Jeff, Nat

We moved

2010-05-17T12:17:00.001-04:00

As usual it’s been a while since I last posted. I do have a good reason though. We moved. Yes, we finally moved out of my parent’s house. Jeff got a job in Herriman and the drive was a killer to get to work everyday. We are renting a new apartment just a few minutes away from his work so it is perfect. It is nice to be on our own. This is the first time we have rented a place and I’m enjoying it. Our place should have the pool ready in the next month and I think McCoy and I may live there this summer. Herriman is a fun place. There are a lot of shopping and restaurants around so we aren’t too far from everything. However, we are really far out west so it takes a while to get here from the freeway. McCoy is adjusting fine and really enjoys having a big room to play in with his toys. I have quite a few pictures on my mom’s camera so I don’t have many to post here.

A few of the recent happenings:

We bought zoo passes and we’re so excited to use them often this summer.

Jeff turned 30. We had a big surprise party for him.

McCoy is learning new words all the time. Ball and car are said often and he knows many animal sounds.

Lots of unpacking and putting away things.

So that is about it. I hope to post some pictures soon.

Silly McCoy!

2010-03-15T00:54:00.001-04:00

He was caught sneaking food to the dog.

I just wanted to jot down a few things that McCoy is doing lately that I love.

He is so snuggly right now. He gives lots of loves every day.

When he hears people upstairs or hears things outside he will stop, say “uh” and put his hand behind his ear. He then likes to point to where the sound is coming from.

When I get him out of his crib in the morning he has to make sure he has his binkie and his blankie. He then points to his lamp because I guess it has to be turned on.

When asked to dance he will stomp his feet some and then start spinning in circles. Of course this then causes him to be dizzy and he and I laugh as he stumbles around.

My favorite thing has to be when he thinks something is really funny he will cover his mouth with one or both hands and laugh. It is so cute!

As he watches his favorite shows, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny he will answer their questions. I love it.

He has to hide when he poops. If I look at him while he is pooping he has to run to another room and hide. I think this is funny.

When something falls of something sad happens he says “oh” in a really sad voice. I guess “uh” of uh oh isn’t important enough to include.

He is even more obsessed with cars than he was before. He is still obsessed with kicking the soccer ball to Bompa and throwing the football to anyone who will play with him.

His animal sounds include, tiger, monkey, elephant, snake and cow. Dog use to be included in the list but for some reason he no longer will tell us what a dog says.

He pretends he is sleeping. His Bompa showed him how to lay down and fake snore. He loves climbing in an unmade bed, pulling the covers over himself and pretending to sleep.

Months ago Jeff showed McCoy how to say more in sign language. He didn’t really care about it. I guess now he has decided that he wants to be able to communicate a little more with us so he has started to sign more.

He will grab you by your pinkie finger and take you where he wants you to go. Jeff thinks this is fun, I however think that after being taken places 100 times a day, it is frustrating.

Those are the few that Jeff and I can think of right now. I’m sorry to talk so much about what I love about my boy but I can’t help it. I need to write it down so I don’t forget and really I just love him.

Better Late Than Never

2010-03-15T00:13:00.001-04:00

I know it has been a long time since I last posted. Really I don’t have an excuse as to why I haven’t taken the time to post. I guess I just haven’t wanted to. So I will do a little catching up and then just try to be better at keeping up on the blog. So look below for what we have been up to in the last 4 months.

Halloween was more fun this year with a toddler. Since McCoy has been walking for so long we thought it would be fun to take him trick-or-treating with his cousin Brody. He lasted for a little while but thought that we were suppose to go inside everyone’s homes when they opened the door. I guess that is what you get with a one-year-old. He made a really cute spider though.

October brought on another first for McCoy. His first haircut. He had a lot more hair than I thought he did. Because his hair is so blond I guess I didn’t realize how long it had gotten. This was his first real haircut. We had trimmed his wings a few times and the top of his head.

Thanksgiving was at the McGuire home this year. It was fun to have Kris and her family stay with us for a while. McCoy enjoyed having his cousins around all weekend.

Christmas was very exciting this year with a little one. Santa had left some very exciting gifts for McCoy. He woke up to find a rocking horse and a 4-wheeler, just his size. He played for a long time on the horse and then spent a short time on the 4-wheeler. Every gift from then on was very exciting to unwrap and had to be opened immediately to enjoy. Once he got to the basketball hoop, he was done opening presents. That toy held all of his attention for the rest of the morning.

Making silly faces with Daddy:)

Watching shows with cousins

Relaxing in the morning with the dog, some snacks and a can of soup. I’m not sure why that is there.

I know that isn’t much of an update and some of the pictures are blurry but that is it. It is a small excerpt of the happenings in our family for the last few months. Now on to the fun things.

McCoy’s Birthday Pictures

2009-10-29T01:01:00.001-04:00

I have been slowly working on that last post for weeks now. I’m pretty lame for not posting it earlier. McCoy keeps me so busy I rarely get around to posting.

Anyway, here are the pictures from his 1st birthday party.

He had his 12 month well check on Monday. He is 30 1/2 inches tall (70th percentile), 21 1/2 lbs (25th) and his head circumference is 18.5 inches. Still tall and skinny. The way this kid moves I’m not at all surprised that he is skinny.

McCoy is 1!!!

2009-10-29T00:24:00.000-04:00

My baby turned 1! I still can't believe that a year has gone by since this little man joined our family. I think back to a year ago and it all seems so surreal. It is so strange to think that this crazy boy who runs and runs was once so small. This last year has had a lot of trials and has included many lessons in parenthood. It has also brought so much joy and love. I always thought it was silly that people said they couldn't remember life without their children. I can remember life without McCoy, I just can't imagine life without him. He has helped turn Jeff and me into a family. He is constantly making us laugh and keeping us entertained.

He is still in a lovey stage. He likes to give many “loves.” His favorite people to give “loves” to are his new cousins, the triplets. It is the best!
He understands so much right now. When he hears the door to the garage close he knows that someone is home and goes running. If you ask him to take something to Mama, Dada, Grandpa, Grandma, JuJu, Bracken or Doggie he knows who I am talking about and does exactly that. When I ask him if he is ready for his bath each night he says yeah and either runs to my parents bath tub or to the bath tub downstairs. I will ask him if he is ready for breakfast or lunch and he will run to the high chair.
His new football is his favorite toy. This is thanks to Uncle Bracken. He will throw the football, more like spike it, then go get it and do it all over again.
When his Grandpa McGuire gets home from work, first thing he does is grab the Sponge Bob baseball and throw it to Grandpa. They enjoy playing catch.
He now says “yeah.” I love it! I ask him questions all day just to hear him say yeah.
He also knows what a cow says. This is thanks to Aunt JuJu and Dada. He loves to hear us say “moo” and then he will repeat it. Not only does he say moo but he tilts his heaad up and says it. It is cute!
He thinks he is so funny! I love to hear his fake laugh when he thinks he is being funny.
He prefers to eat things like bananas and rolls by biting them. He does not want me to cut them into pieces.
If we are sitting on the floor he likes to sit on our laps. He will stand in front of us, turn around, back up and sit down. Then stand up and do it all over again.
When he wakes up he has to throw all of his stuffed animals out of the crib. Then when I come in he wants me to put them back in his crib so he can throw them out again.
He has to point to everything now. This started when we went to the store and he was amazed by all of the Halloween things. He points with such authority, throwing his arm out as he points.
He dances by sticking his bum out and bouncing up and down.

Those are just a few of some fun things he is doing. We love him so much! We had a fun jungle themed birthday party for our little monkey. He dug into the cake just like we had hoped. I even had to bathe him after because he was so messy. Of course he couldn’t sit still to open all of his presents so I had some little helpers do it for him. Everyone was so gracious with the gifts. He was definitely ready for a nap after the party. We are so lucky to have such a happy boy and can’t wait to see what happens during the next year!

Triplets

2009-08-24T18:27:00.005-04:00

Molly, Hunter and Maddie

Julianne and Bracken's triplets were born on July 28th. The decision to induce Ju was a quick one with many reasons that it had to be done that day. For the whole story go here. I was able to make it to the hospital just before they took her back to get her ready for her c-section. Hunter was born at 11:40 am weighing 3 lbs 10 oz. Madison was born at 11:41 am weighing 3 lbs 8 oz. Molly was born at 11:42 am weighing 2 lbs 15 oz. I was able to stay for a while after the surgery and was even able to go in and see the beauties in the NICU. These babies have been fighters from day one. Miss Molly, the littlest decided about a half hour after she had her CPAP put in that she didn't want any tubes in her nose so she pulled it out. She was completely fine. Her siblings followed just a few hours later. They all handled there tube feedings well and were quickly changed to bottle feeding. Poor Julianne had a rough recovery in the hospital but was able to come home a week after she was first admitted.

To our surprise the babies were only in the hospital for 3 weeks. They were born at 31 weeks, 2 days and were expected to be in the hospital for a while but just did amazing. They had no reason to keep them there so the sent them home. They have been home almost a week and I have been able to go help out or see them every day. They are so beautiful. As you can see by the pictures. I went with Ju and Bracken to the doctor's appointment last Thursday. All of the babies had gained at least 3 oz in 2 days. Hunter- 4 lbs 7 oz, Maddie- 4 lbs 2 oz, and Molly- 3 lbs 12 oz.

We are all so excited to have 3 new babies in the family. I feel so lucky to be able to help out so much and watch them change and grow. Love you babies!

Hunter

Maddie

Molly

July

2009-08-21T00:04:00.006-04:00

I know that it is almost the end of August but I needed to post some pictures of the happenings during July.

First of all, the 4th of July. We enjoyed the best parade ever, the Kaysville City Parade. Bracken and Jeff went the night before and picked the greatest spot to save. The weather was perfect. We had chairs for everyone and even had a canopy to shade us. I think we'll have to go with that set up next year. We went with my parents, Ju and Bracken. Bracken and Jeff were on the candy committee, I was on baby duty and Ju was on growing babies duty. McCoy loved the parade and clapped the entire time. He hadn't clapped in a long time and since the parade he hasn't stopped. He thinks he is so funny. We rested then had a barbecue and did a few fireworks.

The Set Up

He had fallen asleep on the way there

Just relaxing and enjoying the show

Matching outfits for McCoy and Gavin, Jeff picked them out!

We were lucky enough to have Billy, Jacee, Kenslee and Cade come stay with us for a while. We enjoyed time with cousins and just hanging out.

Peter, Kenslee and Emma enjoying some cookies

Brody enjoying his cookie on the other side of the kid's table.

All the kids wanted to get in the little kid pool

Sir was ornery most of the time so I had to get one of him smiling

We had dinner at my parent's on the 24th with Billy & Jacee's family, Bobby & Erica's family and Bracken & Ju. We did a few fireworks. It was a fun day but ended up being a long one for the kids.

Pops, always fun!

The McGuire's, enjoying the fireworks

Stinker walking over to Aunt Ju Ju

Laughing with Aunt Ju Ju and Harley

Oh and I don't want to forget one of the most exciting things to happen. McCoy started walking. He had taken a few steps here and there but he decided that it was finally time to walk full time. He has now been walking for about a month. He no longer walks, he runs everywhere. My dad calls him the Energizer Bunny because when he is awake he never stops walking. He will pick up a toy and walk around with it for a while, then pick up a different one and continue on.

Then something big happened on July 28th, but I'll leave that for the next post....

10 Months Old!

2009-08-06T00:19:00.003-04:00

Today my baby is 10 months old! In no time he will be a year old. I can't believe how fast time goes! Here are a few things that I love about him right now.

He gives lots of loves right now. He still doesn't snuggle much. There is a difference. He likes to nuzzle his head into your neck when you first pick him up or hold him. It is sweet.

He loves blankets and pillows. Basically if there is anything soft on the floor he likes to go lay down on it. There is a pile of blankets sitting by our chair and he will take breaks between playing with toys to go lay down on the blankets.

He loves his blanket. He knows there is a difference between any blanket and HIS blanket. He will grab it and snuggle it into his face. I love it!

He can walk. Now, I love it and it has been hard for me to deal with. He has been walking, not crawling at all, for 3 weeks. He is too little to be walking. He is really good at it though. Sometimes his upper body wants to go faster than his little legs so he has to catch up. It is cute. I'll have to get it on video and post it here. It is hard because he gets places a lot faster.

He is constantly taking the towels off of the oven. It is a pain because we have to change the towels a lot more but I think it is so cute. He will wander off and come around the corner holding 2 towels in his hands.

He loves to throw balls. All of you that have boys know how exciting it is when they learn how to do boy things.

He is a clapper. Any time you say "Yay", or "clap", or if he hears someone clapping, even on the tv he will start to clap. I love it.

He says Mama all the time. How can I not love that!

He has a coy little look. When he first sees someone, even his aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas, he will turn his head into the person that is holding him and look at the other person from the corner of his eyes. It is so cute.
If mommy is mean he starts crying for Nana. This is my mom. I guess that is what Grandma's are for.
He has quite a bit of hair now but you can't really tell. He is a blondie like his dad was. Although his dad didn't have hair until he was about 1 1/2.
He thinks he is bigger than he really is. He likes to follow around his older cousins and copy them. We got him one of those red and yellow cars that kids can ride around in or use their legs to move around. He know how to open the door, climb in, close the door, then open it and climb out, one leg at a time. It is so cute.

Of course I could go on an on about things I love but I will leave it at that.

Happy 10 month birthday McCoy!

First Father's Day!

2009-06-26T01:08:00.003-04:00

This was Jeff's first Father's Day. I didn't want to forget to let him know how much I appreciate all he does for me and for McCoy. He is a great dad. You know, the type that every kid loves to have because he is loads of fun. That is Jeff. McCoy just adores him and loves to play with him. Jeff teaches McCoy so many fun things. I think McCoy copies Jeff because he wants to be just like his dad. One of my favorite things that Jeff and McCoy do together is chase each other. Jeff will say, "I'm gonna get you," and McCoy will giggle and start to crawl away as fast as possible. He will then turn around to see if Jeff is still coming then quickly turn back to continue crawling, often times he ends up falling because he is too excited. Jeff will then get him and tickle him. I love it! Sometimes when I'm in another room Jeff will get McCoy to follow him down the hall to surprise me. It is fun. I always knew Jeff would be a great dad by the way that he interacts with his nieces and nephews. I know he and McCoy will be best buddies forever and I couldn't ask for more. Today while McCoy was napping I decided to go lay down. Soon after McCoy started crying. Jeff went in to get him back to sleep, the crying indicates that the nap was not long enough. I didn't hear McCoy anymore until just before I woke up. I came out to see the boys playing and asked Jeff how long McCoy slept and how he kept McCoy quiet while I napped. He said that he pulled McCoy out of his crib and put his blanket over him. He then came and sat on the couch to see if he could get McCoy back to sleep. He snuggled him while he was watching tv. About every other minute Jeff would look down and McCoy would just be smiling up at him. Then McCoy fell back to sleep but Jeff was having so much fun snuggling that he just held McCoy for the rest of his nap. I love to hear that! He is a great father! I know he and McCoy will be best buddies forever and I couldn't ask for more.

Oh and don't you love his new glasses. He has needed them for about 8 years now. He should have gotten them sooner because wow, he is SEXY!

Blogger catch-up

2009-06-26T00:07:00.006-04:00

For Mother's Day Jeff bought me a new digital camera. I am so excited about it! I had wanted a smaller one so that it was easier to carry around. I love it! It is a Nikon Coolpix S230 and it is purple. It has gotten lots of use so far. Here are a few of the things I have captured on film. (Sorry, it will be a long post!)

McCoy went swimming for his first time. Okay this isn't his first time swimming because I didn't have my camera yet but this is his second time. He LOVES swimming! I should have guessed it though, he loves his baths.

We have had fun sitting outside on the grass. We just put McCoy on the grass on his tummy to see what he would do. Obviously he doesn't really love grass but since this he has gotten use to it more.

We played with cousins.

Had a baby shower.

Decided to low ride our pants.

Show off the cheesy grin and McCoy's 2 bottom teeth.

Learn how to clap.

Play in our fun swimming pool (Thanks McCoy Family) while the dog played with the hose.

Slept like an angel.

I don't have a picture of this but McCoy also learned how to stand on his own. He is still a little wobbly but he is determined to walk soon. He can stand on his own for a long time and basically stands all day long. I love my little wiggle worm!

Last of all we ended up going down to St. George this last weekend to pick up the last of our items. We ended up finding a better deal through U-Haul if we picked up the truck in Layton and returned it to Layton. The only problem was that the truck just had 2 bucket seats. I was nervous about driving down to St. George alone so we called Jeff's sister, Lisa to see if she and her family would like to go with us. Lisa and her 3 kids, Carly, Chandler and Weston, left at 4:00 on Friday with McCoy and me. Thank goodness for the kids, they really kept McCoy entertained. With one stop in Beaver we ended up making it to the condo at 9:30. Jeff and Mike left at 7:30 and made it down to the condo around 12:30. We were able to surprise our friend Brian and introduce him to McCoy. The kids did lots of swimming and I did some shopping. We had dinner with family at a mexican restaurant and then went to Jeff's Mom's house for a bbq one night. On Saturday night we were able to go to Cruz McCoy's 2nd birthday party. It was so good to see some of our friends from St. George. Cruz loves construction equipment so that was the theme of his party and Brittney made the cutest front loader cake. Of course we stayed up too late every night. All I know is vacations with a baby are not that easy. The sleeping was difficult and the naps did not work too well. It was so fun though. McCoy was in heaven playing all day with his cousins and his fun aunt and uncle.

Happy 5th Anniversary!

2009-06-25T23:51:00.003-04:00

Wow we look so young and skinny!

On May 26th we celebrated our 5 year anniversary. What a wonderful 5 years it has been. We have had our good times and our hard times and have loved every second of it. Although 5 years doesn't seem like such a long time when thinking about eternity it is crazy to look back at all that we have done in that time. Our greatest accomplishment being our beautiful boy. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be married to such a wonderful man. I'm thankful for all that he is willing to do for me and our family. He has overlooked so many of my flaws and dealt with my craziness for 5 years I hope he can handle them for the next 50+ years. To celebrate our anniversary we did 2 of our favorite things. We went to dinner at Red Lobster, yummy seafood, and went to see a movie, Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian. We celebrated the day before so we could have a wonderful afternoon date while my parents watched McCoy for us. The next night on our actual anniversary we just spent a night at home watching a movie together after the baby went down for the night. It was a nice casual evening, just how we like it. Looking forward to next year!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

2009-06-25T23:25:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Jeff's 29th birthday on May 6th. Jeff doesn't usually like to go all out for his birthday so we had a nice day at home. He chose to have steak stroganoff (a McGuire family favorite!) for dinner. I then got him an ice cream cake roll from Baskin Robins. Seriously that is the only place I could find one and they are pricey. The sad part is that I ended up getting the wrong kind of ice cream in the cake. Next time I will just make it myself. I had ordered an exciting present for Jeff but because he checks our account constantly I had to wait to order it the night before his birthday. I got him an acoustic/electric guitar. We had quite the experience trying to get the guitar. The address change in Paypal didn't work and so it was shipped to our old house in St. George. At least 2 weeks later we had Jeff's mom, Bonnie, drive by to see if the person living there happened to get it delivered to the house. Lucky us it was just sitting there on the front porch. So this weekend we finally were able to pick up his guitar. I hope he had a great birthday.

The Last Few Weeks

2009-04-30T21:36:00.005-04:00

Here is what we have been up to lately...

A little April Fool's Day fun.

Easter Egg Hunting is exciting!

Mini Photo Session

Enjoying a day in the sun. (Don't worry we used sunscreen)

Helping Grandma. He loves laptops!

Just sitting there being a little charmer.

A Lot of This:

Starting to climb on things.

Most Recently This:

He has begun to pull himself up on to everything!

Needless to say we have had a lot of falls and a little crying. He still isn't up into a full crawl but has perfected the army crawl/scoot and can get anywhere VERY fast! I'll have to get the crawl on video. He pulls his feet up by his bum and pushes with his toes and pulls with his arms. He is also a professional at downward dog. Why is it that every child is interested in the dog's food and water? As soon as I put McCoy down upstairs he quickly makes his way to the tile and toward the kitchen to the dog's things. Poor dog probably starves from me picking up her things. I love the picture of McCoy with my mom. If there is a laptop on the floor he will find it. He, like most kids, loves the keyboard. So there is a lot of "helping" Grandma on the computer. It's a good thing he is so cute. I almost forgot his 6 month stats. He weighed 15 lbs 5oz, 25th percentile, length 27 inches, 75th percentile, and head circumference 17.5 inches, not sure what that is I think around 50th percentile. He is long and lean, just like his dad.

Another silly thing about McCoy is that he loves Glenn Beck. While eating dinner we will often put him in the exersaucer to play. My dad will usually be watching Glenn Beck during dinner. Sometimes McCoy will be whinny but as soon as he hears Glenn Beck's voice he calms down. I am not sure what it is about his voice but McCoy is only interested in him. It is hilarious to see.

While the weather has been nice lately Jeff has been able to get out and golf some. He has enjoyed going with friends and family. You can find Jeff, my dad, my brother Bob and my brother-in-law Bracken on the golf course almost every Saturday. He has also turned into McCoy's crawling toy. We call him Jungle Jeff because McCoy will just crawl all over him. Thank goodness for dads!

I have been spending most of my days chasing McCoy around. I have my hands full but it is the best! I also get to spend a lot of time with my mom and sisters which is also wonderful. Just this last Monday my mom and I were able to go with Julianne to her big ultrasound. The babies are growing great. She did find out a few weeks ago what she is having, two girls and a boy. After the appointment we went with Kris and Peter to lunch at Chili's. Monday morning Erica and Bob had their second baby, Gavin. So we all went to visit them in the hospital.

He's Mobile!

2009-04-04T10:15:00.004-04:00

McCoy has definitely been keeping me busy the last little while. The day after the last post I wrote he figured out how to scoot around. He decided it was time to be mobile. A few days after that he started an army crawl. He continues to just do the army crawl but man can he move. If he sees something across the room that he really wants, such as the laptop, he is over to it in seconds. While playing with his toys he likes to get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. I realize that it is just a matter of days maybe weeks before he is doing a real crawl on his hands and knees. Although this army crawl is definitely working for him so who knows, he may stick with it. He amazes me with his strength. He also loves to go up on his toes and hands and stick his bum way up in the air. It is crazy to see. So needless to say I spend a lot of my day chasing my boy or making sure that he has enough toys around to keep him happy. I love my crazy boy so much.

Another one of his favorite things to do right now is spit. He likes to stick his tongue out and blow air so his lips vibrate. He thinks it is funny. He also likes to scream when playing with his dad. Jeff will scream and McCoy will copy him. He is funny. The other night McCoy was in his bathtub and Jeff came in to play with him. Jeff would duck down and jump up and say "boo." When Jeff would duck down McCoy would stick his head up as high as he could and try to see Jeff over the side of the tub. It was hilarious. He does this often now.

Obviously we are greatly entertained by McCoy. As for other things, I'm still loving my short hair. It takes at least half the time to do my hair now than it use to. It is so nice to not have my hair laying on my back all the time and not up in a ponytail all day. Jeff has been up to the usual, work. He is sad to leave in the morning because McCoy is so fun, but he plays with McCoy all evening. Those two boys love each other SO much.

Tomorrow my baby turns 6 months old. I can't believe that! I'm still just amazed. It seems like so long ago that he was a newborn. My life couldn't be more blessed at this moment. To have a beautiful, healthy baby boy and so much family around to love him as much as I do has been wonderful! He has an appointment on Monday so I'll do a post then with his stats.

Baby Tag!

2009-03-18T00:48:00.019-04:00

I thought these questions were fun. It will be nice to look back and remember my first pregnancy!

1.Where were you when you first found out that you were pregnant? On a cruise ship

2.Who was with you? My entire family was on the cruise but it was just Jeff and me in the room

3.How did you find out that you were pregnant? Home pregnancy test, yes I took one on the cruise with me

4.What was your first reaction to finding out you were pregnant? Excited and a little scared

5.Who was the first person you told? Jeff of course!

6.Did you plan to get pregnant? Yes, that is why I took the pregnancy test with me.

7.Did you tell everyone else right away? No, I told my family but I let Jeff decide when to let his side know. We didn’t tell friends until 14 weeks.

8.Was everybody happy for you? Yes, we had been married for over 3 ½ years so everyone felt like it was time.

9.Did you go out and celebrate? Well I guess just being on a cruise was enough of a celebration right?

10.Did you want to find out the sex? Oh yes! I can’t wait for something like that. I needed to know what to look for when shopping, I didn’t want everything in yellow.

11.What was the sex? A boy!!

12.Did anyone throw you a baby shower? My mom, sisters, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. It was way fun! I also had a ward shower thrown by 2 friends in the ward a month after he was born.

13.Did you get any outfits at the baby shower that you just knew that you wouldn’t put on your baby? No, I guess everyone has really good taste.

14.How much weight did you gain? 35 lbs,

15.Did you lose all of the weight that you gained? Not yet. Hopefully soon!

16.Did you get any stretch marks? Yes! I got my first stretch mark at 14 weeks. I guess I don’t have stretchy skin. I’m covered in them. I even used the lotions and things and nothing helped.

17.What did you crave the most? In the beginning I wanted fruit, lots of fruit. It was February so it was impossible to find good fruit.

18.Did you crave anything crazy? I wanted Cheese Whiz and crackers. I couldn’t bring myself to buy any until the end.

19.Who or what got on your nerves? I’m not sure. I think that most everyone got my nerves at some point. I was hot all the time and I didn’t love that.

20.Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Morning sickness isn’t fun. No real complications during pregnancy thank goodness but I didn’t have a fun labor and delivery.

21.Where and when did you go into labor? I started having contractions on Saturday morning at home. I went with my mom to Target and Costco, where they got stronger. I ended up leaving for the hospital around 5:30.

22.Did your water break? My doctor broke it.

23.Who drove you to the hospital? My mom and dad. Jeff was trying to get things ready that day since I was going to be induced the next day. I wasn’t sure what they would decide to do so I let him stay to finish it.

24.Who was in the room when you gave birth? Jeff. I ended up going in for an emergency c-section so of course I had a few doctors and quite a few nurses.

25.Did you go early or late? 6 days late

26.How long were in labor for? Total since we arrived at the hospital 17 ½ hours until McCoy was born. Unfortunately I was still in my c-section for about 1 1/2 hours after that because of problems.

27.Did you have any drugs for the pain? Yes an epidural but it didn’t work the entire time.

28.Did you go natural or have a C-section? C-section

29.What was your first reaction after giving birth? I was so happy to have him out finally! I looked at him and couldn’t believe that I had carried this little one. About a half hour after Jeff took him to the nursery I fell asleep from the exhaustion.

30.How big was the baby? 7 lbs. 12 oz. 20 ½ in.

31.Did your husband cry? Not that I remember. He was so happy. I didn’t get to see him for more than 5 minutes after McCoy was born though.

32.What did you name the baby? McCoy Jeffrey Erickson

33.Does his name have any significant meaning? Of course Jeffrey after his dad. I love the name Jeffrey! McCoy happens to be our really good friend’s last name. We had mentioned the name as a joke but both of us fell in love with the name.

34.Did you have any visitors? Yes, my mom, dad, Ju Ju and Kris were at the hospital when I had McCoy, they got to hold him before me. Mel (Jeff’s dad) and Annette came a little later. In the next few days we had our friends KC, Sally and Maycee. Also my best friend Rebecca Delight. Jeff’s sister Lisa, her husband Mike, and their son Weston.

35.Did the baby have any complications? He was really stuck. When they went to get him out during the c-section they had to pull and push really hard. Poor kid had a horrible cone head. He has 2 large stork bites (red spots) on his head.

36.How old is your baby today? 5 ½ months. He is getting too big!

37.When is the next one coming? Not for a while. I don’t think I can handle another one too soon. McCoy is a ball of energy.

38.If you could would you do it all over again? Oh yes. As much as morning sickness sucks and as bad as my delivery was I would do it again. I’m just amazed by the love I feel for my little baby. It doesn’t hurt that I get to schedule my delivery the next time.

39.Tag five: I tag whoever wants to do this who has had a baby.

One Fun Week!

2009-03-12T23:37:00.006-04:00

Things have been quite fun around here the last week. First of all I got my hair cut on Wednesday. If you didn't know, or couldn't tell, I have been gradually cutting my hair shorter and shorter. Well I decided this time I was going to cut it shorter than my shoulders. Jeff has only seen my hair this short in pictures. I went to my wonderful hairdresser and told her how short I wanted it but did not know what style. (She also colored my hair darker, which I love and need because I have gray hairs!) I told her I wanted to keep my bangs but for her to just do whatever she thought would look good. Most of the time hair dressers love me because I'm not too picky and I often just tell them to choose how to do my hair. She did an awesome job! I don't know what others think of my hair but I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! Thanks Nikki!

Jeff plays on one of our ward basketball teams. (There are 2 in our ward.) They are playing awesome this year. They had a game today which they won putting them in to a spot for the final four teams in the region. We have only gone to see 2 games, I know we are bad but some have been really early. McCoy loves watching basketball on tv and loves it just as much in person. We are excited to go watch Jeff play on Saturday!

McCoy of course is changing daily. On Monday night he was playing on the floor on his stomach as usual and did a few push ups. Meaning he was up on his hands and his toes. By today he has started pushing up so high that he sticks his bum in the air. He wants to move forward so bad! He is really good at moving around in circles and can inch his way forward a little but that kid is dying to crawl. Tonight he started bending in his left leg while he was up on his toes. I'm afraid he may be crawling too soon. I'm excited to see his changes but as he becomes more mobile he doesn't want to be held or snuggled as much. He is also so wiggly while being held. When I was little I loved sitting on my dad's lap and he called me his "wallorer" because I couldn't hold still. I think McCoy is my little wallorer! We love his little personality. One of our favorite things is that when he sees you he gives this huge smile and pulls his hands up to his face because he is so excited. He can look away for 5 seconds, look back and smile at you just like it is the first time he has seen you in days. McCoy has also started to really notice Cede. He will just lay on his stomach and watch her play. He has started reaching out to her and petting her. Well it isn't really petting as much as grabbing or hitting but she doesn't mind either way. Harley, Julianne's dog, loves to play. She thinks that McCoy is laying on the ground trying to play with her. It is so cute!

Practicing his push ups

Starting to get mad because he wants to crawl

Checking out Cede

Cede giving him a kiss. I realize that some people are
probably freaking out about this but I won't let her kiss
him more than twice and really how am I going to keep
this from ever happening.

Getting in their starting postitions to play

Let's Go!

(Sorry for the picture overload. I couldn't help it. He was just too cute today!)

So Much Going On!

2009-02-24T17:55:00.006-05:00

Rolled over while holding the blanket. He thinks he is funny.

Wow, I haven't posted in a month. Things have been quite crazy around here but I'll try to catch everyone up on what has been going on with our family. McCoy has his 4 month well check on February 6th. He weighed in at 13 lbs 12 oz, was 24 1/2 inches tall and his head circumference was 16 1/2 inches. He is just growing like a weed. About a week or so before his appointment he learned how to roll over. He learned how to roll from his stomach to his back one day, mostly just because he wasn't too excited about being on his stomach. I wasn't very good with tummy time, I always gave in. The very next day he taught himself how to roll from his back to his stomach. He only did it once that day but the next day we couldn't keep him from being on his stomach. He was like a rolling maniac, which he still is. He enjoys being on his stomach so much that he gets mad when his neck gets tired and he should roll onto his back. He is still smiley as can be. It doesn't even matter if you are smiling at him, he will smile at you.

My snuggly boy

McCoy has also been very interested in our food. He will sit and watch the fork move from the plate to our mouth. So about a week ago we decided to try t feed him rice cereal. My sister Kris said that we would know if he was ready for it. He certainly was ready for it. He loves rice cereal. So we have been feeding it to him twice a day.

First bites
(You can see his fuzzy hair lit up by the sunlight, he is getting more every day)

He would get mad if I didn't feed him fast enough

Back to being happy!

He's also a talker. He really enjoys hearing his own voice. While he is playing he just talks and yells the whole time. He makes funny sounds using his tongue. I find him pretty amusing. Along with the rolling over he has started using his arms to push himself up. It's like he is doing push ups all the time. It's like he learns something new and just moves on to the next thing. I'm not looking forward to chasing him around once he learns how to crawl. Don't get me wrong I'm excited for him to crawl, but my baby is growing up too fast. I didn't realize that he would grow so quickly. I'm trying to take as much time snuggling him right now as I can. I realize that he won't be my snuggle bug forever.

Like I said earlier things have been crazy around here. We finally sold our house in St. George and we are so excited to be able to find a place to rent. Two weeks ago my mom went to the hospital for heart problems. She had had a heart attack earlier in the week and hadn't known, but that night she started having chest pains and was throwing up a lot. Finally the pain was so bad she figured she was having a heart attack. It was quite a scare for the family. The main artery to her heart was 100 % clogged so they put a stint in which helped the blood flow get back to her heart. That first night we were not given very good news. We were told that she only had 20% heart function and that so much of her heart was dead muscle that would most likely not recover. We were also told that she could cardiac death at any point. She would not be able to have a normal life again. Within a few hours some of the muscle had come back and her heart function was between 35% and 40%. She came home 5 days later and has been doing well since. We know that a lot of her recovery was due to prayer from many people and we are so thankful for that. Two days later my little sister, Julianne, found out that she is having TRIPLETS! Yes I said TRIPLETS. We are so excited for her! This means that my parents will more than double their grandchildren in a year. The triplets will be hard work but all of her family is here for her.

Valentine's weekend was so fun. I will do a whole separate post on that because Jeff and his friends planned the funnest trip and they deserve a post just about how great they are!

One more thing, I just wanted to remind everyone that I'm going to make my blog private soon. So if you haven't given me your email address please do! Anyone and everyone!

The Time Has Come

2009-01-22T00:54:00.002-05:00

Well, it is here. I have decided to go private. Since the majority of my posts are about McCoy I think it is best to know who is viewing my photos and information. So please leave me your email address as a comment (I promise to delete the comment once I get the email address so it isn't out there for anyone to write down.) Just so you know, I am probably the biggest blog stalker. So when there are people that I know, but not very well (through the grape-vine), that go private and they say to give your email address, I am always tentative to give mine because I'm afraid they'll think I'm crazy. (Actually, I even get tentative with people that I do know well. That's what I get for being kind of shy) Anyway... So I am going to say the same; even if I don't know you very well - but you check my blog often, know me from a long time ago, or know me through someone else, please leave me your email address (Don't be scared - like me). It would be nice to know those who have been viewing our blog. Sorry for this inconvenience, but it will make me feel a lot safer.

3 Months and growing!

2009-01-20T12:31:00.009-05:00

McCoy is growing too fast! On the 5th he turned 3 months old. He is so much fun these days. Over the last while he has been really interested in his hands and arms. He would lay and just watch his arm move and his fingers move around. Over the holidays he started to grab toys and things. It has been so fun! He loves to touch faces and grab at his toys on his play mat. He is also starting to giggle some. It makes my day just to see the smile on his little face. He loves his bath time. He kicks and moves his arms like crazy! It is hilarious to watch him. He is starting a phase where everything goes into his mouth. If it is remotely close to his mouth, it ends up in his mouth. Most days you will see at least one of his hands in his mouth. It isn't just a finger or thumb, he tries to fit the whole fist in there. We are loving each phase of his life and we are trying to just enjoy all the changes. He has also been trying to roll around a lot. He will roll on his side from his back and get his legs over but hasn't quite figured out how to get his upper body over. Yesterday he rolled from his stomach to his back twice. He is such a happy little guy. If you smile at him you will get a smile back. He loves his daddy. His little face lights up the second Jeff comes around and you can just tell that he thinks his dad is the funniest person. He loves to hear his voice and coos like crazy. He also thinks his tongue is pretty fun and ends up making bubbles that go down his chin.

Eating his Elephant

Lots of bubbles

Classic McCoy, left hand in mouth, right arm and hand moving all over.

Christmas, A Little Late

2009-01-07T14:16:00.003-05:00

The holidays were so fun for us this year! It was so wonderful to be close to family. Unfortunately my camera was dead and since we moved everything around I have not been able to find my charger so I don't have many pictures.

Christmas Eve we had our usual family party at my parent's house. It all started at about 2. We ate a few snacks and played Would You Rather. It is a fun game! Next we had dinner. As usual it was delicious. It is tradition to have chicken cordon bleu, rice pilaf, layered salad and rolls for dinner. We also had banana cream pie and mini cheesecakes for dessert. After dinner we had a special visit from Santa Claus! The kids loved it! Each child was given a stocking with some fun presents inside. We then opened some presents. We each have another couple to buy for and the cousins have another cousin to buy for. It was fun to have McCoy this year and be able to buy for a cousin. Ju Ju and Bracken had Jeff and me. I received a cute sweater, earrings and some sunglasses. Jeff received a brown polo and a beanie, both are things he wears often. We also open presents from my parents. McCoy and the other little boys received these fun trucks that they can use to sort shapes, scoop up shapes, learn to walk with and ride. My parents gave us some wonderful presents but the best probably being some starts for 72 hour kits. We have wanted to make some 72 hour kits for a long time but have not taken the time to do it. My parents realize that it is something that none of the families have done and know how important they are. It was a very fun party and so great to have the entire family together for the holiday this year.

Christmas morning we woke up around 8 and opened presents. As a family present Jeff found Rock Band for an awesome price. It definitely took up quite a bit of our time for the next few days. We each picked out a present for each other from McCoy. Jeff picked out the cd Mamma Mia for me. My sister-in-law Erica had taken some pictures of McCoy and me and I chose my favorite, printed it and put it in a frame for Jeff's desk. He told me that it was his favorite present. We just relaxed the rest of the day. Due to the snow we didn't think it was a very good idea to travel far. We did end up going over to Ju Ju and Bracken's house for dinner though. They were so nice to have us and my parents over. She made a ham, some cheesy potatoes and a veggie. My mom brought over rolls, a cheese ball and banana cream pie. We played Mad Gab, boys vs girls and it was so fun!

Saturday we had the Erickson Family Christmas Party. It is always the Saturday after Christmas. The entire family gets together, Mel's kids and Annette's kids. It is quite the houseful but always so fun! During the blessing on the food McCoy decided that since it was nice and quite he should poop. It was so loud and many of us couldn't stop laughing! We each brought a potluck dish and had a very tasty dinner. Every year we bring a $5 present and have a gift exchange. It is the classic game where you can steal another person's gift but can only have 3 owners. We ended up with some Sham Wow cloths, a mini tripod for our camera and a memory card for a cell phone with the adapter to put into our laptop. Mel and Annette gave each family rechargable lamp. It is to go with our 72 hour kits. We love getting together with everyone!

As for New Year's, we are quite boring. Jeff and I usually don't stay up until midnight. We don't go to any exciting parties, we usually just hang out at home. This year we went to dinner at Red Robin, stopped by to visit Jeff's sister Lynn and then came home. My biggest thing is that McCoy has been on such a good schedule and I'm afraid to mess it up. I know I need to relax! When we came home we put McCoy to bed, watched a show and played Friends Scene It. I almost made it to midnight but decided I was too tired and went to bed at 11:30.

Sorry for the long post. There is so much to catch up on.

December

2008-12-14T18:30:00.011-05:00

I'm slightly behind on posting. McCoy is 10 weeks old today. On December 5th he had his 2 month well-check appointment. He weighed in at 10 lbs. 10 oz. He was 22 1/4 inches long and his head circumference was 15.5 cm. He is just a little guy but to us he has gotten so big! The doctor says that he is growing really well though. With the chubby cheeks he has gotten I can't imagine that he wouldn't be gaining weight well. We also switched to a different medicine for his reflux. The Axid was helping but the Prevacid is working so much better. I have my baby back finally.

For the last 2 weeks we have been having a hard time napping. Just after his morning feeding he takes a pretty good nap for 2 to 3 hours. The rest of the day is a different story. As long as I'm holding him he will sleep. I will lay him down and within 15-30 minutes he wakes up. I have tried laying him in different places, putting him back to sleep and laying him down again. But each time he does the same thing. Does anyone have any advice? It makes it very hard to get much done during the day. The only time I can do things around the house is when he is playing. Now with that said he has been a champ at sleeping at night. On his usual nights he wakes up 1 or 2 times a night. On Wednesday night he woke up about 7 times and that was really hard for me. Lucky me Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night he has slept the entire night. I lay him down at 9 and he wakes up at 8. It is crazy, but oh so nice. Who knows it might be a faze but I'm loving it!

McCoy loves his bath time. It is a nice end to the day. He has been starting to figure out his hands and arms. While I change his diaper he will sit and stare at his arm and move it around. He has even started to hit his toys on his play mat on purpose. One of his new favorite things to do is suck on his fist. He does it during his entire bath. He enjoys laying on his play mat which has this fun star that flashes different colors and plays music. He loves his bouncy seat which also lights up and plays music but his favorite part is the dog face on it. He is growing up so quickly!

It snowed a lot these last 2 days. I was a little nervous about how Cede would react to the snow. Living in St. George she really hasn't seen much snow and she definitely hasn't had to go out in the snow to go potty. She was a little tentative in the beginning but then she just started running through it. She looked like she was chasing something. We figure that the snow must fly up as she runs so she thinks she really is chasing something. It is so cute to see her come in with her legs and face covered in snow! She also has found a new favorite treat, peanuts. As you can see in the picture she has found someone that will happily give her some!

As you can tell most of my life revolves around McCoy. It is wonderful. I love being a mom and never knew I could love my baby this much. I have been out and gotten most of my Christmas shopping done. Julianne has been a great shopping companion! Jeff has of course been working. He has had a lot to do at work this week and we are happy that he has finished up the presentation he was working on. McCoy lights up the second he sees Jeff. I have to say Jeff is one of his favorite people, Jeff can get him talking! Jeff has also been spending a lot of time wrapping gifts. He is so much better at it than I am. So I label and put a bow on top. I do have to wrap Jeff's presents though. We are very excited for Christmas to be here. I know it won't be very exciting for McCoy this year but it is exciting for us to have McCoy for Christmas this year. He is the best gift we will receive this year. I'm also so happy that we live up north close to all of our family this year. We aren't missing out on family parties because of the weather or work. It is great!

Erickson Look-alike Meter

2008-12-01T01:19:00.002-05:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

I tried this on 3 different pictures. One right after he was born and then 2 that were taken around the same time. I used the same pictures for Jeff and me. The one from right after he was born said he looked more like me by 9%-this is a surprise to me because I thought he looked so much like Jeff in the beginning. The next said he looked more like Jeff by 4%. This came back in between and since I love this picture and because I think he looks equally like Jeff and me I decided to use it. What do you think? Does McCoy look more like Jeff or me?

Busy Busy

2008-11-30T19:07:00.004-05:00

Things have been busy around here lately. Well I guess it hasn't been necessarily busy but I definitely have one little guy that holds my attention all day. I can't complain though. I love him to pieces.

Here are a few things that have been going on:

My parent's basement is finally finished! They have been waiting months for it to be done and now we are living down there.

Jeff went to St. George the weekend that the basement was finished and picked up our furniture and our other things that we were storing. I'm glad he went because I didn't have many winter clothes and it was beginning to get cold.

McCoy has gotten so big! Just over a week ago we took him to the doctor because I was sure he had reflux. I was correct. We are trying one medication right now but may be changing to a different medication at his 2 month well check this Friday. The medicine has been helping but not completely taking it away. It is very sad to see him in pain. At that appointment he weighed in at 9 lbs. 14 oz. He had gained 14 oz. in just over 2 weeks. He is becoming more alert and talkative every day. He coos constantly and is quite a happy boy, when he isn't in pain.

Of course there was Thanksgiving this last Thursday. We had a great time at Jeff's Dad's house. It was so fun to be able to see the majority of Jeff's siblings. McCoy was able to meet some family members for the first time. He was such a good boy that day, I was so grateful! I wish I had pictures but my camera was dead when I went to get it. Hopefully I'll be able to get some from Angie or Annette. I love Jeff's family. I have always felt completely comfortable around them and they are so much fun!

Friday I didn't go out early to face the crowds. There really wasn't anything that was worth getting up that early for. I did go out later in the day for a few hours to get some things but the crowds were gone by then. The good news is that I don't have much more to get for Christmas. I don't enjoy going out shopping at the malls and things around Christmas because it is so busy so I'm happy to know I only need to make 1 or 2 more trips.

Saturday we spent the day trying to organize our things in the basement. Moving isn't fun, even if it is just from upstairs to downstairs. We also needed to get the house clean for Sunday because...

McCoy was blessed today. It was so wonderful and I will do a whole separate post about it. All I can say is Jeff did a great job! Thanks to all those who were able to make it. I will have pictures of McCoy in his cute blessing outfit, but I have to get them from my sisters.

Here is a cute little video of McCoy and Aunt Ju Ju. She can always get him to talk a lot and smile so much. She is such a great aunt and I don't know what I would do without her. McCoy loves her and she is practically his second mom. He was just beginning to coo really loud instead of the soft little coos and now he can really go crazy. I'll have to try to get another video, it is quite cute. Sorry it is crooked. I'm just now getting this posted (Dec 9th) because I had a hard time getting the video up.

One Month!

2008-11-06T12:35:00.004-05:00

"Cool just like daddy"

My baby is a month old! I can't believe how fast time goes by. He is getting so big too. I took him into the doctor on Tuesday because I was afraid he had Thrush, which he does, and he weighed in at 9 lbs. I can't believe he is that big. As for the Thrush, we caught it really early and so it has already cleared up, we just have to continue the medicine for a few more days. Our time with McCoy for the last few weeks has been so fun. He is typically a very happy baby. Not too difficult until he got the thrush but he is already back to normal. He likes to lay on the floor and talk. He tries so hard and it is so cute when he coos. He has been smiling since he was 2 weeks old. He also thinks he is so strong and likes to hold his head up to look around when you hold him. He is a good sleeper so far. He is definitely a binki baby. He recognizes the voices of Mom, Dad, Grandma McGuire, Grandpa McGuire and Aunt Ju Ju. The other day as Grandma was holding him I walked up to say hi to him. The second that he focused on my face I got the biggest smile. That just melts my heart. He definitely loves his dad and gives him lots of smiles. He loves his swing, and I love his swing! Today he found the mirror that is directly above him and he was smiling and talking to himself all morning. We are so grateful to have this little blessing in our lives. We love you McCoy!

Showing how strong he thinks he is, holding up his head.

If you touch him at all he throws his arms out like this.

Smiling at himself in the mirror.

Halloween Weekend

2008-11-06T11:22:00.005-05:00

We had a really fun Halloween weekend. On Thursday night we had our ward Halloween party. Jeff and I are part of the activities committee but because of the new little one we didn't take part in planning this activity. It was a hit though. All the kids dressed up and some of the adults did too. Jeff went as Luigi, I went as a devil (not sure that is the best costume for a ward activity at the church, should have thought it through), and McCoy was a chili pepper. They had games in each of the classrooms for the kids to play where they would win a toy or treat for playing. There were glazed donuts and homemade rootbeer for refreshments. It was fun.

On Halloween we had a family party at my parent's house. Even Kris and the family came. It was so fun to have the kids here. First we went out trick-or-treating. This neighborhood reminds me of the neighborhood I grew up in. There are so many kids and it's a close-knit neighborhood, we know everyone. I remember going to every house in our neighborhood growing up but the kids only hit a few houses. I guess usually they do a trunk or treat and so this house to house thing is different. When we got home we had dinner, soup in cute pumpkin bread bowls and salad. Ju Ju and I planned some fun games. First we played pumpkin bowling. We had 2-liter bottles lined up as the pins and a pumpkin for the bowling ball. The kids really enjoyed this. Brody wanted to play with the pumpkin all night. I was surprised that he could pick up the pumpkin. Peter was being so funny and kept walking over and hitting down the bottles. Every time we would cheer for the person bowling Peter would throw his arms up and make his "proud" smile. He was very tired and so he was absolutely hilarious. Next we played Halloween bingo. Then a game called Trick-or-Treat. You had to pull a piece of paper out of the pumpkin and you would either have to do a trick to earn your treat or you would get the treat paper. It was so funny. I had to do a somersault, which let me tell you was strange. I don't know the last time I did a somersault and I was dizzy right after. Erica did a cartwheel, even though she is pregnant. Bob walked like a spider. Bracken danced like a fairy, it was hilarious! Dad walked like Frankenstien. Jeff flapped like the wings of a bat. Emma made a scary face. Nate made a silly face. Sadly I don't remember what Kris and Mom did. The kids wanted to play again so we let them draw again a few times. Jake got the flap like the wings of a bat. He ran around and started pretend biting people and yelling "Now you have rabies." I have no idea where that came from, kids are funny. Last we played Pumpkin Toss. We tied a plastic pumpkin around the waist of one spouse and the other had to try to throw as many candy corn in the pumpkin as possible in 1 minute. Brack and Ju one, no surprise. We then went back upstairs for dessert, Spider Oreos, Witches Hats and a Pumpkin shaped cake. All in all it was so fun!

Ju Ju and Bracken-Hicks

Erica-Ballerina Witch, Bob-Biker, Brody-Ninja

Nat-Devil, Jeff-Bull Rider, McCoy-Chili Pepper

Kris-Cat, Jacob-Anakin, Emma-Hannah Montana, Peter-Monster

Mom-Cruella De Vil, Dad-Indiana Jones

Smiley Boy!

2008-10-30T18:20:00.005-04:00

I just thought I'd share a few photos of McCoy that we have taken over the last few weeks. Things have gotten into kind of a routine and that has been nice. I have to say that I'm quite spoiled because McCoy gets up only once a night now. Seriously, the other night he slept from 10 to 5. I couldn't believe it. I know that there is a chance that will change so for right now I am definitely loving it. He truly is a good baby. The evenings are a little hard right now. He tends to cluster feed, meaning that he wants to eat frequently in the evening and is kind of fussy until he is fed. Maybe this is why he is sleeping so well at night. He is a very happy boy first thing in the morning and just after he eats. He gives us lots of smiles and they are truly smiles. He smiles as a reaction to me, Jeff, Aunt Ju Ju, Grandma and Grandpa. In fact I can tell now by looking at his face when he is going to give us smiles. I know it seems early but as you can tell in the pictures, it truly happens. I love being a mom. It is nice when Jeff gets home though in the evening to relieve my arms. Also I am spoiled rotten because I have Aunt Ju Ju here all the time and she has been a life saver through my recovery. McCoy already loves her and can recognize her voice. Another good thing is that Cede loves McCoy. She thinks she needs to be by him all the time. Every time I change his diaper she has to come over and give him kisses. A good majority of my day is spent holding the boy and the dog. We are happy that the transition has gone well for her though because she is part of the family. From what we can tell McCoy seems to like Cede too. He just stares and stares at her. It is so cute, a little boy and his dog.

McCoy Jeffrey Erickson

2008-10-14T12:11:00.003-04:00

I'm so sorry it has taken so long for me to finally tell about the birth of our little one. Recovery has been hard and I've decided that this being a mom thing isn't for the weak. First of all his name is McCoy Jeffrey Erickson. We had a few names picked out and that one topped the list. Thank goodness he looks like a McCoy.

Now for the story. We were supposed to go in Sunday morning at 6:00 to be induced. Saturday morning I started having contractions but they were far apart. So I went with my mom to Target and Costco. My contractions became closer together. Finally around 5:00 we decided that I should go in since my contractions were 5 minutes apart. They took me and put me on the monitors to watch what was going on. Finally around 8:30 they said they were going to keep me because my contractions were obviously labor contractions so they put me in a room. Jeff had stayed home to make sure things were ready for the baby so he came in at that time. He showed up just after 9:00 as they were giving me my epidural. Yes, I immediately got an epidural while only being dilated to a 3. Around 10:00 they broke my water. About an hour later they came in and started a pitocin drip. They didn't have to increase the pitocin more than twice because my body was taking care of the contractions and dilating alone. We decided to get some sleep since it was going to be a long night. At around 1:30 I started feeling the contractions in my lower back. I pushed the button to give me a little more epidural and nothing was happening. I decided to give it about 20 minutes to see if it would kick in. When it didn't and I started feeling more pain I decided to call the nurse. She paged the anesthesiologist but she was in doing another epidural so it would take 45 min to an hour. I figured I could handle the pain for a while but it started getting worse. Eventually I wasn't numb at all anymore and was feeling the contractions that were coming about every minute and half. I was so upset because I had decided on the epidural so I wouldn't have any pain and now I was experiencing horrible pain. Finally the anesthesiologist came in. She said she was going to give me the strongest stuff she could and left to get some ice so she could check where I was numb and where I wasn't. When she came back in I told her that my legs weren't numb at all. This worried her. Sure enough with the check I was feeling everything. So she turned me over thinking she may have to start a new epidural and found that the tubes had come unhooked. This never happens, the nurse said she wouldn't have even thought to have checked that because it never happens. So the anesthesiologist sterilized everything and got me hooked up again. She gave me two shots of the strongest stuff she could, 2% Lidocaine and stayed around for a while to make sure it got better. I could still feel pressure in my lower back but it was so much better. Just after this they checked me and I was to an 8. When the 2% Lidocaine was wearing off I asked for some more because of course the regular stuff wasn't going to work for me now. After I got another shot I became really worried because I couldn't feel my legs at all. I couldn't wiggle my toes on my left leg. Jeff was going to die because I was in so much pain that I needed the strong stuff and now I was complaining about being too numb. I fell asleep for about an hour then the new nurse came in to check on me. I had a fever so we started me on an antibiotic. Shortly after I was dilated to a 10 and at +2 station. We decided to try a few pushes just so I knew what was coming. The doctor said that if I could stand it we should wait a while longer and try to get to +4 station. I was feeling some pain but I knew that there was a good chance that once he was so low the epidural may not work completely. After about a half hour I decided that I would rather push through the contractions knowing that I could be pushing for a long time since he wasn't all the way down. After about an hour and a half of pushing the nurse said I was almost to +3 station. This was a little sad because I was pushing hard. By this point I was feeling every contraction and wasn't numb anymore, although the epidural was still hooked up. We got the doctor to come in and check me and she said that he wasn't coming down, his head was coning. My pelvic bones had not separated and so he wasn't going to come out. Wish I had known this before being in labor for 18 hours. So she went to consult with a different doctor about a c-section, telling me that most likely that was what we would be doing. I started to cry, not because I was scared but because I was so ready to have the baby out and was happy to be going in for a c-section and asked Jeff to go get my mom. Both my mom and my sister have had to have c-sections so I was completely fine with the decision. We had to wait for the anesthesiologist, who was finishing up an epidural, I know my luck sucks when I really need something. The contractions now were continuous with no break between and I was feeling each. Thank goodness I had the best labor and delivery nurse. Seriously I couldn't have made it without her. She was pushing on my hips and talking me through the breathing. I'm serious, amazing. Finally the anesthesiologist came in and she and the doctor talked to me about everything and I signed all the paperwork needed. I was given some of the strong medication and I was feeling so much better. After they wheeled me into the OR I started to smile because I was feeling so much better. The doctors and nurses commented on how they thought they would never see me smile again after all the pain I had gone through. I was all prepped and they let Jeff come in. Jeff watched the entire c-section. The anesthesiologist kept me notified on what was happening and told me when I would be feeling pressure. She said some women find the pressure to be so uncomfortable it may be painful but really it didn't hurt at all. My c-section of course couldn't be normal because what else had been normal during my delivery? The baby had been pushed so far down and was wedged in my pelvic bones. Sorry to be graphic but the nurse had to push from the bottom as well as the doctor pulling from the top. The nurse couldn't even get a good stand on the floor while she was pushing. They thought they were done but she ended up having to push again but this time the nurse had to use a fist because the finger tips weren't giving enough pressure. Poor McCoy. Jeff said he thought newborns were incredibly fragile until he watched them pull him out of my stomach. It took a moment for him to cry, they said he would eventually and the second he did I started to cry. I was so happy to hear my son and know he was there. They brought him to Jeff and he showed McCoy to me, since I couldn't move my arms. He was so beautiful. There were complications with my uterus because it had thinned with my pushing him down so far so they had to do a few extra tests and things causing my c-section to last forever. Part way through I ended up falling asleep because I was so exhausted.

Jeff left shortly after McCoy was born to take him to the nursery. He said he would stay with me but I told him to go, knowing it could take a while, not knowing it would take that long. My parents and sisters were waiting for us in the labor and delivery room we had been in. Jeff walked right passed them, not realizing he did because he was so interested in holding his boy. They all got to go up to the nursery and hold the baby while they waited for me. I guess he had a horribly coned head. I finally came out of surgery and was so out of it. Unfortunately I lost a lot of blood, more than they like but not enough that I needed a blood transfusion. So I'm still trying to build my red blood cells back, I have horribly pale skin. My family left so that I could get some sleep and they brought my baby to me. It was so good to see him. We were taken to our room where we stayed for the next 4 days.

We are so happy he is here and love him to pieces. I won't lie, the adjustment has been hard. The recovery from the labor and delivery has been hard and then learning how to take care of a newborn has been difficult too. Every day gets better and just looking at my son helps me to remember why it is so worth it.

The other exciting news is that my brother Billy and his wife Jacee had their second baby, a boy on the same day McCoy was born. Jeff and Billy had both said we should just have our babies on the same day since we were being induced just a day apart. Jacee happened to go into labor a day early and had him quickly. So we have two boy cousins with the same birthday. So fun.

Introducing...

2008-10-05T23:09:00.002-04:00

This is Natalie's sister Julianne. After a fairly rough ride, I'm happy to announce that Baby Boy Erickson is here!! He was born October 5, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. He was 7 pounds 12 ounces and 20.5 inches long! He is absolutely adorable. Mom and baby are doing great!!! Natalie or Jeff will post later with more details and an update! We love him already!

It's time!

2008-10-04T10:55:00.003-04:00

The date is set. Yesterday while at my appointment we set a date and time for me to be induced. It just looks like my body is not going to go into labor by itself. Very sad. So tomorrow morning at 6:00 I am going to the hospital to be induced. I would be lying if I said I'm not scared. It is all new to me and I'm a little scared to go into labor and to have a baby. But I'm so excited to meet him and to not be so full of baby. So wish me luck. Jeff and I are officially going to become parents!

Past the Due Date

2008-10-01T18:13:00.003-04:00

I went to the doctor today. So obviously yes the baby is still in there. I had an NST because I'm past my due date. They checked my fluid levels and they were 18 which is quite high for being over. My placenta is also in great condition so things are fine for the little one. He is in the perfect position to come out, head down, spine up. In fact his head is so low that as long as I dilate fine I may not have to push much. The nurse midwife was surprised by how low he is. His heart rate did drop a little toward the end of a really long contraction so I had to stay on the monitor extra long but he was fine through all the others. The doctor isn't too concerned about it but they want me to come back on Friday for another NST. I then went to see the nurse midwife because my doctor is out of town. I'm dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced. I'm just waiting to go into labor. We'll see what happens in the next few days, hopefully I'll go into labor naturally because I'm not really looking forward to being induced. But obviously I'm fine being induced because he can't stay in there forever. Anyway, that is what is going on with me and the little one. Hopefully within a week we will have some fun pictures of him to post on here. I will most likely have Ju Ju or someone in my family make a post on here as soon as we have him, so you won't be in the dark!

When is the baby coming?

2008-09-24T18:53:00.004-04:00

Today I had my appointment with the doctor. I'm 5 days away from my due date but this little guy is not ready to come out, or so my body has decided that he is not ready to come out. I am effaced 80% but not dilated at all. My doctor is going out of town the day after my due date. He has to go to London to testify for the BBC and will be gone for 4 days. We were trying to decide whether or not to induce me before he left but since I'm not progressing it is too dangerous to start me early. So we are waiting. He said I very well could still be pregnant for the next 7 to 10 days. Basically I will see his nurse midwife next week and if things arent' progressing I will be set to be induced at 41 weeks. Now knowing that I'm going to be going over my due date isn't the most exciting thing in the world. However, after watching everything that my sister and her children have gone through with coming so early I just have to remind myself how lucky I am to be having a full term baby. I will most likely get to leave the hospital with my baby a few days after he is born. I can handle 12 more days of pregnancy. My life will change drastically after he gets here so I just figure I'll do a few things I won't be able to do as easily after he arrives. The hardest part for me is how big he may be. If the ultrasounds are correct then he will weigh almost 9 pounds if I deliver at 41 weeks. I'm really hoping they aren't correct because I don't know if I can handle a baby that big. But no thanks to Jeff, he was a mighty large baby. So if anyone has some good ideas on things to do to pass the time let me know.

Mom Must Haves and Advice

2008-09-08T17:49:00.003-04:00

Since I have 3 weeks until my due date I've been making sure I have everything I need for the baby to arrive. I was thinking about it and really I'm not sure exactly what I need. So basically I'm asking for advice from moms. What are some things you can't live without when you have a baby or seem to make things easier, things for me or baby? Also any advice is also welcome. This is obviously all new to me so please leave a comment, I can use the help.

Belly update

2008-09-02T18:48:00.004-04:00

Okay so I guess it is time to put some updated pictures of my belly. I have been putting this off but I'm supposed to be getting big, right? This first picture is from a couple of weeks ago.

Sadly this past week I started to swell. Things were going so good. I figured that since I was going to be pregnant all summer I would basically be swollen my entire pregnancy so I am very lucky that I will only be swollen for the last 4 weeks. I had Jeff take this picture on Sunday after church and I was definitely swollen after sitting for 3 hours. Not a pretty picture. Things are going well with the pregnancy other than that. Just trying to get everything ready for the boy to arrive. Can't believe how soon he'll be here.

I thought I'd just throw this in here too. Miss Cede hasn't been mentioned much lately so I'll talk a little about her. The other day the neighbors had set up a bunch of water toys and they invited some of the kids from the neighborhood over to play. My mom took Cede on a walk down to the mailbox and back. When they returned my mom told me that Cede was so sad, she wanted to play with the kids. Cede does really like kids but after being mauled for about 5 minutes she is usually done. So I said, it isn't the kids really, it is the water. Cede does not enjoy taking a bath but she loves to attack the water coming from the hose in the backyard. So to make her feel better I took her out back for some fun in the water. She loved every second. She will bark at it in this funny high pitched bark and then try to bite the water. As you can tell from the pictures she definitely is due for a cut, which will be happening on Thursday. I just thought it was so funny how her fur would cover her eyes so she couldn't see. Love this silly dog!

Cute kids!

2008-08-28T20:58:00.006-04:00

I just had to post some of these pictures we took recently. It's been so fun to be close to family and have them come to my Mom's to visit.

Kris was able to come a few weeks ago to stay overnight while Nate and Jake were in California. So we had a fun time with Emma and Peter. Kris came up Monday morning and on the way she stopped to get the kids doughnuts. Well needless to say Peter was a mess covered in chocolate doughnut by the time they got here. So he needed a quick bath. We decided to fill up the sink for his bath. He loved it! So here are some fun pictures of the sink bath.

The next morning Ju Ju came over early. I had just gotten up and grabbed Pete out of the play pen since he was awake. We fed him and played with him for a while until Emma woke up. She ate too and then we decided to give them a bath after Pete had a blow out. So once again the camera came out. Kris was one lucky mom that morning because she got to sleep in until 10:00. See it pays off to sleepover at Mom's.
These next pictures are of Brody from this past weekend. There is a cupboard that Brody gets into in the kitchen but we don't mind because there isn't much in it and nothing to break or hurt him. We turned to look at him and he had taken a basket and made it into his seat while he was playing with another basket. It was just too cute! Then as we were talking in the great room we turned around to find Brody climbing into the dog kennel. He was so fast at getting in there but we just knew he wouldn't figure out how to get out. So Bob and I rushed over there to take the top off while Erica snapped a few pictures. We got him out and I put it back together, but he decided that he wanted to try it out again. This time I left the top off so he could play in the dog bed. We always keep it in another room so I guess it was just to interesting to resist.

Let me tell you, these little boys make me so excited to have a little boy of my own!

Fun Filled Weekend

2008-08-18T19:44:00.004-04:00

I wrote this back on the 18th but never posted it so I guess it is better late than never.

My fun filled weekend!

Friday I went in for my weekly non-stress test. I just started these 2 weeks ago. On the first one I had 3 small contractions at the beginning but after laying down they went away. I was told to watch these and lay down at home if I start contracting. This last Friday I went in the morning. I hadn't done anything all morning so I was sure things would be great. However, I was contracting the entire time. They were bigger contractions than last time and they never stopped. I told the nurse that yes, I do contract quite often but they aren't painful and I've been trying to take it easy. My doctor was out of the office so she contacted another doctor. She said they don't look like labor contractions so they decided to basically give me the labor precautions and see how I'm doing this coming Friday. I'm just so excited to be 34 weeks! Friday night I ended up taking it easy.

Saturday I had a baby shower. It was so fun. I'm telling you, I am very spoiled. I received many wonderful gifts and it was so fun to have people there to celebrate this baby boy that is coming into our lives. We had a brunch and there was so much yummy food. My mother-in-law Annette brought sweet rolls from Shirley's Bakery in Provo. She did not know this but they are my favorite rolls! The last apartment I lived in, in Provo was a block from the bakery and I'd go by to get some before work. Thanks again everyone for the wonderful gifts! I can't forget to thank my mom and sisters, Julianne, Kristina, and Erica for planning such a great shower.
Rebecca & Abby Delight

Pete thought he was pretty funny by climbing in my present, a baby tub.

After the shower I went shopping with Jeff for a bit then we came home to relax for about an hour. Around 5:30 my parents took us to The Mandarin for dinner for my birthday. This is my all time favorite restaurant and I missed it so much while living in St. George. I don't go there often because of the wait and because Jeff doesn't love Chinese food the way that I do so it was definitely a treat! The 4 of us decided that we should just order some of there egg rolls for take out sometime and eat them at home. We could all fill up just fine on those. Best egg rolls ever! We were happy to come home and find out that we hadn't missed Michael Phelps' race. We stayed up too late waiting to watch the race but it was well worth it.

Sunday was my birthday. I am 25-years-old! I'm getting old. It was nice to have my birthday on a Sunday because the day was so relaxing. Except for the 6-year-olds in Primary. It was our second week being primary teachers and it was a little bit more difficult this week. How do you keep 6-year-old boys attention? We hear lots of stories about going to Lagoon and what movies they have seen. They also enjoy pulling their arms out of their sleeves to stick there fingers through the front of their shirts. I guess it is good training for us since we will be having a boy. My mom made my favorite dinner, beef stroganoff. I'm telling you it is amazing. Jeff and I both ate as much as we could possibly fit in our stomachs because it was so good. Then Bob, Erica, and Brody came over for cake and ice cream. My mom made my favorite cake, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and Jeff made homemade raspberry ice cream. Jeff also was kind enough to paint my toenails for me yesterday. I am to the point where bending over for too long starts to hurt so I used my birthday as an excuse to have him do something he wouldn't otherwise.

My mom insisted on putting all 25 candles on the cake. My dad thought she was crazy!
She took a picture of me after I blew out the candles but it was all smoky from too many candles.

Brody enjoying some cake with his "crazy face."

So overall, it was a wonderful weekend. Now we are just back to the normal week things. I guess it always has to happen.

Update!!!

2008-07-21T13:12:00.004-04:00

Wow, I'm pretty lame about keeping up with posts. I'm officially 30 weeks today. Exciting! It is crazy that the baby will be here in 10 weeks. It seems like a ways away but also so close! I don't know that I'm ready yet. So here is an updated picture of the belly. Not my favorite but I didn't feel like doing my hair this morning so this is what I get.

On to baby. I had an ultrasound on the 11th and baby is great. Just a few days before I noticed that the kicking of my bladder had suddenly stopped and come to find out he has decided to turn head down. It is crazy how much more I can feel him kick because his legs are now up high. I can tell that the room in there is getting small because I am feeling all movements. Knees and feet along the front of my tummy are a constant. So far no kicking of the ribs but I still have 10 weeks for that. At the ultrasound he was weighing 2 lbs 7 oz. He is right where he should be. I'm feeling pretty good too. By the end of the day I am uncomfortable and my body starts to ache but I feel that is normal.

As for other things that have been going on. We are pretty boring. A couple of weeks ago I was eating grapes and Jeff decided to see how many he could fit in his gigantic mouth. He ended up with 28 although he tells me he could fit more if I hadn't eaten the rest.

Bill, Jacee and Kenslee came into town for a while. It was really nice to see them and spend some time together. Mostly we just ate and went swimming with them. Kens is so cute! It amazes me how big she gets every time I see her. Kris and the kids came up that week for a few days. We all went swimming over at Bracken's parent's house. They are so nice to let us use their pool!

Kenslee helping me make a cake

Erica, Peter, Ju Ju and Brody

Emma Kate

Our ward split just over a week ago. It was time. The ward had reached 700 members so it was getting a little to large. The fun news is that we were placed in the New ward so my mom is no longer the Relief Society President. The other fun news is that my dad is the new Bishop. I'm just glad that he is just now my Bishop and wasn't when I was in high school! So we are adjusting to having the phone ring off the hook for Relief Society calls to the phone ringing off the hook for Bishop calls. We are happy for him though, he'll be a great Bishop.

That is about all that is going on right now. Hopefully we'll do something fun so I can update this more often. Sorry for the 6 weeks of slacking!

24 Weeks & Ultrasound

2008-06-09T23:23:00.004-04:00

Today we went in for another ultrasound. I'm 24 weeks and getting bigger each day, as you can tell by the following picture. Everything looks great with Baby Boy. He weighs 1 lb 7 oz right now, which is a few ounces bigger than most babies at this time. We definitely had a growth spurt this week, guess he's going to be a big one. He let us see his face for a little while this time so we got a nice profile shot. Although when we went in to get a 3D picture of his face he decided it was time to put his arm back up. Once again he wasn't at all shy about the fact that he is a boy. We definitely are not concerned that the sex may be wrong! It was so fun to see him again. I'm lucky because I get to see him every 4 weeks, I feel spoiled. While we were trying to get the 3D photo he kept moving his face around like he was mad we were pushing on him and then he started kicking me, obviously requesting we stop. I already love his little personality.

Just For Fun!

2008-06-06T16:26:00.006-04:00

I have a few random pictures that I thought I would post.

This is my nephew Brody. He is such a funny guy! A couple of weeks ago Bob, Erica, and Brody came over to watch the American Idol finale with us. We know to pick up Cede's dog food so Brody doesn't eat it but we really haven't noticed him do anything with her water dish. Well he was kind of quiet for a while so I turned around to find this. We were laughing so hard. He keep pulling his foot out and putting it back in and making this face. It was hard to capture the face because he would quickly turn to look at his mom so the picture is kind of fuzzy but so cute! He is always doing the funniest things.

This is just an update from a post I did a while back about the nest on our front door. Well we left it there and the bird laid 6 eggs. The eggs have hatched and we have been able to hear the little birdies. Today when I came home I noticed that they birds are getting big enough that I could see some of their heads out of the top of the nest. It is so cute. We are also happy to know that this means they will be flying away soon. We have had a sign out front for about a month that says "Caution. Bird nesting on front door. Please come to garage door." I know, crazy.

I also wanted to let everyone know that my baby loves me. I was concerned because I hadn't felt him very much. I found out that my placenta is in front and it has been masking me feeling the baby move very much. On Sunday in the middle of Sacrament meeting he kicked me for the first time. It was very exciting! I still don't feel him constantly but I'm feeling him more and more every day. I've tried to have Jeff feel but I guess baby isn't strong enough for him to feel the kicks yet. It's just another thing that makes being pregnant so much fun!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-05-29T23:25:00.002-04:00

I'm a few days late but Jeff and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary on May 26th. I can't believe it has been 4 years. Time has flown by and yet I feel like I've been with Jeff forever. We were St. George over the weekend and actually spent part of our anniversary driving back north but it was fun. Jeff took a few days off and we stayed at the Marriott City Center in Salt Lake for 2 nights. I just wanted to let Jeff know how lucky I feel to be his wife. He makes me so incredibly happy. I'm so blessed to be married to such an amazing man. He is my best friend and the love of my life. I'm so lucky to be able to spend eternity with him and like he always tells me, "eternity won't be long enough."

Halfway!

2008-05-15T10:16:00.004-04:00

I reached my halfway point on Sunday. I can't believe that I am halfway through my pregnancy. It has gone by so quickly but it also seems like it was so long ago that I found out I was pregnant. I decided that it was about time for me to post a picture of my ever growing belly. It seems to be getting bigger every day. It is exciting though because it reminds me that the baby is just getting bigger and bigger. I'm loving being pregnant! I just can't wait for this baby boy to arrive.

IT'S A BOY!!!

2008-05-08T14:14:00.007-04:00

A BOY! We did a small poll last night to see what people thought it was going to be and the boys out numbered the girls. The boys were right. We are so excited. I really had no idea what it was going to be. I have always wanted to have a boy first. Jeff of course is so excited. I wish I could have taken a picture of the smile on his face when we found out. He is so proud! The ultrasound was so fun. We got to see all the different parts of the baby. Oh and let me tell you, the boy was not shy about showing us that he is a boy. He was however shy about showing his face. He had his arms up with his hands in front of his face the whole time. It was so cute. We finally got to see some of his face when he decided to suck his thumb at the end. He wiggled and wiggled throughout the whole thing, which is exciting because maybe I'll be able to feel him move soon. I guess I better start looking for some boy things. It is just so much fun to finally know what we are having. Here are some pictures. They gave us a DVD of the entire ultrasound but only two pictures. So these are what you are getting.

A Nest?

2008-05-07T16:39:00.003-04:00

Today my friend Brittney dropped by the house to bring Jeff a birthday present. As she was leaving she asked if the wreath on the front door was suppose to have a birds nest on it. I was very confused and asked, "What?" She said, "Well on Good Things Utah they were saying that it is a big thing to put a birds nest on your wreath right now. As I was standing at your front door I noticed there is a nest on the wreath and wondered if it had come that way." We went to look at it and sure enough there is a nest. I stopped to think for a moment to decide if my mom would choose a wreath with a nest and then realized I was there when she picked this one out. No there wasn't a nest when she bought it. So some birds have decided that my mom's wreath is a great place to live and have created a nest at the bottom. Some of the twigs and things have fallen at the doorstep. It is quite interesting. I guess we don't have to create the effect because the real thing is already there. It was definitely a fun story to call my mom and tell her. I wonder how long it has been there.

Happy Birthday!

2008-05-06T10:13:00.004-04:00

Today is Jeff's 28th Birthday! I'm so lucky to have him as a husband. I have recently been thinking a lot about how much I truly appreciate Jeff. Since I am pregnant I tend to have a few mood swings. He is so nice to handle these well and not get too frustrated with me. He lets me choose where we are going to eat when we go out because the pregnant woman has her cravings. I seem to forget everything lately. I don't know if this is because of the pregnancy or if I'm just loosing my mind. I thinks this bugs him really bad but he has almost turned it into a joke. He laughs at me when I ask him why I was suppose to call someone. Lately my response to everything he asks me to do is "Sorry, I forgot." Thank goodness he is a patient man. He knows I can't go to sleep without "background" noise because my mind races and so he lets me leave the TV on, even though it drives him crazy! I love that even though we have been married for almost 4 years he still opens my door for me when I get in the car or holds the door open when we are going somewhere. He is a true gentleman. He is so caring and often puts my needs and wants before his. He is so willing to provide for his family. Since we moved here from St. George Jeff has had to drive in traffic every day to work in Murray but I have never heard him complain. He loves his family and mine. It's so fun to see him with all of our nieces and nephews, you can tell that he truly loves them. He makes friends with everyone. He doesn't talk bad about anyone and is constantly reminding me that there is good in everyone. I truly am grateful that he is my husband. He is the love of my life. Happy Birthday! I love you!

Twilight!

2008-04-22T12:16:00.002-04:00

I, like most of the Twilight fans, am a little skeptical of the movie coming out. Don't get me wrong, I am excited for it and will be there the opening day. It has been interesting to see who they have cast for the roles. I have reminded myself repeatedly that the perfect Edward in my head would not match the Edward that they cast but that he is a great actor and will make the movie wonderful. I found this video clip on MTV and it got me really excited. You forget all the things they can do now with special effects and all that. So I thought I'd share this and get everyone excited with me.

Oh and Stephenie Meyer is coming to Utah in May! I already have a ticket and I'm so excited to meet her. I know I'm kind of lame but really I'm just impressed by her story and how she was a stay at home mom one day and now she is a huge author.

Hooray, a BABY!

2008-04-03T13:03:00.007-04:00

It's true, we are pregnant. I know, I know, after almost 4 years of marriage we have finally decided that it is time. We are very excited. The baby is due September 30th. One reason I had to start telling people is because I have a very obvious tummy growing. Well at least I like to think that it is an obvious pregnant tummy but who am I kidding, I'm in the "is she fat or pregnant" stage. So now everyone knows and I can start wearing shirts that make me look pregnant instead of trying to cover it up. We had an ultrasound on Monday and everything is looking good. The baby was facing the back so we couldn't get any face or profile shots so hopefully next time. We did get to see arms, hands, legs and feet. So cute. It was fun to finally see what has be making me sick and tired all the time and to just know that there really is a baby in there. It'll be another month before we know what we are having but we can't wait to find out!!

Spring!

2008-03-20T21:00:00.003-04:00

Happy First Day of Spring! I love the way Google changes the name to reflect what is going on. I'm so happy spring is here! Bring on the flowers and nice weather!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-03-18T18:49:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday Mom! I'm so grateful for all that you do for me. Thank you for loving me through everything. You become more and more beautiful every year. I hope that one day I will be as wonderful a mother as you have been for me. I love you!

Moving?!

2008-03-18T17:57:00.004-04:00

Well the time has come. Jeff has a new job in Murray and we are moving up north. Yes we are leaving the wonderful spring weather that has started in St. George to move up to the still wet weather in Kaysville. We are grateful for the opportunity Jeff will have with this job in Murray so it is definitely worth the move. Jeff is so lucky because he gets to move in with his wonderful in-laws until we sale our house in St. George. We are lucky to have my parents willing to help us out right now. It is very sad to move out of St. George because we have lived here the entire time we have been married but we are also very excited to live closer to most of our family. Jeff is probably just happy that I will live close to my family so he doesn't have to deal with my craziness all the time. So here we come Kaysville, we are very ready for this new start. (If there is anyone that would like to help pack up my house next week you are welcome to come over. :)) Jeff will be starting this coming Monday but I will need to finish out another week at my job so it is up to me to get the rest of the things packed up. I am very nervous about that. I hate moving!!!

Please Vote For Emma!!!

2008-03-04T14:11:00.003-05:00

My cousin Haylee McGuire is an amazing photographer. Many of you may have seen her website from my blog. She is starting a new website and is looking for the new face of HayleeBean Photography. It sounds like there were quite a few entries. Out of all of the entries she chose the top 7 and now is asking people to vote for who would be the best face for her website. My beautiful niece Emma happens to be one of the top 7. We are very excited about this. So I am asking everyone who happens to cross my blog to click here or the link on my blog to go to Haylee's website and vote for Emma. She is #7. I have the same picture on my blog that she has put up so it should be easy to find her. Please tell your friends and family to either come to my blog, Haylee's website or even if you would be kind enough put a link on your own blog to help us out. Thank you!!!

In Case You Were Wondering...

2008-02-03T17:32:00.000-05:00

This is what Jeff and I look like as M&Ms. Become an M&M here.

Pictures from the Cruise!

2008-02-01T20:00:00.001-05:00

Cruising!

2008-01-30T22:18:00.000-05:00

I know I'm lame because I haven't blogged since Christmas, but really I haven't had anything to blog about. So now I finally have something to talk about so here goes.

My amazing parents were kind enough to pay for our entire family to go on a cruise last week. It was an 8 day cruise, you can't ask for more! It was a Mexican Riviera cruise and was a blast. Here is what we did for the week.

Jeff and I flew out of Vegas at 7:30 am on Saturday morning and met the rest of our family at the Long Beach airport. We got on the ship that afternoon and spent a few days at sea. Saturday we just spent time getting use to the ship and taking naps. We were all exhausted from the early morning flights.

Sunday we were able to have Sacrament meeting, just the 17 of us. It was really nice. Even the nieces and nephews participated, it was so cute. We were at sea that day so we found some fun things to do on the ship since it was still kind of cool.

Monday we were again on the ship so we put our swimming suits on and spent some time outside. It was so nice to be in warm weather in the middle of January! We played card games outside and enjoying the sun. Of course we also ate lots of food. Everyday they had a hamburgers, hotdogs and french fries on the deck and let me tell you, the french fries were to die for!!!

Tuesday we made our first stop in Acapulco. My dad was nice enough to put together the whole day for us. We first went to the Hotel Los Flamingos which was owned by John Wayne. It is at the top of a cliff and the view from there was beautiful. After we went to the beach to enjoy the ocean. I like going to the beach, however I don't really enjoy salt water so I don't like going in the water much. Jeff could live at the beach so the second we were there he was in the water until just before we left. The drivers then took us to a place where we could view all of Acapulco. It was very pretty. Later that night we went to see the divers. These guys jump from 70 ft to 130 ft cliffs. It originally was a way for fishermen to dive deep enough to release the nets that were caught on rocks but quickly turned into a show. They have been doing it now for 70 years but not just anyone can do it, this is passed down from father to son. It is really dangerous because if the water isn't deep enough or if the tide comes in at the wrong time it could kill you. They are trained very well and during the 70 years of the show, nobody has died.

Tuesday we stopped in Ixtapa/Zihuatinejo. It was more like old Mexico and I loved it because it wasn't super busy. It was a fun place to shop because there were quite a few handmade items and they were for a good price. We just looked around a lot and went back to the ship. We really only had about 4 hours there.

Wednesday we were in Puerto Vallarta. We just walked along the streets looking in shops. A few of us went to the old cathedral there. It was beautiful but it was actually kind of creepy. Like my sister-in-law Erica said, I just seemed kind of dark.

Thursday we stopped in Cabo. We had plans to go to the beach that day because Cabo has great sand and there is a beach called Love Beach that we wanted to visit. However the day ended up being overcast and kind of cool. Some of the people went to the beach still but Jeff and I just looked around. We were trying to find Jeff some shoes that he wanted but were unable to. We went back to the ship for some lunch and actually after that the sun came out so we took a dip.

We loved going to the different places but really we just enjoyed the time on the ship. We got to see some wonderful shows with amazing singers and dancers. We also enjoyed the comedian that has been touring with the Norwegian Cruise Line, Bud Andersen. He was hilarious and Jeff and I always enjoy a good laugh! Dinner of course was amazing every night. Most nights we would try to eat early so we could make it to as many shows as possible. It was nice to not have to worry about cooking or cleaning for the week. (I've been having a hard time getting back into it!) We got to relax a lot that week and it was much needed. It was also just nice to spend so much time with our family. I miss them all. I hadn't seen Kenslee since the summer and she is getting so big. The two babies, Peter and Brody are also growing quickly and getting cuter every day. Little Miss Emma Kate was my twin for the trip. Every time we were together she was right by me and we had so much fun! Thanks Mom and Dad, it was an awesome vacation and we can't thank you enough!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-27T18:50:00.001-05:00

Christmas came and went so quickly this year. Unfortunately because of work Jeff and I ended up staying in St. George this year and celebrating Christmas just the two of us. It was nice to just relax but truthfully it was quite boring. We watched a lot of movies and ate a lot of food. The second part is also unfortunate. I guess here comes the diet! We are looking forward to seeing all of our family as soon as possible. We sure missed everyone. There were very few things that I really wanted for Christmas this year but Jeff was able to give me one of them that he could actually buy, (most of my wishes couldn't be bought) a new blowdryer. Jeff got a video game. He works so hard all week it is nice to give him something that he enjoys and can do in his spare time. Of course we got a few movies, that we bought for ourselves on the day after Thanksgiving sales and some candy. It was a nice small Christmas and a good way to remind us what the season is all about, we are happy that we could be together. Here is a picture of Jeff and me from the 2003 while we were dating. It's crazy that this was our 5th Christmas together. I don't have any pictures of us this year, sorry!

This is a picture of Cede in her Christmas present. I'm not sure that she would have picked out this gift but because she is a Yorkie she needs coats in the winter to keep her warm, and it is cute.

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Have a Happy New Year!

A Night With Cruz!

2007-12-16T16:48:00.000-05:00

Last night Jeff and I were able to babysit for some good friends of ours, the McCoys. They have the cutest little boy named Cruz. I know it is hard for Brittney to leave her little guy, she misses him but she also feels bad that he might cry or have a hard time and she doesn't want anyone to have to deal with that. I told her we were more than happy to watch him. We have enough nieces and nephews that we can handle the crying. So Uncle Jeff and Aunt Nat Nat got to have a fun night we Cruz. He really is such a good little guy. He didn't cry the whole time. We just played and laughed. It was so fun to see Jeff make him laugh and hear them talk to each other. Here is a picture of the two of them hanging out. Cede decided that she wanted to be part of the group too. In fact Cruz couldn't get enough of Cede, he thought she was so funny. Thanks Brandon and Brittney for letting us have a fun time and play parents for the night! We'll babysit any time.

We are so lucky!

2007-12-07T23:09:00.000-05:00

I love being an aunt! It is so much fun to go see my nieces and nephews and hear them yell "AUNT NAT NAT" and come running. They always have a way of making you feel so happy. The smiles you get from the little ones just brighten your day. It is the best! I'm lucky to have 5 nieces and nephews on the McGuire side so far and 35 on the Erickson side. Jeff and I really are spoiled! Our eldest is 22 and the youngest is just a few months. They all bring so much joy to our lives. So this is a post to all of them to let them know how much we love and appreciate all of you. I don't have any pictures of the Erickson kids, (so if anyone from Jeff's family is reading this...please send me pictures) but I do have some from the McGuire side.

Jake is Spongebob.

Emma is a "scary" witch. Really she is just too beautiful! (Can you believe Kris made this costume!)

Peter is a Chili Pepper

Kenslee is a cowgirl. She just gets cuter each day!

Brody is a pirate!

Abigail Marie Delight!

2007-11-25T17:58:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to say that my best friend Rebecca Delight had her little girl, Abigail Marie on October 30th. I know I'm way behind on this but better late than never right? She is so beautiful! I can't wait to meet her in person. It is so strange to think that Rebecca is a mom, but I know that she is the best mom. This is what she has been waiting for her whole life and this is what she is meant to do. You can tell by the way she talks about Abigail and the way she looks at her that she is just so in love with this little girl. So congratulations Rebecca and TJ! Jeff and I are so excited that you are finally parents. Give Abigail kisses from me and I hope to see her soon! I don't know how anyone can look this beautiful just after having a baby. Rebecca you make it look easy!

Winder Farms

2007-11-16T20:39:00.000-05:00

In regards to my last blog. If you have any questions about Winder Farms or if you are interested in signing up, give Jeff a call at 435-313-5288. Just so you know, even if Jeff wasn't working there this is a service I would still use.

No More Shopping!

2007-11-14T19:12:00.001-05:00

Since there haven't been a lot of bank jobs open in Southern Utah, Jeff has been working for Winder Farms. I'd have to say that I'm very happy about this because along with him getting paid I am getting an extra bonus. I hate grocery shopping! I think a lot of women do. You have to plan meals, put together a list then take a good hour to two hours to go to find everything you need, as well as wait in line to check out. I hate everything about it. I try to convince Jeff to come shopping with me to keep me company but he just walks off to look at movies and we end up buying at least one or two. Another thing I hate about grocery shopping is that I always grab extra things that are not on my list. This causes more money to be spent. So I am a lucky woman right now. Every Tuesday morning I open my front door and there are my groceries. I know everyone from Utah is thinking, but don't they only offer milk products? Well Winder Farms now offers over 230 products. Basically I would only have to run to the grocery store for a few things like spices or snacks every now and then. I get my meat, milk products, vegetables, fruit, mexican food, breads, everything from Winder. Oh and I don't know if everyone has tried Winder Farms milk, it is so good! My skim milk no longer looks blue or gray. It tastes more like 1% or 2%. And their chocolate milk is the best. As you can tell I'm a little obsessed. So if any woman is interested in getting out of grocery shopping look into Winder Farms. I'm telling you, you won't regret it!

Take That!

2007-10-14T19:18:00.001-04:00

This last week was a big week for the BYU volleyball team but it was an even bigger week for my niece, Ashton, who plays for the team. On Tuesday night BYU beat UVSC in 3 games. This picture was on the front page of the sports section in the Daily Herald. Yes that is Ashton spiking the ball. On Friday night BYU played the U of U in Salt Lake and they won 3-2. Ashton had 11 kills and 13 blocks in that game making it her first double-double. I'm so excited for her! She is definitely the best volleyball player I know!

Not only is Ashton a great volleyball player but she is just a great woman all around. She is always so nice and happy. Since the first day I met her I have always felt so comfortable around her and she has always been so sweet and accepting of everyone. She definitely lights up a room when she enters it. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful niece.

La Cucaracha

2007-10-01T13:53:00.001-04:00

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!
I know I haven't put a new post out in quite a while. I apologize, I wish there was something going on and then I could post but unfortunately life is boring. So I looked up this JibJab website and thought I would entertain everyone with this silly little movie. I hope you enjoy. I couldn't help but laugh because it really looks like the way Jeff dances!

Back in St. George!

2007-09-08T11:57:00.000-04:00

We are back in Utah. Not only are we back in Utah but we are finally back in our house in St. George. We are very happy to be back. Our travels started on Wednesday morning when we left Virginia. The plans were to drive all the way to Kansas City the first day and then drive the rest of the way to Utah the next. However, Jeff and I came down with colds and could hardly stay awake for the first 12 hours because we were exhausted so we ended up making it a 3 day trip instead of a 2 day trip. We arrived at my parent's house in Kaysville at 7:00 Friday night. Cede was so happy to see us since it had been a few weeks since we last saw her. The next morning we woke up at went to Strawberry Reservoir to the Sweeten's cabin for the Erickson kids family reunion. It was so fun! We left there Sunday night at 11:30. Monday was spent hanging out with family, the girls cooking and the guys going golfing. Tuesday we just relaxed for a while and then we left Wednesday morning to drive to St. George. It is sad that sitting in a car for hours seemed normal to us after those few days.

We were greeted by a fun sign on our front door, created by Brittney and Brandon McCoy, that said, "Welcome Home Jefe & Nat! We missed you!" That was exciting! Jeff unpacked the car while I started cleaning the house up so we could put things away. Brian and Heidi Wood came over with pizza and we enjoyed hanging out with them for the evening. It was nice to see some friends. One of the best things was that we were able to see some babies that we have never seen before. Well we saw Peter, who Jeff hasn't seen. He is now 8 lbs, getting bigger. We finally met Cruz McCoy. He had to meet his Uncle Jeff and Aunt Nat! He is a cutie pie! I can't wait to watch him grow. It is still so strange for us to see Brandon and Brittney as parents, I guess it will take a while for us to get use to it. They are great parents though!

I can't express to you how happy we are to be back. We are back to a place we can call home and that is the best part. Now we just have to get things in order, find jobs, get back into the swing of things. We love St. George!

My Man!

2007-08-27T17:19:00.000-04:00

I saw this cute post on another blog and I thought it sounded like fun. This is to introduce you to my man.

Who's your man? Jeff

How long have you been together? 4 years on Sept. 27th. (Our first date.)

Dating/Engaged/Married? 4 1/2 months, engaged 3 1/2 months, married 3 years and 3 months.

How old is your man? 27, he is getting old! Soon we'll be celebrating his 30th!

Who eats more? Hopefully Jeff but he doesn't have a large appetite. (This is why he is so skinny!) He will eat more than me even if he isn't hungry just for me. He has to be the man!

Who said "I love you" first? Me. I actually ruined it for him. He said it right back but said that he had some big date planned for that specific occasion for the next evening. Sad I ruined it, I just couldn't wait to say it any longer.

Who weighs more? Jeff, thank goodness, probably not by much though.

Who sings better? Jeff. He has the best voice and isn't afraid to sing.

Who's older? Jeff by 3 years and 3 months.

Who's smarter? Probably Jeff. I'm smart enough but sometimes I say dumb things. He just seems to know just about anything.

Who's temper is worse? Mine. Jeff stays quite calm most of the time. But I can get to him.

Who does the laundry? I don't think it really gets done. No, I do it most of the time but Jeff has to remind me to turn it over. (If you read my sister's most recent post (The Swensons) she explains perfectly the problem with doing the laundry. Man we are too much alike.)

Who does dishes? Me. Jeff is good to put them in the sink to "soak".

Who's feet are bigger? Definitely Jeff, although I have large feet.

Who's hair is longer? Mine, it would be sad if Jeff's hair was halfway down his back like mine.

Who's better with the computer? Probably me. We are about equal but I spend way more time on the computer.

Who mows the lawn? We don't have a lawn. We live in St. George, yeah for rocks.

Who pays the bills? I pay them, but Jeff does the work to pay them.

Who cooks dinner? Me, Jeff has made dinner probably twice our entire marriage. That is fine though, I enjoy cooking.

Who drives when you are together? Jeff, I feel safe with him driving.

Who pays when you go out to dinner? Jeff, I forget to leave a tip.

Who's the most stubborn? Me, Jeff is so easy going.

Who's the first one to admit when they're wrong? I don't think either. We have to prove it to the other and then we still have a hard time admitting we were wrong.

Who's parents do you see more? Sad to say probably mine. We usually drive up with our dog and stay at my parents house.

Who kissed who first? Jeff. It took 2 months but it finally happened!

Who asked who out? It was kind of a mutual decision. We worked together at the time and twon nights before both of us had plans fall through so we decided that maybe we should just make plans and get together. Thank goodness we did!

What did you do? We watched a BYU football game together at his parent's house. I had to work just a few blocks away so I went over after. We went to get something to eat first then just spent the afternoon together.

Who's more sensitive? Me! I take things to seriously.

Who's taller? Definitely Jeff. I am 5'3" and Jeff is 6' 3". Large difference!

Who has more friends? Jeff. I don't think there is anyone out there that wouldn't want to be Jeff's friend. He is the reason we have friends. I can be shy.

Who wears the pants in the relationship? We usually work together. I recognize Jeff as the head of the family. However since I handle the running of the home I have say too. We share the pants!

Oh Cede!

2007-08-23T18:27:00.001-04:00

This is a post dedicated to my Cede dog. Now I know some of you will think that it is lame to have a post for my dog and love my dog so much but right now other than Jeff she is all I have. When I returned to Virginia I made the decision to leave Cede with my parents. She is not like normal dogs. Cede only enjoys car rides if the window is down. Once we hit the freeway she is not a happy dog. She usually starts shaking and panting. Because of this we went to the vet to get a prescription for sedatives for our long drive back East. However, me being the messy person that I am, I lost the sedatives while we were in Florida and we have had to make due without them. I decided that the flight back to Virginia and the long drive back to Utah just might due her in so staying with my parents was the best idea. I have to thank my parents for being okay with this and for taking such good care of my little one. Almost every day my mom has sent me a picture of Cede doing random things and telling me little stories. Jeff misses her like crazy. By the time we get to Utah it'll have been a month since he last saw her. So as much as we may gripe about having to take care of silly things with our Cede we love her very much. The pictures are some of the ones my mom has sent me.

Virginia and books

2007-08-19T17:45:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm back in Virginia. It is nice to be back with Jeff but i can't wait until we both are back in Utah.

While I was in Utah I picked up a book for the plane ride home called Twilight. I had heard a lot about this book and couldn't wait to read it. From just reading the first chapter I knew I would be hooked. What girl doesn't want to read a good love story that also has some suspense. The fact that the leading lady is in love with a vampire is the best part. After finishing the book that day I had to go out and get the next two books. Within 5 days I finished all three books. Jeff wasn't happy with me because I spent most of my time reading but I couldn't put the books down. I explained to him that books are like movies to me, but I believe them to be better. Movies take me away for a short time, where I don't have to think about trivial issues, I just loose myself in them. Books are even better because I can imagine it all in my head as it is happening in the book. I know that this book is meant for young adult readers but I believe any woman would love these books as much as I have. So now I have to say that I am very sad that the books are done. Jeff is happy though, maybe I'll pay more attention to him now. I told him to not be surprised if I end up reading them again or looking for books that are recommended by the author. I really have enjoyed spending so much time reading instead of watching t.v.

Other than that I hope that we won't be living in Virginia for much more than a week. At the latest we will be leaving on the 30th. Yeah! I can't wait to get back to Utah, to pick up my Cede dog and to go back to my house in St. George. Oh how I miss it!

Good Dinner, Good Friends!

2007-08-11T12:19:00.000-04:00

Last night my mom and I were able to meet two wonderful women for dinner. We met up with Jeannine Leeman and Rebecca Delight. Bringing good friends back together. It was so much fun. Sadly it has been so long since the 4 of us have been together. We reminisced and talked about what is going on in our lives. It's wonderful to have friends that no matter how long it has been, we can get together and it feels just like old times. It was so much fun! I love both of those women so much and hopefully we will make more time to see each other often. Here are some pictures to remember the night. If you can't tell by the pictures, Bec is pregnant. She looks so cute! Just this little belly. She is having a girl and I'm so excited for her!

Fun in Utah

2007-08-10T19:00:00.000-04:00

I know it's been a while since my last post. I'm still in Utah and I do have my camera but it is dead and I didn't bring the charger. It's been lots of fun to be with my family. I've had a good chance to see everyone. The first night I was here most of the family came to my parents and had a BBQ. I went down to my sister Kristina's last Friday to spend some time with her and then that night I went to Toby Keith with Julianne and Bracken. It was a last minute thing but Bracken's aunt had some free tickets so we were able to go. Ryan and Natalie Godfrey were able to come with us also and that was fun. I've been able to get together with my best friend Rebecca Delight and that is always the best. She is one of those friends that I don't have to talk to all the time but we are still best friends. We only get to see each other about 2 times a year but we keep in touch through email or phone calls. But really the best part about being here is being with my family. I miss them dearly. I have played with my nieces and nephews and have loved seeing all of them. So here are some pictures that we have taken while I've been here. The first is sleeping Brody. The next two pictures are from Grandma McGuire's funeral, me and Emma, Bracken and Jake. Then one of Baby Peter, he is getting so much bigger, now he weights 7 lbs 5oz. Last Jake, Emma and Kenslee came over to Grandma's to play in the pool in the back yard.

Utah!

2007-07-30T20:50:00.000-04:00

Right now I am upstairs at my parents house in Utah. Yes I am in Utah. I'm happy to be here to see my family but I also am here for a sad reason. On Friday my Grandma McGuire passed away. It is a bitter sweet feeling. She had a stroke 10 years ago and was left unable to speak or move around too much on her own. Although she couldn't talk to us you could tell she was so happy to just hear about what was going on in our lives and to just have us there to visit. I will truly miss my sweet Grandma who always had a smile on her face. I'm glad she is no longer stuck in a body where she is unable to do what she would like to and that she is now finally with my grandpa again. I will miss her!

I flew out Saturday morning from Virginia with Cede in a dog carrier. It was best to bring her with me because Jeff works so many hours a day that she would have been left home alone most of the time. She is enjoying being here, especially because my sister's dog Cleo is here to play with. On Sunday we Bill, Jacee, Kenslee, Bob, Erica, Brody, Ju, Bracken, and Harley came over for dinner. It was so fun to see everyone. I got to play with Kenslee a little, who I haven't seen since Christmas, and she is the cutest thing ever. She has such a fun personality and is always smiling and wanting to play. I also got to spend time with little Brody. He was a little fussy but I got him calmed down and he fell asleep as I held him. It was so fun! Now I just need to meet Peter for the first time and I am set as an aunt. I love being and aunt!

I would love to see anyone and everyone while I am in Utah. I will be here until the 14th so let's get together!

Random!

2007-07-24T16:04:00.000-04:00

So, I have been tagged yet again! My cousin Kristen has tagged me to list 7 different, random facts about myself. They can be funny, silly, whatever. Then I get to choose a few new people to tag, so they can list 7 random things about themselves.

1- I, myself am random. Out of nowhere I will come up with random questions or random things to say. Often times this will just stem from a conversation I am having and I will some how connect this conversation to a random thought. I've always been this way and I truly hope that it is not annoying but rather funny to people.

2- I don't listen after I ask questions. This mostly refers to Jeff but it happens with others sometimes. We will be driving and I'll think of something that I would like to know, so I ask but before he can answer I am already thinking of another question or just thinking of something else. He does not enjoy this because I then have to ask the question again. Sometimes it takes 3 times for me to listen. He won't answer after I ask twice usually.

3- I have a fear of sunken ships, yet I'm totally fascinated by them. I know that it is a weird fear because when am I going to come in contact with one. My thought is that ships belong on the water, not under the water so that they are sitting on the ocean floor. I know, still weird. So I watch the Discovery channel when they are talking about the Titanic but I cringe every now and then thinking about it.

4- I love movies. Jeff and I have almost 3 bookcases full of movies at home. I just love that they take me away from my every day life for a moment. I like the chick flicks, the action movies, even Star Wars. I could watch movies all day!

5- I already have at least 20 gray hairs. I'm only 23 and I already have a patch of gray coming in. I think by the time I am 26 I will for sure have a full streak of grays in the front. These aren't easy to hide unless I have my bangs down. If I put my hair straight back you can see them all. My dad tells me that my grandpa was gray by the time he was 30 so who knows if that will be me. I'm completely fine with the fact that I have these gray hairs though. This is life. (I think I get them from Jeff, he is high maintenance. Just kidding.)

6- I love to search the internet. I think of things during the day that I can search on the internet. Thank goodness for technology because I am a very curious person and I can find information about almost anything.

7-I love to cook. If I had a lot of money and plenty of time I would make big meals every night. I love trying new recipes. My friend Brittney and I have joked that we will buy a big house for our two families with a huge kitchen in the middle. I will make the meals for everyone since she doesn't enjoy cooking and she would clean since I don't enjoy cleaning. I also love to bake. It's always fun to try out a new chocolaty treat!

There are my few random things. Some of you may know about these and others won't so now you all know me better. Now I'll tag some others, Rebecca, Sarah, and Amber. Tag!

O.A.R.

2007-07-24T12:18:00.000-04:00

Jeff and I had a fun weekend. We drove down to Raleigh to see one of our favorite bands play. We saw O.A.R. Jeff has liked them for a long time and I was able to get us 2nd row tickets. It was an amazing concert. It was fun to share an experience like that with Jeff. We will definitely remember that forever. We then spent the night at the Hilton North Raleigh. The room was so nice. We ordered breakfast to be brought to our room the next morning and just had a great time. On Monday we went and saw "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". It was a great movie. Kind of scary but good. So the weekend was a hit!

Beach Time

2007-07-17T19:31:00.000-04:00

We have about 6 more weekends until we go home for the summer so we have decided we need to do as much as possible out here. I believe most of the weekends will be spent at the beach because it is about 30 min from where we live. We did happen to go there this last weekend so I thought I would post some pictures. I wish I would have gotten some pictures of Jeff in the water because let me tell you, he is a fish. He spent all but about 15 min of the time we were there in the water. I almost had to drag him out of the ocean. So with his love of the water we will be spending as much time there as possible. After, we went to a pizza place on the boardwalk and it was amazing. So hopefully we will have many more enjoyable times at the beach and I will definitely post more pictures.

We have moved AGAIN!

2007-07-13T11:49:00.001-04:00

Our summer has been a little crazy. Okay not just a little it has been extremely crazy! We have lived in Tampa, Florida, Durham, North Carolina, and now Suffolk, Virginia. I know, we can't believe it either, we moved again. So I am now sitting an another apartment in another state doing the same old things. There is a bonus to this apartment though. In all the other apartments they get us a bed, a dresser, some couches, a coffee table and a table and chairs. As for this place it has everything. Dishes, a tv in each room, pictures on the walls, the bed is fully made and extra linens are in the closet, completely furnished and everything. This is amazing because I'm not going to have to unpack as much stuff and in fact I can start throwing away some things we bought just to use out here. Oh and did I mention we have internet and cable. No more stealing internet from people who have not locked their wireless connection and we have ESPN for Jeff so that after a long day he can unwind. Although we were not happy to move this really nice apartment did help to make it a little easier. We also have a maid that comes in every two weeks to clean and change all the linens and things. We feel like we are in a nice hotel!

So we are slowly making our way up the east coast, maybe we'll even make it up to New York before the summer is over. No, no I do not want to move again. I hope all is well at home with everyone. We love you all

PS For those who have read my "Deal or No Deal" post, the maid is making my life a whole lot easier!

Transformers

2007-07-06T11:26:00.000-04:00

Jeff and I weren't able to do anything exciting on the 4th because he worked all day but last night we went to see a movie with the whole team. We went to see Transformers. I have to tell you I wasn't very excited to see this movie. I remember them from when I was little but I didn't know much about them. On the other hand, I guess Jeff really liked them as a kid and was really excited for the movie, so that made me excited. I don't know if my expectations weren't very high, but I found myself caught up in the story line and I completely enjoyed the movie. My friend leaned over to me during the movie and said, "This movie is legit!" I felt the same. The special effects were pretty cool and all around I just really enjoyed the movie. So I do recommend it and we will be buying it when it comes out to add to our movie collection. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

I've Been Tagged...

2007-06-30T11:01:00.000-04:00

My wonderful cousin tagged me, thanks, oh and thanks for the shout out on your blog! Here goes....

Jobs I have held:
1. Davis Park Cafe
2. Gary's Cleaners
3. Zions Bank
4. Transaction Coordinator-Re/Max First Realty

Movies I can watch over and over:
1. You've Got Mail
2. The Holiday
3. She's the Man

Places I've lived:
1. Fruit Heights, UT
2. Provo, UT
3. St. George, UT
4. Tampa, FL
5. Durham, NC

T.V. shows that I enjoy:
1. The Office
2. Friends
3. Gilmore Girls
4. CSI
5. Ghost Whisperer

Places I've been on vacation:
1. California
2. Florida
3. Jackson Hole
4. Cozumel
5. Belize
6. Grand Cayman
7. Nausau
8. Bear Lake
9. Nauvoo

Favorite foods:
1. Chocolate
2. Cheese
3. Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Web sites I visit almost daily:
1. Gmail
2. Blogger
3. Zions Bank

Places I'd rather be right now:
1. At my mom's house with all my family
2. My house in St. George, laying around with Jeff
3. Hawaii

Now I am tagging 3 other people. If you read this you can copy it, fill it out and then tag 3 other people. Have fun!
1. Kris
2. Rebecca
3. Amber

Deal or No Deal!

2007-06-29T12:28:00.000-04:00

Jeff and I have had a deal going for almost a year now. The deal is that if I can learn to keep a clean house I am allowed to have a baby. I agree with the deal because I believe no baby should live in a messy house, the child needs to have a good environment to go grow up in. Now for those of you that have lived with me or know me very well I am not the cleanest person. My clothes rarely make it to the closet or hamper when I take them off. They usually end up on the bed, the floor of the closest or the chair in our bedroom. I rarely take the time to actually put away my blow dryer or straightener after I use them, so after a few days I have things all over the bathroom. This drives my poor husband crazy because he is slightly OCD and wants a clean home. The thing he hates the most is if I come through the front door with things in my hands, they aren't put where they belong right then, they usually end up right next to the front door on the floor in our front room. He is always picking things up after me. I think there is truly something in my brain that keeps me from doing these simple tasks of putting things away. For example, if I decide that I want to eat a granola bar while sitting in my bed when I'm done my thought process is to set the wrapper on the night stand and I'll throw it away in a minute. (The wrapper sits there for days.) Jeff doesn't understand how I can't just get off my butt and throw the wrapper away right then. I really don't know why I can't, I just don't think to do it that way. You have to understand though, I do clean once a week, I'm not disgusting, just messy. So this is my attempt at changing. I had a good excuse when I was working full time in St. George. I told Jeff, "I am working just as much as you and I cannot be expected to clean this 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath townhouse by myself." The idea was to split the house into 2 and I would have my rooms to clean and he would have his. I attempted to keep my area of the house clean, which lasted for maybe a week. I just kept getting busy and forgetting. We are now living in a one bedroom apartment in North Carolina for the summer so I am going to finally become a clean person. I figure I can handle two rooms, one bathroom and a kitchen right? Yesterday I did a full cleaning and Jeff was so amazed. I told him to expect it for the rest of the summer. Maybe if I can keep this up my townhouse won't be that bad when i get home. So everyone think of me every time you are cleaning your house and hope that I am also cleaning mine. Here goes, maybe in a month or two you will be hearing some kind of baby news, I guess if you do, you'll know I kept a clean house!

Let's Hear It For The McCoys!

2007-06-24T13:16:00.001-04:00

Jeff and I just wanted to congratulate Brandon and Brittney McCoy on their new arrival. On June 21, 2007 Cruz Allen McCoy was born weighing 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 in. long. He is a beautiful boy, as you can tell by the picture. They are going to be great parents and we can't wait to get home to see our new little nephew. Brittney you just keep showing him pictures of us while we are gone so that when we see him he will be happy and know who we are. Congrats again and we love you!

Baby Peter is home!

2007-06-21T19:21:00.000-04:00

Baby Peter is officially home. He is still very small, only 4 lbs and on oxygen but he is home so we are all so happy. Kris is such a great mom and I'm so excited for her to have her baby at home with her. He is a beautiful baby and I can't wait to get home to see him.

Flashback Friday

2007-06-15T18:34:00.000-04:00

I've seen this done on other blogs so I thought I'd give it a try. These are pictures of our second Christmas together being married. We had just gotten a new camera so these are some of the first pictures taken with it. The one picture is of me and my beloved TiVo. I truly love it. We left it at home for our friends to use while we are away from the summer and it is so hard to not be able to rewind if I miss something. So I can't wait to have it back. Thank you to whoever made this wonderful thing called TiVo. The other is of Jeff at my sister, Kristina's house. He had just received a shirt from one of my siblings. I put it in here because I think he looks so handsome in the picture. So there is my first Flashback Friday. I think it is fun. You should try it too!

Here we come North Carolina!

2007-06-12T11:30:00.000-04:00

Well we've had a great time here in Florida but things are changing. The office we are with has had some hard times with people not being who we thought they were. Unfortunately they have had to be fired and some have left leaving us with a small team. There is another small team in Raleigh, North Carolina so we are consolidating and moving to North Carolina. It'll be fun to live in another state and I've never been to North Carolina so what an adventure. We are leaving Saturday to drive there, so the packing must start today. We are going to get to Busch Gardens before we head out because Jeff has been dying to go on all of the roller coasters. He has to have a little bit of fun every now and then, he is working so hard right now. So wish us luck in North Carolina!

Summer fun!

2007-05-31T12:01:00.000-04:00

So there isn't much going on in my life but I thought I would update everyone on what is happening. Jeff and I are in Tampa, Florida for the summer. Jeff is out selling security systems and learning how to be a manager, hoping to work up in the company next year. It's crazy hot here but we are having a good time. I am not working this summer, just being a stay-at-home wife and trying to finish a medical transcription course. So my days consist of a lot of time on the computer, cleaning, and spending time at the pool or out with some of the other wives. I have to say, I'm quite spoiled.

We did recently go to Siesta Key beach. It was tons of fun. The sand was amazing, it is so white and soft. We went there with some friends and their little girl Sophie. Jeff of course wanted to go out far in the ocean but I have a small fear of going into deep waters and not knowing what is beneath me. But I went out a ways with him to make him happy because I'm a good wife.

Jeff and I reached our 3rd anniversary just a few days ago. I can't believe that it has been that long. It's amazing what can happen in 3 years. We are so happy to be together and to have one another. Eventually we will start a family, but Jeff and I are happy we have waited this long. We have a great time together. It's amazing how much you still learn about your spouse every day.

So that is a little bit about what our life is here in Florida. I hope all is well with everyone and have a great day!

A new blogger

2007-05-25T17:32:00.000-04:00

I thought this blog thing sounded kind of fun so here I am trying it out. Hopefully this will be a good way to keep everyone updated on things that happen in our lives. So here goes!