good week

So I like to post on my blog about once a week just to keep it going, but really, I have nothing to post about of any substance.  It's been a lovely Thanksgiving week with tons of time spent with Bill's family.  Thanksgiving day was wonderful.  My grandparents came along to the feast too and that was awesome.  I'm pretty sure I didn't take any pictures, but suffice it to say we had a good time.  Genevieve and Spencer were much fawned over by their adoring aunts and grandparents. We took family pictures.  Those will be forthcoming later. Bill's sister was so kind to take them for us. 

Yup, that's about it.  The biggest thing on my mind is that Bill is exactly two weeks from the last day of classes for his undergrad degree. What a blessed day that will be!  Then three or four weeks after that we're off to South Carolina. Woot! This has been one of the fastest semesters of school imaginable yet it feels like it's been an eternity since August  because so much stuff has happened, or to be more exact, more life decisions made in the last three months than in the last four years.  Heck, we had a baby, applied and got into a PhD program, planned out our  move, and in the meantime served as young women's president and in the stake young men's presidency.  It's been a tad busy to say the least. :)  Good times have been had all around.  And that's all I've got tonight.

Tickets purchased

I just purchased plane tickets for me and the kids to fly out to South Carolina in January.  This is the first actual money we've spent towards this move.  The rest is just scheduled at the moment. It still feels a little surreal.  Bill finishes his bachelor's degree in three weeks.  We were talking last night about it and it feels like we've been going full speed with no end in sight for years and then suddenly it's over.  There was no slow ride to the end or any build up.  Just suddenly he's in his last semester and it flew by at the speed of light and we're just about done.

I was reminiscing last night about when I was 10 and my family moved from California to Colorado Springs.  I was so stinkin' excited about the move until the very last night when it hit me that I was leaving my best friend.  I called her and totally bawled on the phone about it. That was the moment it hit me everything I was leaving behind.  I feel like with this move I'm getting to that point now.  I've lived in Utah for the majority of the last 11 years.  I didn't plan to stay here that long, but I have and it has become home. 

Both my family and my in-laws live here now, so this is where we will come back to when we visit family.  It hasn't felt like the place we would end up as a family for a while now, but it's still home at the moment and I'm truly going to miss so many dear friends and family members around here.  If the air quality wasn't so bad here, this would be my ideal location to live forever.  The outdoor activities available here so close to us are beyond amazing.  Being near family has been wonderful.  So as excited as I am for this new adventure of ours, I'm starting to feel all the things I will miss too and that's sad.  It's a good thing though because it will help us to make the most of our last month and hopefully do as many things as we can to enjoy it to the fullest.

A Mix of Things

I forgot to post Genevieve's 2-month pictures.  And her blessing pictures.  Apparently I'm using my time for other things these days. I was definitely more into blogging every little change in Spencer's life.  Don't worry, Genevieve. We still love you. Life is just a little busier with you around.  So here are a few pictures to show what's been going on lately.

Everyone that came to Genevieve's blessing, plus Kelly, who was taking the picture. She got blessed on October 14th.

Best family photo we got. We're all smiling.  Looking at the camera is optional.

Genevieve put her pants on her head.  Oh wait.

Two-month picture.  I packed the globe.  Oops.  The clown is cuter anyway, especially since it was mine when I was a baby, so it's in my baby pictures too.

First snow of the year.  We got probably 8 inches. Spencer loved it until he got wet, then he didn't want anything to do with it. 

He spent most of his time pulling the berries off the bush and throwing them.

Bill spent most of his time building an epic snowman...which fell down before we even went inside.  Oops.

Genevieve actually seemed to enjoy standing in his pocket.  Really she just enjoys standing, wherever she happens to be.

The story of her life. Spencer laying on her.  He thinks he's loving her. One of these days she's going to get him back for all the times he squished her. 

I got the camera out fast enough to get a smiling shot!

See, Genevieve's already perfecting "the look."  Spencer looks scared. :)

Halloween

The actual day of Halloween was a tad anti-climactic, but we had awesome costumes. Spencer didn't take a nap during the day, so when we went to the ward trunk-or-treat that night, he was dead tired and not nearly as fun as he would be if he were actually well rested.  That didn't stop him from looking adorable in his costume and stuffing his face with as much candy as he could get his hands on. We decided not to go do any trick or treating at houses with as tired as he was, so that ended up being the extent of our Halloween.  Oh well. We have lots more years to do this again.

At the trunk-or-treat, Spence really didn't get the concept that candy went in his bag.  He knew how to put it in, but when he saw something he liked, he got really mad when we didn't give it to him.  I guess I can't blame him. :)

We went as African explorers with our tiger and zebra in tow.  Bonus, Spencer looked like the Clemson mascot.  We'll pretend we planned that. :)  In reality we picked up their costumes at Costco before going to Clemson was anywhere near decided, back around Labor Day. Another bonus was Bill and I scrounged our parts of the costume up from clothes and gear we own, except for the pith helmet.  That's his dad's and it was awesome. I'd say it was a successful year, tired kid and all.

Perfect dinner prep activity

Hi guys. I like to draw.  And when I do this then Mom can make dinner in peace.

He liked drawing so much that he ignored the cookie.  That's saying something. I ate it for him. :)

Spoiler alert. We have a cute baby.  And she thinks she can stand at two months.

She's not into smiling for the camera.  That's the best we've got.

Recipe for an unhappy child

1. Back molars coming in.
2. Mom refusing to feed said child solely fruit snacks and chocolate chips

Result?  He has mastered the art of throwing himself down on the floor and crying hysterically only to pop back up the moment something distracts him as if nothing were wrong.  It's driving me a tad crazy.

In good news however, he is now officially sleeping in his toddler bed.  He's been sleeping in his crib turned into a daybed for a couple weeks but I switched his toddler bed and crib places today and put the side back up on the crib in preparation for the little sister to sleep in it sometime. And it only resulted in one freak out that his world was totally ending because he couldn't climb into his crib anymore.  Don't worry though.  He figured out how to climb up into it while he was with Dad tonight.  Climb up on the side, step up on the mattress, dive into the crib head first! Good thing he doesn't have quite enough courage to get back out the same way. He slept in his bed during his nap and is asleep in it now no problem.  There's one thing checked off my list of things I have to teach my child that worry me. :)

Pumpkins!

We went with Bill's mom and brother/SIL and the kids to pick out pumpkins on Saturday and it was so much fun!  Spencer is so more interactive and fun this year, so he actually enjoys these activities and we just had a great time.  We went to a sweet pick your own pumpkin patch in Salt Lake not too far from where Bill's parents live, and it was just perfect.  Spencer spent a bunch of time just wandering around the patch, throwing a few pumpkins, falling down, getting covered in dirt, and just having a great time.  And then he picked a beautiful pumpkin and we'll be carving it sometime between now and Halloween. Good times!

Dirt.  That's really all he needs to be happy.

Hi Mom.  This is fantastic!

This is what Genevieve was doing pretty much the whole time.

Hey look, a dry bush.  That looks fun to play with.

Sometimes I can't believe we have two kids.  They're pretty awesome. 

We caught a smile on camera! She smiles a lot, but I never get a picture of it.

I love the polka dot hat.

Just playin' in the dirt with my aunt.  Life is good.

hello gorgeous quilt

 You may think you have a great MIL, but can she make this for your new baby?  Because this is seriously a beautiful quilt and Genevieve is going to love it forever.  Or I will at least.  And Spencer has an equally amazing one too that I'm sure I took a picture of when he was born. Why yes, here it is in this post about his bed. Thanks, Suzanne!

Blessing Dress Pictures

Genevieve and I had a little photo shoot yesterday in our backyard with her blessing dress. I wouldn't say I'm an amazing photographer, but she's pretty cute and that makes it all work out. Here's some of the shots.

that's her quilt from her grandma.  It's a work of art.  I should take a picture just of it to post

token Spencer shot. :)

she thought about smiling

I love her eyes

best shot of the actual dress

Can we finalize things already?

Ever feel like you have something amazing coming down the pipeline and then suddenly it feels like it gets taken away?  Yeah, that's a bit how I feel at the moment, but I don't know if it's the reality, and that's driving me crazy.  Two months to go until Bill graduates and we're still trying to figure out what we're doing and having trouble with communication channels at our first choice.  I'm not sure what's going to happen there, and we have backup plans, but I like the first option better. It felt so right a month ago, but now it's just all up in the air and it's driving me a little crazy.  Well a lot crazy.  I've gotten all excited to move onto new adventures and that might not be happening.  It kind of makes me want to cry.  I'll just suck it up good or bad once it all falls into place, whatever happens, but this limbo place is awful. 

This Might Be the Coolest Thing I've Ever Made

It all started when Tori sent me a link to the Etsy site selling this pattern.  I looked at it for days, marveling at its cuteness before I decided it was worth $7 to get the pattern.  Then I made it and it was awesome.  This is actually the dress, just laid out on my bedspread.  It's a tad wide when I put it on Genevieve but that allows it to go on.  I had to start  over once because I made it too small and it wouldn't fit over her head.  It's my first ever piece of clothing I've crocheted and I just love it. She's getting blessed in it on Sunday, so more pictures to come.

A Mix of Things

I love outdoor light. Bill snagged this sweet photo when he took Spencer to the duck pond at BYU.

Sometimes it's just necessary to be covered in stuffed animals.

Look at those battle wounds. Spencer's had a rough week where his face is concerned. He tumbled down the front steps and got his chin and barn doored into a brick corner at the church to get his cheek.

Funny story of the week: We went out to eat tonight at a crepes place, which is really good by the way.  There's a tree made out of one of the columns in the middle of the restaurant.  Spencer went up to it and when Bill told him it was a tree he kissed the "trunk."  It reminded me that he did the same thing last week at my young women's activity with the girls and that time he hugged the tree too.  No idea where he got that idea, but it's hilarious.

Also, Genevieve is starting to smile a lot and it's fantastic. :)

One Month and Shower time Fun

Mom is in the shower.  Time to go find something to get into.  This time it was my mascara. He was pretty proud of himself. 

This big girl is a month old.  Time is flying! The globe is to show her growth.  Who knows, maybe it'll inspire her to be a world traveler or something like that. :)

Photos of the Day

It got too quiet the other day and we walked in Spencer's room to find him having a heyday with the diaper rash cream.  See that black all over his pants and the changing table?  Yeah, it's the cream.  And his leg and hands were VERY moisturized. :)  Too bad it didn't really come off the cover.  Now there's black marks all over it.  His pants are still in question.  Thank goodness for OxiClean.

What, sitting in a bumbo at one-month old?  I think yes!  She does occasionally smile, though this is his usual expression at the moment. :)

Things that make me smile at the moment

This chin

Those cheeks

Holding both kids at the same time

Possibly running this race in December, and really just the thought of running again