canyon. One night we just needed to get out of the house, and Tyler suggested we go to Swig and get sugar cookies, and then take a drive up the canyon. What gave it away was that those cookies sounded disgusting to me, when normally I can down one in seconds flat, and I got super nauseous driving up the canyon, which was very unusual. I didn't know if it was because it was dark outside, or if I just wasn't feeling good, but I had my suspicions. It was confirmed by my at home test in October, and we are more than excited to add another person to our family! This pregnancy has been a little bit different from my pregnancy with Noah. I was nauseous with him until 18 weeks, and I think I have concluded that it was all because of the prenatal vitamin that I was taking, because I started taking that same vitamin with this one, and was equally as nauseous as last time, and so I asked my doctor if there was a different one, and so I started taking one without iron in it, and it turns out that iron is what was making me extra sick. So once I switched my vitamin around 10 weeks, I haven't been sick since. That has been wonderful. I started feeling kicks around 16 weeks, and what made it even more fun was that Tyler was able to feel a kick that week too. From that point, this wiggle worm hasn't stopped moving. I pretty much just barely started showing at 20 weeks, which helps make it feel more real also. I am super excited though. We still don't know the gender though. Whenever we ask Noah if he wants a baby girl or a baby boy, he says a baby girl though, so maybe he knows something we don't know. He also finally will acknowledge when we ask him where the baby is, he will say with great inflection in his voice, "In mom's tummy tummy tummy!"While my mom was here for Christmas, we had my 16 week appointment, and they said we could do an ultrasound because they said that we might be able to find out at that appointment, but all my doctor said was that he couldn't see any boy parts, but that didn't mean anything because depending on the positioning of the baby and the umbilical chord, the "parts" could be hiding. At my 20 week appointment, it was the same news. Noah was very proud of his "parts" during his ultrasound though, but maybe this baby is just being shy or something. So we still don't know, but I am really glad my doctor is staying more on the cautious side rather than saying oh yes, it's a girl because I don't see any boy parts, because I think it would be very emotionally hard for me for him to tell me one thing, and then when the baby is born, it turns out he was wrong. So even if we have to wait until the baby is born to find out the gender, I would prefer that over he tell me and not be 100% sure. I am glad that everything seems to be going really well though, and I am even more excited that I will be able to spend the whole summer with my babies. We have to find a new babysitter though for next school year because Jennie is moving to Canada! So that's another thing to add to my fun list of things that give me anxiety!

From August to February, here are some fun things we've done:

-Celebrated Noah's 2nd birthday
-Gone to the Curiosity Museum
-Had a yard sale and made $80!
-Grown and eaten squash
-Canned fresh peaches
-Gone to BYU football and basketball games
-Found out we are pregnant!
-Celebrated with Melissa at her baby shower
-Played at Cornbelly's for Halloween
-Taken new family pictures
-Won lots of tickets at Nickel City
-Gone to visit family in Green River for Thanksgiving
-Had family come visit us from Green River
-Learn that Scheel's is awesome
-Put up our Christmas tree at our house finally!
-Have family come stay with us for Christmas
       *And learn that marshmallow kisses are so fun to give and receive
       *This is also the Christmas we will remember as the Christmas with the flu
-Play out in the snow and build  "no men" (snowmen) and make "no angels" (snow angels)
-Play basketball
-Have more family come visit from Green River this weekend
-Sell our big oversized chair and purchase an awesome new recliner and a cute dresser
-Play with lots of toys from Christmas

We have many more fun things to come, but I thought that I needed to update this blog so that I wasn't so far behind. I am excited, and hopefully we can have a good rest of the school year, so that we can have an unforgettable summer.

Ending the summer right with a popsicle.

The sweet tooth king with a birthday sucker from Brick Oven!

Eating birthday cake

Enjoying his playing outside..as you can see, he is always on the move.

Our $80 earnings from our awesome yard sale!

Playing with water toys at the Curiosity Museum.

I love this thinking face, "Where is the water Dad?"

Homegrown squash and canned peaches! Yum!

Having fun at the BYU football game.

I love this picture of Dad and Noah cheering.

Sometimes it's fun to play with toys without your diaper on...

He is so talented.

Reading in our freshly cleaned living room.

Sometimes you just fall asleep.

Fun at Melishka's baby shower. I love my friends!

He loves his "gooter" (scooter)

Playing on all the fun things at Cornbelly's this fall.

Refusing to let me get a picture with him standing in front of the corn.

Where's Tyler?

This kid has figured out what many people haven't figured out about this game. Stand on it! Duh!

Winning big money at Nickel City!

Some of our amazing family pictures from the Fall.

My cute little Lion with his pumpkins, and my cute class dressed up for Halloween.

Noah really loves all of our rugs and decided to do a photo shoot featuring them.

This is the only picture that I got of Thanksgiving at my Dad's house, but bear loved Tyler. haha

So sweet looking at Grandma and Grandpa Keil's little Christmas tree.

I still love how he sleeps with his arms behind his head.

We loved being able to put our Christmas tree up in our house this year.

We went "bowling ball" with Papa.

We loved getting to see Grama and Papa before Christmas.

Finally a better picture with Grandma Marilyn.

Noah loves Mickey and Minnie but didn't really love them up close.

15 weeks

At Melly Belly's 26th birthday bash, sorry Mel, we didn't even get a picture with you.

Spending quality time with Mamaw and Bapaw over Christmas break.

Cute Boza on the couch.

Marshmallow kisses! 

Christmas jammies!

Playing his kazoo, flute, and drums with Daddy, from Grandma and Grandpa Keil.

So many new toys for Christmas.

Playing in the snow with Mamaw.

She is really not as nice as she looks. She throws a mean snow ball.

Having so much fun in the snow!

Eating snow for the first time and loving it!

Laying on dad in bed.

18 weeks!

Man I love my boys!

Fireman hat, no pants...the perfect combination to make the perfect shot.

Celebrating good friend Landon's 2nd birthday with a blue cupcake!

So handsome and ready for church!

Yummy waffles on a Saturday morning with strawberries and blueberries and cream!

20 weeks!

So comfy.

Having fun with Jennie and Ella.

Wearing a hot pad mit and playing baseball.

Building and tower out of the foam pit blocks.

Our new chair that is coming next Saturday!

Dad and Noah having fun at the BYU basketball game. Probably eating popcorn of course.

This is how we decided we wanted to pray last night.

He loves playing with his train.