Billy, Alesa & Eliza

Holidays

2012-01-07T14:07:00.000-08:00

All the family!

the entire family, except Jason

Wow! As much fun as the holiday's are, I'm glad to be home in my own bed and not living out of a suit case. We were gone for about 2 1/2 weeks. The first week we spent with the Beards. We went to their house in Lake Havasu, AZ. It wasn't as warm there as we had hoped, but of course right after we left for Teton Valley again it got warm and nice. Oh well. We got to go on a tour around the Lake and learn more about it, which was neat. It was too chilly to do much else. We did get to go in the pool our last day there, which I was excited about! Eliza loooves swimming, so she had a blast! We also got to enjoy the hot tub! aaahhh! love hot tubs! We got to have our christmas from them a little early because we were leaving, and of course, we got totally spoiled! My favorite was my new Kitchen Aid! Eliza's big present was a doll house, which she loves! and Billy's was a new Suit! snazzy! We're so very blessed!

The morning we were leaving Lake Havasu, our plan was to be out by 5:30 am (its about a 13-14 hr drive) but I figured it would be closer to 6. So it was, and we say our goodbyes, and get in the car to leave, and the car won't turn on. :( hmmm.. So we go in, and realized that when Jim had pulled our car into the garage that morning, he forgot to turn the lights off! ( we'll get to tease him about that for a long time! :)) so we jumped it, and got on the road. We hadn't gone very far before Billy said the car wasn't shifting. So we turned around and went back! The guys figured it all out, but we had to wait a bit. So we said our second round of goodbye's, and finally got on the road at about 7:30. Good times!

We picked up my sister Jenna in Utah, and then decided to just stay the night at our new place in Idaho Falls. Oh ya, we moved to Idaho Falls!! It was like a week before we left. Quite hectic! We love our new place. Its a 2 bdrm townhouse. It has a more homey feeling than an apartment. And it was the best deal that wasn't a hole in the ground. So its great! I'll post pictures later. Anyway, so we made it to my house in Alta, Wyoming Christmas Eve, just in time to go caroling! Then we came home, had a yummy dinner, read the Christmas story, and Garrett gave his little own Christmas story, which was so cute! Eliza was excited for Santa to come! It was fun to see her get excited! And again we got even more spoiled!!! We got a second Crock-Pot, tools, toys, movies, gift cards and much more. We get double spoiled at Christmas. But I mostly love being with all the family. My family loves playing games, especially Rook. So we definitely had some games of that, and other fun games. I felt like I barely saw Eliza cuz she was having so much fun with her cousins! They all had a blast together!

New Years we had a ton of the Wilson cousins over, and had a big dinner, then hung out and played more games till the new year! It was a lot of fun! Tavner and Tate gave their farewell talks that Sunday, January 1st, and it was one of the most amazing meetings I've ever been too. Of course I'm biased towards them, but seriously, it was Awesome! Tate, as always, was just funny, but gave an amazing message on family, and got choked up at the end, which wasn't good, cuz all us sisters, sisters-in-law, and Mom all sang after he spoke. We sang "I'll go where you want me to go" with Aunt Karen on the piano, and Billy on the violin, and our cousin Adam on viola. Then Tavner spoke about how he gained his testimony, and the struggles he's gone through. I was crying like a baby. but he challenged everyone to read the Book of Mormon, and really find out if it's true or not. I'm soo proud of my little brothers. I'm so glad I had the chance to hang out with them so much this last semester while they were in college. They are so awesome, and even though they are younger than me, they are such great examples to me. They are going to be Great missionaries. I'm going to miss them a lot!

We had a wonderful holiday break, and now, back to normal life! Billy starts working full time at Melaleuca here in Idaho Falls at their corporate building next week, and I'm still trying to figure out where I want all my pictures to hang. Uh, I'm not good at this part! I always second guess where I put something. So if anyone likes doing this part, please come over and help me! And then we'll start our second round of potty training Eliza. Yay!

Hope everyone had a good holiday, and have a wonderful New Year!

start of fall update

2011-10-26T14:56:00.000-07:00

hanging with her cousins at the pumpkin patch. They also

got to go on a cute little train ride! She loooves her cousins!

Eliza's masterpiece. I was painting a shelf, so I already

had the stuff layed out to protect the floor, so I figured

it would be a painting day for Eliza too. She loves it!

a little apron I made for Eliza! I found the pattern on pinterest.

I used to do this when I was her age. My mom has a picture of it, so

I'll have to put them next to each other. It made me

happy to see some of me in her! But maybe all kids do this. oh well!

farm girl pics

2011-10-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

these are the pictures that for some reason won't show on my post below.

little farm girl

2011-09-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

Working on the farm with Daddy.

I quite like this picture with the Tetons and the old truck in the back round.Some professional editing would probably make it look even better.

Driving the Combine with Grandpa

Eliza and I have the same conversation just about every day that goes something like this:
Eliza: Mom, I'll be right back.
Me: Where are you going?
Eliza: I'm goin' to work.
Me: Where are you going to work?
Eliza: I'm goin' to work on the farm!
then I usually ask her what she's going to do on the farm,
and she says she'll either Combine or Swath.
I think it's pretty cute that she loves the farm already.
like Father, like Daughter.
She really notices when you're dirty though, so whenever Billy comes home
and is all dirty she lets us know that "Dadda's all dirty!"
and is usually followed by "Dadda needs a shower!"
Lately though since Billy's been in school, when he comes home, he's clean.
and Eliza always informs us when he walks in the door that
"Dadda's all Clean!"
She gets very excited when he comes home, and I think it's so darling.
She loves her Daddy.
She'll hug our leg and say
"I love you So much!"
She's a very lovey child. and loves to pat everything that's cute.
(I wonder where that came from?) ;)
Today Billy and I were sitting on the couch and she comes up to us and said
" Two Friends"
I thought it was cute, and I love that she's sees us as friends. Billy definitely is my Best Friend. dirty or clean.

2 year pictures

2011-09-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

my sweet little angel

These were taken a while ago, but I'm trying

to be a better blogger, so I've gotta

catch up a bit!

It is quite handy having my Mom able to take such

great pictures for me all the time!

Thanks Mom!

Billy Beard? or Billy Mustache?

2011-09-12T10:38:00.001-07:00

Today is Billy's LAST first day of school at BYU-I!!! I can't believe it's finally here! And as always after the 7 week break he has to shave off the handsome goatee. tear. :( So when he was shaving it off, I asked him to leave the mustache so we could see what he looks like. He actually has a pretty good looking one! Even he said he was surprised that he actually liked it a bit. A lot of the guys who grow mustache's at BYU look bad, and creepy. But I convinced him to keep it for just one day. I think he looks way older! I definitely think the whole goatee looks the best. It looks so sharp. I just LOVE it! I can't wait till he can grow it back! Only 3 more months!!!

The last picture is a picture of Brandon Flowers. He's the singer in the band The Killers. It surprises me how much he and Billy look alike! He could be his double if he was sick and couldn't sing or something! haha!

blog diary/journal?

2011-09-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

So I know a lot of people use their blogs as their diary kind of thing. Which is really great, and I'm all about diaries. I have probably 15 journals starting from when I was 8. I've noticed since I got married that I've gotten worse at writing in it, which is bad, because I feel my marriage and what is happening now is way more important that what guy I had a crush on in middle school! Don't get me wrong, reading through some of that stuff is pretty comical! but petty, and I'm not sure I want my kids reading all that! Anyway, So I want to be better at blogging, cuz I can type much faster than I can write, so maybe I can document my life a little better....hopefully. I can't make any promises, cuz I'm not known for being a good blogger, or even a good writer. My Mother is a great writer. I struggle with making my writing creative, its more like 'See Spot Run' kinda stuff! So, ya.

Today I just felt like I was running back and forth from at&t to wal-mart asking about their phones. Earlier this summer Eliza and I were in the hot tub, and I brought my phone so I could see the time, cuz I needed to be somewhere, and we couldn't stay too long. Eliza grabbed it without me noticing till she was in the water with it. It was barely in the water, but it crashed, So I had to get a new one, and while Billy and I were in Utah a couple weeks ago he filled up my water bottle, and sometimes you think you closed the lid, but it isn't. That's what happened. He gave it to me, and I put it in my purse. I noticed it felt wet, I looked in and the whole bottom was all wet. And of course my phone was on the bottom, I put it in rice, and when I took it out it survived! It struggled a little bit with a few things, but I could deal with them. But last week it started just shutting off, and trying to turn on, and did that over and over, but wouldn't turn on. It did once and a while, and I could make a call or two or write a couple texts, but then would turn off. So I hoped it would get better, but didn't seem to be and I really needed a phone. so I was going back and forth seeing prices and stuff. turns out they're really expensive! So I ended up with a $15 phone from walmart. it doesn't have a camera which is a bummer cuz I like to send lots of picture texts of Eliza to people, and its just nice to be able to send a pic for whatever reason. So no more of that I guess. I'm not sure why I just told that entire story, but whatever, this is my journalish thing right?

Onto a cuter part of my day! I took Eliza to the park. The one we were at has a stream that goes through it, so there's 2 bridges. For some reason Eliza must have thought they were much more narrow (they're quite wide though), cuz she acted like she was walking on a balance beam. I couldn't stop laughing as she took tiny little steps and kept losing her balance, not falling, but really wobbly. Finally she just got down on her hands and knee's and crawled the rest of the way! And right then I was wishing I had a camera on my phone so I could video her, but no. Anyway, it was so cute!

I also took Eliza to the doctor. She got her finger shut in a car door on sunday. It seemed fine, got a little swollen, but this morning she then shut it in the cabinet door and it swelled more and was oozing a bit. So I figured we should have it looked at. Also I was cleaning some of her toys in the tub last night, and had some bleach in with the water. I was cooking dinner and noticed she left the kitchen, and wasn't in the living room, so I ran to the bathroom and she was holding one of her tea cups and had a little drip of water on her chin, I instantly freaked out and asked her if she drank it, she said yes. oh no! So I called Poison Control (this was before I got the new phone, so I was very lucky that my phone even turned on to call) and she said give her lots of water, and to watch if she gets any rashes or anything, or foaming. She said she should be fine where it was diluted with water, and we drink chlorinated water living in America anyway. So she said just to watch her. She seemed fine. I don't know how much she drank, I just hope it wasn't a lot. So I asked about that at the dr. too. He asked if she had been eating just fine, and not acting like it hurt. Which she was eating fine. She ate her quesadilla last night, and this morning ate like 2 or 3 blueberry banana muffins I made (which were very yummy by the way, if I do say so myself!) and her fruit smoothie. he looked in her mouth and said it looked good. He didn't seem worried, thankfully! but he prescribed us some antibiotics for her finger so it doesn't get infected, and he said her nail might fall off. but that's better than a finger, right?!

Anyway, so that's about the extent of my day. Wow, this is long, and probably really boring. but no one has to read it if they don't want I guess. Oh, and Eliza called me Sweetie today. I thought it was cute! I love her! and that's my day.

Eliza is 2!!!

2011-08-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

My Baby girl is 2!! So I don't think she's a baby anymore! She seems to have a good vocabulary. Everyone who has been around her for even a short while seems so be surprised she talks so well. :) She's been putting 4 and 5 words together for a while, which is very fun! I can actually have conversations with her! It's great! She can say her ABC's if I am singing with her. My favorite thing she says is "Soooo....what you wanna do, Mom?"

Her hair is getting longer and longer, and I LOVE it! It is so fun doing new things with it!

She Loooves swimming! If she has her floaties on or a life jacket she's fearless! She'll jump in over and over, and swim all over the place!

She loves stairs.

Another cute thing she tells me is "I'll be right back." and I ask her where she is going she says " I go work on the farm, and drive the combine" it's pretty cute, I think!

I think she definitely got music in her blood (yay!) She loves singing! Whether its something totally random, or walking around the house singing I am a Child of God or I love to see the Temple. She's getting pretty good at them too! I'm so proud of her!

Plans as of now

2011-05-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

So Billy's schooling is drawing to a close with 1 1/2 semesters left (finally! I never thought I'd see the end!). At least at BYU-I. He'll graduate with his bachelors in Accounting this December!

He's been working for a company called Melaleuca (they make home products from dish soap to granola bars, to makeup, and lots more) for the last 2 years as a hot shot. So he only works 3 days a month, which has worked well. Recently he has looked into their corporate office in Idaho Falls. We went and toured it, and it looked awesome! He had an interview last week with them, and he said it couldn't have gone better! He said Billy was spot on, and asked him when he would be able to start?! I'm so proud of him!! They have really great insurance, and I mean really great. A gym, a restaurant, and day care at the corporate office. They even have errand runners there who will go get your oil changed, pick up your dry cleaning etc... They also do a thing called tuition reimbursement. He just has to work for them for 2 years, and they'll pay for his master's degree (which is awesome!). Bummer thing: He will have to be working full time while going to school. He will probably work during the day, and then go to night school at ISU's idaho falls school. Needless to say, we probably won't see him much. But it will just be for 1 year. So looks like we'll be going to Idaho Falls when he graduates. Of course things are not set it stone yet, but it sure is nice having a good idea of what we'll be doing, and where we'll be going. We're thinking if everything works out we will look into buying a house, which gets me Very excited!! All of this looked so far into the future! I'm so glad its here and maybe we won't be poor college students forever!

Our plan before this was to maybe go somewhere farther away (like California!) for the 1 year of masters. But when Billy talked about a house, it was hard to say no.

I'm so excited for the next chapter of our lives...

CALIFORNIA!!

2011-03-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

trying sushi for the first time!!

love these girls!

crazy girls!

toes in the sand

Night out with the girls!

doing the Bride's hair!

most beautiful temple!

Most beautiful Bride!

So happy for them!!

you have to do a jump on the beach!!

out for lunch

Well, we obviously had a WONDERFUL time in California!! Diane and I think it was pretty nice of Julianne to have her wedding in California, so we had a good excuse to get out of freezing Idaho!! We got to be her brides maids, which was so fun for me, cuz I've never been one before!!

It was a bit of an adventure getting there! We flew into long beach, then got a rental car and drove to San Diego, and got lost a few times! good times, though!

The first night we had dinner with her family, then when everyone was in bed us girls went out!! Ran on the beach, and other things, then went to a cafe and got hot chocolate and a tart! yum! While we were there a drunk guy was trying to break into our car! haha! He thought we were his ride, cuz after a bit we saw a car drive up and he got in. Pretty entertaining! We had such a fun, and memorable night together!

Then the wedding!!! I did Julie's hair, and Diane did her makeup. She was soo beautiful if I do say so myself! I had been to the San Diego Temple once before a long time ago when it was being built. It has always been my favorite! It was amazing to be able to go inside! The ceremony was Beautiful! Such a sweet spirit was there.

Her reception was gorgeous, and so much fun! we had a little dance party at the end! Totally Julianne! Love her! I can't wait to see all the pictures! So now her, Cory and Kai are a perfect little family now!! Words cannot express how happy I am for her! She deserves this more than anyone!

Then off to Laguna Beach for Diane and I! Took us a while to find a hotel that had a room available, and not break us! We finally did, slept well, and had a wonderful relaxing day walking on the beach, and around town looking at all the shops. So fun! It was a bit chilly, but Waaay better than Idaho!! Then our last day we did a little shopping, then ran on the beach one last time! :( I want to move there so bad now!! It was such a great trip! But I also missed my honey, and little bug. So it was good to come home too. Everyone should go to San Diego!

blog catch up

2011-02-16T11:01:00.000-08:00

at the Havasu house!

playing in the snow! Tavner and his friends made a huge snow cave! It was very impressive!

The Priesthood took us wives out on a date. We were picked up in a Limo!! Billy and Rob serenaded us while we waited for everyone to arrive!

perfect view, rabbit teeth, crazy hair, and ice skating! fun stuff!

Eliza decided to draw me a picture on our wall. :( but she helped me clean it off.

she loves her Daddy. We took a trip to Utah with Grandma and Grandpa. I think she had fun with her Great Grandpa Wilson.

Salt Lake Temple. Valentine cupcakes. Hanging with her cousin Aviel.

Hanging out with her boyfriend Jack. They have a love/hate relationship right now. and watching something with Uncle Tav.

First Haircut

2010-12-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

So I decided to give Eliza a little trim to even out her hair. This was actually a while ago. She did so good though! I'm so proud of her!

milestones

2010-11-11T15:39:00.000-08:00

Eliza had a check up today. she's 15 months. I look at her sometimes, and just wonder how she got so big!
Anyway, she weighs 19.8 lbs; in the 8%. 31in tall; in the 67%. They don't worry about them until they get into the 5%. So they said she's just tall and slender, and looks great!
She says 25+ words! Mama, Dada, Rama (grandma), Hi, buh bye, baby, dar (star), peas (please), woof-woof, meow, neigh, moo, roar, uh-uh, bo (bodle), an (sometimes she can say ang), ball, no, ray (ready), up, uh-oh, I love you, wha (what), one, andy (she only said that a few times), yum, wow, oh, boo. There's been others that she's just said once, but I don't remember them. She also signs 'more', and does a fish face! She points to her eyes, ears, nose, toes, fingers, belly button, and hair.
I'm so proud of my little girl! she's learning so much, and love seeing her grow! (the two top pictures are of her sitting in a little crack by my dresser and the wall, then the next two are pretty self explanatory! She already has as boyfriend!)

Lady Bug

2010-11-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to find a Kitty costume for Eliza, but when I saw this lady bug, I had to get it! and it totally fits, cuz we call her Bugs. I think she had fun wearing it!

Harrison/Haws/Beard reunion

2010-10-27T15:45:00.000-07:00

Our Favorite Harrisons came to visit! So we got to have our Harrison/Haws/Beard reunion!!
So we tried to cram in everything! We had such a fun time together.
We went and ate at Craigo's, and made cute belts, (not meant to go with our outfits in the picture) us girls talked and laughed, and talked, and laughed, and the boys jammed together, we went to Sammy's, and went shopping of course!!
It was perfect!
We love all being together!
p.s. if you didn't notice that Candice is pregnant (cutest pregnant lady ever!), that's why we're all touching her belly in the last picture!

random

2010-10-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

trying to put curlers in Eliza's hair. I think it still needs to be a little bit longer. Eliza's books turn into that mess just about everyday, sometimes multiple times a day!

big cheese

2010-10-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

This smile cracks me up! It's so cheesy, and I Love it!!

treasure hunt

2010-10-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

So Billy ordered some video games online, and was just waiting for them to arrive. I happened to be getting the mail, and hid them before he saw. I decided to send him on a treasure hunt and they would be at the end. Its hard to get guys things, so this was perfect, cuz he had already picked it out, and I knew he would like it! It took me a while to actually do it, so he was probably about to call Amazon and see where they were! Anyway, it was a lot of fun! He enjoyed it too! Not sure why I actually decided to give them to him, because I despise video games, but I guess that's what love is.

purse snatcher

2010-10-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

Eliza loooves purses. She'll go up a to complete stranger, snatch their purse, and walk away! Now we just need to teach her to take all the money!
So I decided to make her one. I figured it could be her trick-or-treat bag, since it's orange and black, but we'll probably use it all year round. I think the coolest part is that I didn't have a pattern or anything! I usually can't just throw soemthing together like that! I think Gran would be proud!

1 YEAR!

2010-08-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

Eliza is 1 YEAR OLD!!!

Horse Ride

2010-08-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

Billy has a teacher at school who breeds Tennesse Walking horses, so we got to to ride them. Eliza loved it! I think she really enjoyed being on the horse too! Like Mother like Daughter! My Mom said they took me on a pack trip when I was bout 3 months old, and I would never cry when I was riding on the horse. Ever since, I have always Loved horses.

More SUMMER!

2010-08-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

We got to go to our previous bishops house and ride the Beazer short line! Its so cute, and Eliza loved it!

We got to see our dear friends Gail, Curtis and Nadya Benson! We love them, and miss them!
and I found those cute cowgirl boots for Eliza. They're too big right now, but I love them!

going down the slide = CRAZY HAIR!!

We went to the lake with the Sewells, and had a blast!! Eliza didn't like being in the cold water, but she liked the little kiddy pool on the deck, that had warm water in it! Billy and I went on the Tube, and went wakeboarding!! SO FUN!

Billy tried and tried to get up on the wakeboard. He Finally did!! YAY! He was only up for about 10 seconds, then crashed, but he did great!
and I Love my Sara Ann!

Fourth

2010-08-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, I didn't realize I hadn't blogged about our 4th, which was a long time ago! So here it is! Billy had to work that morning, so just Eliza and I went to the parade. She enjoyed it with all the people and noises. We then went to the Chukars game with are good friends, which we felt was quite an appropriate american thing to do on the 4th! After that we went to the awesome fireworks! So fun! Eliza really enjoyed that too! It was a fun day! oh, I also made a cupcake flag cake! I couldn't get the red or blue as deep as I would have liked. oh well!

Vibram's

2010-08-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

This summer I had a few goals to run a 10K, and a Half Marathon. So I think I've become more of a runner than I ever have been. I quite enjoy it. The shoes I was running in were getting a hole in them, so I decided it was time for new ones. My brother Tavner had gotten these weird shoes with all toes seperate, and said he loved them. So I looked into them, and decided those were the ones for me too! So here they are! I didn't get them in time to run either of my races, but I am quite enjoying them, and enjoying the funny looks I get when people see them!

starting our summer

2010-06-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

I turned to make her a Bottle, and when I looked back she had climbed up, and was trying to suck out of her straw! She's a Monkey!

Riding the Carousel for the first time! I think she really liked it. she really liked the music too.
Eliza had a check up today. She weighs 17.3 lbs and is in the 9%.kinda small! She's 27 in , and in the 12%. They said they're not worried about her being too small though. So that's good. I like my little girl! They said she is developing and looking great!

Piano man

2010-06-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

I know I always have random pictures on here, but its because I don't blog every day. So the Piano was a surprise Birthday present from Billy! Not that its now my Piano, but just the fact that its finally here! It is Billy's Grandma's piano, and it was just collecting dust at his parents house. Billy is always playing at things, so we thought it would be so nice to just have one in our house so he didn't have to go find one to practice on. I was getting pretty rusty on the piano, not that I'm all that great, especially compared to Billy the music man! So I wanted to practice, hear Billy play all the time, and also so Eliza could hear us play, hoping she'll pick up that wonderful talent and gift that Billy has. So every time we went and visited Billy's parents I wanted to get it, but stuff kept getting in the way, or weather wasn't good (go figure), so we kept putting it off. So when Billy was thinking of what I really wanted for my Birthday he thought of the Piano! (what a smart guy!) He told me he had a project to do at school that would take a couple hours, so I thought nothing of it. He came home a couple hours later, and as we are just talking, the door flies open and our friends Micah and Levi march in with the beautiful piano!!! I was so surprised!! It was awesome!! It was so sweet of Billy to think of it! It was perfect! Eliza is really liking it too! She's just tall enough to reach up with her tiny fingers and press some keys! It really adds to whatever we're playing! I'm sure our neighbors don't like it as much as we do, but hey, at least its pretty music! Everyone enjoys hearing Billy play! He's already written me another song, and I love it! I'm so lucky!
The picture of the broken glass was after Eliza hit the full length mirror, and it crashed down. luckily there was a tall vase under it, so it didn't land right on her, but it sure scared her.
Oh, and the picture with her collar popped up...I didn't do that on purpose.

three cousins

2010-06-01T22:55:00.000-07:00

Brinley, Eliza and Miya. In the one picture it shows what it looks like on the other side, trying to get them to look at the camera and smile! No one usually sees that side! It's pretty entertaining I'm sure. I don't know why a baby wouldn't laugh at it!

random!

2010-05-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, these pictures are all very random. My mother-in-law says I need to blog more, and she's probably right, because if I did it more, I wouldn't have to put all these pictures together, and maybe I could tell the story behind all of them. So here you go. I think they're pretty self explanatory, and if not, you can make up your own story!
So as you can see we are having lots of fun! We hang out with friends a lot, and take lots of pictures of Eliza!

Trip to Utah

2010-05-18T20:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, well, this trip was a while ago. Like in March or something. But we went to Utah to help Billy's friend Joey Balmforth with a project for school. I didn't end up getting any pictures of all of us together, but I got one of Eliza and Abigale. she's such a doll. I love her long curly hair! Eliza loves other little people like her! We got to see Thayne and Jennifer for a bit too. So Eliza got to spend some time with her cousins Miya and Mckaylee.

milestones

2010-04-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

Eliza is growing too fast. I feel like she's turning into more of a little girl than a baby. :( I've been putting her scrapbook together, and its making me miss the newborn baby stage. I've said to Billy I'm excited to have another one to see that stage again. He thinks I'm crazy! I am, but don't get me wrong, we both don't want another one for a while. So anyway, I just thought I'd tell the things she's been doing:
-She pulls herself up on everything. Sometimes getting onto something, and doesn't know how to get down.
-She started crawling 3 days after she turned 6 months. She is fast too! The doctor said she is advanced. I think we knew that though!
-Says Mama and Dada. She said Mama first (thank you very much!) then while I was in the airport heading to Mexico she said Dada. Sad Billy wasn't there to hear it, but I video recorded it for him.
-Turns the pages in the books. She likes the touch and feel books the most. Sometimes she'll just sit in her crib and look at her books.
-Waves hello and goodbye. Not always on cue, but she's getting the concept.
-Starting to dance when she hears music.(and loves when Billy plays his instruments)
-Plays games. A version of Tag. We'll growl at her to try and get her crawl away. Sometimes she just gets excited and crawls to the one who's growling at her! She likes when we both play. When Billy tries to get her she crawls as fast as she can to me. Its so cute! And of course she loves peak-a-boo. She's liked that for a long time.
-No Teeth yet. Although I feel like she's been teething for months! she had a super runny nose, which was making her cough, and she couldn't breath. She started waking up at night (which we were not used to at all since she started sleeping through the night right away.) She doesn't have any symptoms anymore, so they probably went back under. I guess we'll have to go through it again. :(
-She's was around 16.5 lbs last time we were at the doctor.
-She likes to be doing whatever we are doing. Sometimes I don't think she really cares about her toys.
-I think we are finally getting some sort of routine. She'll wake up somewhere between 6 and 7, we give her her bottle and she'll sleep another hour. I go work out, and she falls asleep on the walk home around 10 or 11. 1-2 hr nap. (3 if I'm lucky!) then we play or do errands. another nap between 1 and 2. usually 1hr. then play and make dinner, and usually another nap (not very long) between 4 and 6. Play, take a bath, read books, prayer and bedtime between 8 and 9. This is a regular day, but as you may know Billy and I like to play! So many times we're at friends or friends are over, and that definitely throws this schedule off, which is fine. We're not set on having our lives revolve around Eliza's schedule. If she stays up late with us or doesn't get a nap because she's having fun, that's alright with us. She's pretty easy going. We just love her!
-She loves babies! She gets so excited. Sometimes too excited and she just mauls them. If they aren't as mobile as her, its not a fair fight. We try to teach her to be soft... I don't think she gets it. She's not afraid of anything or anyone. We have a lot of friends with babies, and I love seeing them play together.
-She shakes her head (like saying no). I don't think she gets that she's saying no, cuz she'll just do it randomly. I think she just thinks its fun. Sometimes she'll do it at the right time, and its pretty funny. I'm sure someday we won't think it's that funny.
-She loves when we sing to her. She loves most of the nursery rhymes.
-She eats pretty much everything. We'll usually give her a little of what we're eating. Of course she's still mostly on milk and baby food.
-She's starting to understand kisses (which are with a big open mouth) and had her first kiss with her friend Brigham as you can see in the picture! hehe.
-I can finally put her hair into pig tales! I'm so excited! She doesn't mind it either if I have something to distract her. She also loves to hang out in the sink while I get ready. She'll cry sometimes when I take her out.
Well, I think that's pretty much it. Oh, the random picture of Angela and Beth Ann trudging through the snow is their driveway Easter weekend! I don't think the roads were closed all winter, and in April they were closed! Crazy place we live in!
We are a happy little family, and we're excited to see what little Eliza will do next! She keeps us on our toes!

Our trip to MEXICO!!

2010-03-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

Eliza and I got the wonderful opportunity to go visit my Mom in Beautiful Merida, Mexico! We were there for 2 weeks, and every minute was a blast! From the food to the dancing its always a good time! We ate ice cream all the time, and of course tamales, pastries, tacos and all the good Mexican food! but we walked miles and miles everyday! We even lost weight while we were there if you can imagine that!
We love Mexico! There are things I wish I could just pick up and bring home with me! Especially the Dancing!!
So here's some pictures of our wonderful trip! Enjoy!

sledding video

2010-03-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

Sledding!

2010-03-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

Eliza's frist time going sledding!

Saying Mama

2010-02-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

Eliza has been pretty good with saying her M's. so for the last few weeks I've just been saying mama mama. and I think she's caught on!! I love it! Now Billy has been trying to get her to say dada.

so strong

2010-02-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

Eliza loves pulling herself up. She does it in her crib, drawers, and anything that is close to her that she can grab onto.

3 stitches

2010-02-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

Eliza was born with this little skin tag. They said they didn't want to take it off till she was around 6 months because it had a bigger base than the usual. We went to Fall Creek where my cousin Brett Bagley had the pleasure of removing it. Billy was all into it, and watched everything, where I tried just closing my eyes. The shot was the only thing that hurt her. She did cry the whole time, but because we had to hold her down, and who likes that. I looked at what was happening occasionally. It was pretty sad. They sent it in for a Biopsy to make sure it isn't cancerous. Poor girl already has stitches at 6 months. but I'm sure she wouldn't have wanted us to leave it on. She's such a trooper. Right after he was done, I picked her up, and she was fine. Happy and smiling, like nothing happened. It doesn't seem to bother her either. So that's good.

1st swim

2010-01-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

For the past two years the day after Christmas we go down to Lake Havasu, Az with Billy's family. Its nice to be in warmer weather! So Eliza got her first chance to be in a swimming pool! I think she liked it for the most part, except the air outside the pool was a little chilly. She loved kicking her legs and splashing! I love seeing all her firsts!

this one cracks me up!

Looking Back

2010-01-12T11:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I spent most of 2009 pregnant. Starting our year in Rexburg we met some really fun couples, that are our dear friends now. We've had so many good times!
We found out we were having a girl! I was especially excited! I thought for sure I was going to have a boy.
At the beginning of the summer we moved in with Billy's parents for the summer to save some money, and so we could stay together. the past 2 summers he's mostly been in driggs on the farm, and I was in Rexburg, in school, or working. So sadly we didn't see each other much, and we really like each other, so we decided that was enough of that. I got a new job at Lynette's hair salon, which I love! It was nice being able to see each other every day! After work I would go see Billy and help some on the farm. I got to be pretty good on the swather all by myself. Towards the end of my pregnancy I'd get in the swather every chance I got to try and bounce Eliza out of me! (it didn't work) I was so sick of being pregnant by the end, Beth Ann and I tried everything (except Castor oil) to get things started. From eating oregano, fresh pineapple, walking a mile, prenatal massage, billy massaging my feet every night, going on a bumpy four wheeler ride, and lots of love making. Nothing Worked!! My due date had come and gone. I wasn't dilated, and she hadn't dropped. :( I wanted to hurt every person I saw with a baby.
We moved into our apartment (back in Rexburg) a week before she was born. So I guess that was a plus that we could get things mostly put away before she got here. 7 days after my due date she still didn't want to come, so they decided to induce me (yay!). About 18 hrs later she came!! So beautiful, and perfect! The start of a new life! It was an amazing experience! We love being parents. She was blessed September 27th. She also had a cousin (Miya) born 3 weeks before her, and another cousin (Brinley) 11 days after her! They planned that out pretty good!
It was a fun year with lots of new things. We have a lot to learn still, but its a lot of fun to do it with someone you love.
We are so blessed to both have such wonderful families that we get to see so often.
We're excited for the new year and all its adventures!

cute pics

2009-12-15T23:01:00.000-08:00

looks like she saw a ghost!!

Just some cute pics

Caught Red Handed

2009-12-15T22:55:00.000-08:00

love this one! it totally looks like she knows she got caught!

She already knows she loves candy. uh oh!

daddy's girl

2009-12-05T16:05:00.000-08:00

Daddy's little girl! I love the picture of him on the phone and trying to feed her at the same time! nice multi tasking Billy! Merissa would be proud!

New Moon

2009-12-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

Last year all us girls went out in our high heels to the Twilight premiere, and had a blast! So we're making a tradition out of it, and went to the New Moon premiere this year. We have so much fun with just us girls. We tend to act a little crazy too! You've got to do that once and a while though, right?!
Before we went, we went to Starbucks, and got hot chocolate, and steamers (yum!),thinking we'd have to stand outside forever in the freezing cold. But there was no line! so we had to hide them in our coats and purses, spilling some on ourselves!
Inside they were spraying on Team Edward, or Team Jacob. so we got sprayed with total Team Edward!! so fun!
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and loved the movie!!

Eliza sitting

2009-11-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

Happenings

2009-10-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

So Eliza is 2 1/2 months old! And weighs a little over 10 lbs!
some of these pictures show what she's doing! She loves sucking on her fist or her fingers. She's been doing that since the beginning, but she's been doing it more lately.
We took her to Tautphaus park. She slept through most of it, but Billy and I really enjoyed it! :)
She Smiles a lot!!Sometimes she won't eat, cuz she's smiling! and she started laughing last week! Its hilarious, and the cutest thing ever!
I started putting gel in her hair, and it totally goes curly! I love it! (that would be from me! At least she has one thing of mine!)
When we go visit relatives she sleeps in a drawer. Works great right now, but when she starts crawling, and walking, we'll have to bring her portable crib. But for now its nice not having to carry it around.
She loves hanging out with her two cousins. She doesn't know it yet, but she does! I got 3 of the same outfit at my showers, so we had to put them all in it!! So fun! I'm so excited to see the three of them grow up together!
She loves listening to Billy practice with his band. I'll turn her away from them, and she tries as hard as she can to see them! Hopefully that means she'll have some musical talent! :)
We are trying to go walking a lot while the weather is still ok. That usually puts her to sleep and then I can go workout at our complexes gym while she sleeps in her stroller.
I'm starting her scrapbook, which is so fun! I'm not going as fast as I would like because Eliza doesn't like to be put down or not paid attention to. and she only takes about 30 min naps. But lately she's been taking one 3 hr nap later in the day, which is really nice. and she's still sleeping through the night! that's probably why her naps are so short. but I'd much rather her sleep through the night, so I can't complain!
She can hold her head up pretty high when she's on her tummy. she doesn't like to be on her tummy for too long though. And she loves standing up! She has strong little legs.
When she's lying down she kicks and moves her arms like crazy! The nurse said that's probably why she's still pretty little. She's between the 15 and 20th percentile in weight.
So Eliza is doing great! Billy and I are having so much fun with her. Billy's pretty busy with school, working on the farm, and playing with his Band. but he still finds some time to hang out with us! I love being a stay at home Mom! I love having dinner ready when he comes home, trying to keep the house in order, and doing some crafts, and of course hanging out with Eliza! Life is Great!

Happy Girl

2009-09-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

Eliza is such a happy baby! Especially when she has your full and undivided attention!! She just warms my heart! And I think she has the cutest little voice ever!

Eliza's photo shoot!

2009-09-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Eliza is a little over 6 weeks in these pictures! Growing so fast!
So my Mom took these pictures just in my living room, and I am under the sheet holding Eliza. It was a lot of fun! Especially getting peed on twice!! :) I think the pictures turned out great! Thanks Mom!

SMILE :)

2009-09-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

Eliza has been smiling for a while now. at first they were probably just the gas ones. but now she's starting to smile a lot when she see's us, or we smile and talk to her. I think her real ones started around 4 weeks. I just love it! She's such a happy baby! I love being her Mommy. She's now 6 weeks! She's still sleeping through the night from midnight to 6. but she's awake a lot of the day, so I don't get as much done as I would like, because she loves to be held! But I recently purchased a Moby wrap that wraps her close to me, and I can have both my hands!

Brand new cry

2009-09-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

This is right after she came out. I was just in shock! I couldn't believe she was finally here, and she was mine!

Strike a pose!

2009-09-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

We just play all day! It's so fun!! she's 4 weeks today!

Proud Dad

2009-09-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

Just a taste of what a proud Dad Billy is!

Eliza Jane

2009-09-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

After a long 9 months of pregnancy, Eliza decided to make me wait just one more week till she would grace us with her presence. And I was ready to be done 3 months earlier! It seemed to be the longest 9 months of my life. The only nice thing about her being late was that I could get moved into our apartment, and get her nursery ready (that I absolutely love!).
So I was induced August 6th. Started having contractions at around 5pm. And as some of you know I was completely set on having a natural child birth using a method called Hypnobabies. But as the contractions got harder and 1 to 2 minutes apart I was thinking an epidural sounded real nice! I was hardly progressing, and was barely dialated to a 2. So I didn't think I would make it to 10 alive without one. So a little before 1am I got an epidural, and it was the best thing ever! I don't know how I was going to do it without one. I got to rest some that night. The doctor came in at 7am, I was at a 4, he broke my water and said let's have this baby by 12! I said ok! At around 10:30 Billy asked them to check me because I had started to feel some pressure. She checked and said I was complete! I did a few practice pushes with the nurses, and then they went and got the doctor because she was right at the door! I pushed 3 or 4 times and she was out! They said farm girls really know how to push them out fast! I was happy about that, and she was finally out! I remember thinking what a cute cry she had, and I still love it! They put her on me and I just couldn't believe she was here and she was actually mine. It was so surreal! She came August 7th at 11:18 am weighed 6lbs 9oz, and was 20" long. I was only 2oz's more, and same height. Billy could hardly contain himself. He's such a proud Dad!
So she finally got here. We had many visitors. We just love showing her off! We of course think she's the most beautiful baby ever!
When people see her they think she looks like Billy. she definitely has his nose. But you look at our baby pictures and she's a good mix of both of us. I'm just glad she has dark hair! I love it!
I can't believe she's almost a month old! We've just been having so much fun with her! I don't know what we did to deserve such a good baby. she already sleeps from around 11 or midnight to 6 or 7. So we get good sleep! And she only cries if she's hungry or messy.
I'm loving being a Mom. We just hang out all day, run errands, do crafts, make dinner for Dad, our hard working man, and I am finally getting good at keeping the house clean.
She's so fun to dress up, and put bows on! I love it!
Billy and I are still so in love. Some people say the husband feels neglected, and the parents don't have much time together, but neither of us feel that way at all. Its great! We're such a happy little family!