The 9th Month

Is it time for the 9th month update already? I can't believe how quickly 9 months goes when the baby is outside of your body, rather than on the inside. Haha, I swear it took way longer than 9 months for her to get here.

She has definitely graduated from the 'baby' stage. She is cruising on her way to toddlerhood, and has no intention to slow down. She is miss independent and loves to play by herself and crawl around and basically just GO GO GO!

This month was so fun, the weather was amazing and we did lots outside. We took advantage of Daddy's new work schedule and went on lots of day dates with him. One day in particular that was really fun, we went to San Tan Village for lunch and to do some shopping. We ate lunch outside on the patio at Gordon Beirsch and then took Izzy to see the puppies and into the Disney Store. The  weather and the company could not have been better!

She mastered the art of feeding herself. Her little pincher grasp is just perfect. She will grab cheerios, puffs, cheese, turkey, strawberries, tomatoes, and basically anything else we put on her tray. She will also grab the spoon if we are feeding her and puts in right in her mouth every time. Now she just needs to learn how to scoop her own yogurt and change her own diaper ;)

We had the best Valentines Day! Alex and I were able to get a sitter for the day, and we went to As You Wish, (something Alex swore he would never do) got ice cream, went to the temple, and then had fondue that night with some friends. Alex also surprised me with a new Blendtec Blender. It was seriously the biggest shock! I am in love with it and have had smoothies every day since! As much as we love our little nugget, it is so nice to be able to spend some quality time with my main squeeze. We are super grateful for Grandmas who are always so willing to watch out munchkin!

Valentines Bed Head

AYW Creations

We went on lots of walks and trips to the park. This girls wasn't so sure about the baby swings just yet, but she did love feeling the grass and going down the slides! Days like these ones are just one of the many reasons why I love living in AZ. 

Iz got her SECOND haircut! her bangs were already hanging in her eyes again, and so we gave her a little trim. I can't believe this 9 month old has had 2 hair cuts!!

She is still just obsessed with baths and water in general. She loves so splash, and lick the water as it comes out of the faucet. She loves taking showers with us, and just feels the water and puts her face in it over and over again... I have a feeling she is gonna be obsessed with summer and all the swimming she will get to do! 

February was just amazing and I can't believe how much I love this little chicken!

• This month she has started to say more 'words'. my current favorite is "Tah-Dah" I will coax her to say it and then she will put one hand up in the air and say "Tah-Dah" Its fancastic.
  
  
  
• She is obsessed with peek a boo. But only if she can be holding the blanket/paper/book. She will hide her face and wait for us to say "where's Isabel?" and then she will pull the blanket/paper/book down and we yell "There she is" and she laughs so hard... this goes on for minutes on end
• She has finally mastered a regular crawl. Before now it was just army crawling. But now she is up on all fours and loves it. She goes 'round and around the island in out kitchen and loves chasing after our cat Franklin.
• She can sit herself up from any position, and then it's not long after she sits herself up and the crawls to a couch or chair or persons legs and is pulling herself up to stand. She is obsessed with standing.
  
• Her babbles have evolved to more of a 'talk' she really makes lots of different sounds and will carry on a 'conversation' with you all day long.
• Loves any and all animals. She is obsessed with Franklin, although I don't think that the feeling is mutual. She loves our best friends Great Dane, and loves and birds or animals we see outside.
• She is still take 3 naps a day. Her morning nap is about 2 hours. Her afternoon nap is about 2 1/2 hours and her evening nap about 45 minutes. It's amazing. 
• We have entered the stage of tantrums. She knows what she wants and will get upset if she can't have it. The two most common tantrum scenerios are when we make her stop brushing her teeth, and when we have to change her diaper/get her dressed. She HATES it. But if we distract her or sing songs she usually is pretty calm.
• She loves to dance. Whenever she hears fun music she will bounce and flap her arms up and down. it's amazing
  
  
  
• She is also obsessed with us patting her mouth while she says "ahhhh". She can be silent, and then you start patting her mouth she almost instantly she starts making noise to hear the funny sounds she makes. It's hilarious, because she has recently learned how to pat her own mouth and so she will do it to herself all day long. Ha!

Izzy, 

I know I say it every time, but I really am the luckiest mom in the whole world. You are so awesome and I hope you don't even lose your spunk or zest for life. I love you!

xoxo, mommy

Anniversary Week : Marriage

Today marks 4 years married to my best friend in the whole world.

Kneeling across the alter in the temple with alex holding my hands was probably one of the best moments of my life. I felt so much love in that moment; from my soon to be husband, from my family surrounding us, and especially from my Father in Heaven. My favorite moment from the temple was after the sealing, we were officially married, and we were holding hands walking down the hallway, and there was a big mirror at the end of the hall. I loved that image, of he and I, together in our temple clothes, just sealed and starting off our lives together. It was such a beautiful, promising, wonderful image that I am so glad I have to remember. 

Our wedding day was simple and laid back. I didn't want a big party, or anything crazy. I wanted a simple sealing in the temple, and a nice family dinner afterwards to celebrate with family and close friends. I would not have had it any other way. My focus that day was on my covenants that I was making with Alex. The sacred ceremony that was going to tie us together, even after death. That was so special to me, that it was all I wanted that day to be about. I wanted friends and family in the temple with us to help support us. I wanted dinner afterwards because, well, weddings make me hungry. 

It was the most gorgeous day in March, and I'm grateful everyday that Alex and I are together for time and all eternity. I can't imagine my life without him. He makes me laugh harder than anyone else. He keeps me level headed. He encourages me to do my best. He provides for me. He is helpful around the house. He is kind. He is hardworking in all things. He is so patient. He is handsome. He comes from an amazing family. He is family oriented. And he loves me through all circumstances. 

I'm in love with being married. Coming home to one another at the end of a long day is one of the best feelings. Not having to say goodnight out on the curb is so wonderful. Sleeping next to each other and waking up together is one of the best things about being married. Marriage is having someone to support you, and (kindly) correct you, and help you improve, and hold your hand, and tell you that you have a cute bum. It's having someone who will love you even if you only feel like wearing your pjs all day, or if you forgot to buy milk for the 4th day in a row, or if you left the laundry out by the dryer for a whole week without folding it. 

I'm a lucky lady. I married up. I love him. 

Anniversary Week : Engagement

Getting engaged took long enough... we looked at rings in August, and weren't engaged until NOVEMBER! Ha, took him long enough... 

There were a few times when I thought he was going to propose before then, but they all ended up being false alarms. For example, Alex had asked me to take the day off work, and told me to dress warm and be prepared for a big surprise! How was I not supposed to think that he was proposing?! Haha the big surprise was going Ice Skating, (which I had never done before) and shopping and dinner at the Olive Garden (It was fancy for us at the time... haha). It was an amazing day, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little disappointed that the night didn't end with the pop of a question and a sparkly thing. 

It took THREE more months until we had another date that I thought could result in an engagement. I suspected something was up, because Alex isn't usually SUPER excited about dates he plans, but this time he couldn't stop talking about it. He kept texting me all week, and telling me how excited he was for friday! 

He had planned a date to Fountain Hills (I told you we liked it there) and we picked up Chipotle and some Dr. Peppers on our way. I had a hunch that tonight was the night, but didn't want to get my hopes up. We enjoyed our dinner, and Alex had written me a sweet note telling me why he loved me (another big clue... he isn't one to write out his feelings...) It was amazingly sweet, and we enjoyed the fountain for a while, but then I was too cold to keep sitting there. It was November, and Alex hadn't told me to dress particularly warm, so I was in a denim skirt with tights, and a long sleeved top... Not too great for being out by a lake in winter. So I asked if we could just go back to one of our houses and watch a movie. His face immediately fell, but he said of course, and walked me back to the car. We drove home and Alex was weirdly quiet. I had a feeling that I had ruined his plans and I STILL feel bad about this. He did a great job at improvising though because he clearly had an agenda for that night, so instead of going home, we went to the park in my parents neighborhood. 

He parked and said, "We can't go home yet..." haha. He got me out of the car, and took me over to the ramada and asked me to dance. He started playing "Besame" by Camila and we started dancing, and he was singing to me, and I was melting into a puddle, because again, this NEVER happens. We kept dancing after the song ended and Alex kept talking to me and telling me things that he loved and admired about me. (seriously i'm getting butterflies right now just going back and thinking about this moment) We stopped and he looked at me and asked me if I could do him a favor. I said sure, and then watched him get down on one knee, pull out a ring box and ask me to marry him! I couldn't even wait for him to finish saying all the words before I was saying "Yes yes yes!" over and over again. I started crying and hugged him so tight. I was still hugging him when he asked, "Do you even want to see the ring?" haha I had been so excited, I didn't even look at the ring. But when I saw the one he picked I was so so happy. This was the first ring I had looked at and the only one that felt (and still feels) like MY ring. I put it on and couldn't wait to run off and tell our families. 

It was a perfect night, even if things hadn't really gone according to plan. 

Being engaged was amazing. I was so great to feel secure in my relationship and to have a goal that we were working towards. Wedding planning was fun and stressful, just like it should be. I think we really made the most of our engagement. We enjoyed every second. Alex will say that one of the most satisfying things was to see that ring on my finger and to know that I was all his, and that everyone knew it. 

I'm so thankful that Alex chose to spend his life with me. I've spent every moment since he got down on one knee trying to be a better person so that I can live up to everything that he sees in me. Alex is genuine and loving and kind and makes me laugh more than anyone. I'm seriously so lucky and there has never been an easier question to answer than when he asked me to be his forever. 

Anniversary Week : Dating

In honor of Alex and I celebrating 4 years of marriage this week, I thought it would be fun to go back and look at some of my favorite memories from our years together.


DATING


We really had so many fun dates! We were able to go to sports games, trips to utah, ice skating, bowling, star gazing and so much more. We always made spending time together a huge priority, and know that if we were going to together, we needed to be filling our time with something fun and worthwhile. Of course, we enjoyed many lazy movie nights and simple lunch dates, but I feel like we did a really good job of making sure we made dating fun and exciting.

The memories that stick with me most from dating Alex mostly include laughing til I cry, eating amazing tacos, singing Ke$ha songs in the car, picnics and taking lots of silly pictures. Since I didn't have a smart phone back then, I always carried around my small point and shoot camera. And boy, did we take lots of pictures.

on our first date!!

I think my all time favorite date was a small day trip we planned up to Payson. Alex packed a picnic, and picked me up at my house early in the morning. We drove up north, singing songs and talking and holding hands. It was August, and we were excited to escape the heat of the valley. We found a gorgeous little park with a big pond and laid out our blanket. We ate snacks, watched some hilarious old people practicing Tai Chi, played frisbee, and fed the ducks. We also talked a lot about the future, and Alex says that this was the day that he distinctly remembers deciding that he was going to ask me to marry him (granted, that didn't happen for a few more months...) We walked around town, and moseyed through some little thrift shops. It was such a laid back day, something we excel at, and we made so many fun memories and we still reference some inside jokes from that day.

We obviously loved picnics, because some of my other favorite dates also include eating dinner on a blanket at the park! We loved driving out to Fountain Hills and grabbing something yummy to eat, and bringing cards or a laptop and a movie and just camping out on the side of the lake and watching the fountain go off a couple of times. We always took too many silly pictures, and I just remember it being so fun and innocent and easy! 

Dating, if you let it, can be some of the best years of your life. It's easy to get discouraged, and feel like there is no one out there who gets you. But I think that one of the best things I learned from dating is to keep an open mind. When I met Alex I was in no mood to date. I had just gotten out of a relationship, and my heart was still hurting. I told myself that I needed a break from dating and from boys in general. But then Alex came along and I decided that I could just let my guard down for one date, and see what happened... and it's a good thing I did.

I think it's important to not put all boys under the same umbrella. Yes, some boys are rude, but not all. Some boys are immature, but not all. Some boys will break your heart, but not all. You may have to kiss a lot of frogs until you find your prince. And that's okay. Because in the end it will all be worth it. And even though you won't end up marrying every person that you date, you can still learn a lot from every situation that you are in.

I'm glad that Alex met me when he did. I had been humbled, and beaten down, and broken hearted and I had also realized that I was not defined by the boys who liked me, and I had more confidence in who I was and what I stood for. I was sure of what I wanted. I was a better person for Alex because of everything I had gone through, and I'm grateful for that.

We still make dating a priority today! Dates are so important to help us reconnect with each other after a long busy week. Some nights we just go out for dinner so we can talk, and other nights we go shopping because even though it's date night, we still need milk and so we make a trip to Fry's. And sometimes we stay in and have a romantic Spa Night or we make homemade pretzels.

I fell in love with Alex while dating him, and I continue to fall in love with him now while dating him.