Change of Plans

So after a lot of thought and research I have decided not to make all of the baby's nursery stuff. I never found a fabric that I really liked at a reasonable price. The whole idea behind making the baby stuff was to save money. However, between shipping and tracking down several yards of the same fabric I got frustrated. Then I feel in love with this print from Target. I know. . . Target. When in doubt look at Target. Anyways, the only problem is the print is old and all sold out in stores and one their website. So I went to Ebay and found the dust ruffle and blanket for really good prices. I bought both and I bought 2 more dust ruffles that I am going to use to make a bumper and valance for the window. So I am still making part of the project but not the whole thing which if you think about it is probably best because knowing me I won't finish it. (I have a tendency of starting things and getting distracted therefore not completing the project). Here is a picture of the new bedding:I love tulips so I am really excited about this theme. Sorry to anyone that started with the daisies but daisies are always welcome. The print is from dwell studio and it is the Olivia print so if anyone sees anything else in this area let me know (nightlights, pillows, blankets, whatever). Hopefully this idea will work out, I'm sure I will have to supplement with some basic brown and pink fabrics but that shouldn't be too hard. And I know a chandelier is a little silly for a baby room but I LOVE IT! They have great ones at Ikea so that is next on my shopping list.

The Passing of an Icon

So I feel like I need to share a sentimental moment for the King of Pop. I was very sad to hear that Michael Jackson passed away today. Although he was overly eccentric and not the best dad to say the least he is still an 80's and 90's icon and will be missed. I have many memories from my childhood listening to Michael Jackson's work. Here are a few things that I will remember from my past that are related to Michael.

1. When I was little I was very involved in dance from the ages of 2-12. I can remember warming up to the Jackson 5's ABC, 123 many times.
2. One of my first memories is of a birthday party for my uncle Jim. His wife hired a Michael Jackson impersonator. The impersonator looked and sounded just like Jackson and I loved his performance. I thought it was the real Michael.
3. When I was in 2nd grade my dad threw a huge Halloween party for the neighborhood and Thriller was the underlying theme.
4. My sister and I used to roller skate around our basement making up routines to Michael Jackson and Madonna.
5. Going to Disneyland and watching the Thriller movie in the 3D room of Tomorrow Land.
6. Watching his music videos and dancing to them in my living room.
7. When David Cook performed Billy Jean on American Idol. . .best performance!

I will miss the King of Pop and it is a sad day that he is gone. Thanks for the memories Michael.

**Also sorry to hear Farrah Faucet died as well. She is the only women that could pull off a red one piece and sell millions of posters.

My I have your attention Ladies and Gents

Today we had a fun playgroup where the kids dressed up a little. They had a great time playing together, eating snacks, and sharing toys (for the most part). They weren't exactly perfect ladies and gentleman but what do you expect. . .they are babies. Anyways, here are some pictures. I love getting together with all my mom friends. It is nice to get advice and share our lives with each other. Thanks to Pamela for letting us come over and tear your house apart.

Jackson with his buddy Daniel holding hands. How cute?

Preparing for Baby

I know that I am still 14 weeks away from seeing our baby girl, but I am getting really excited! As most of you know I was hoping for a boy, however now that I have felt her moving around in my tummy (all the time and kicking really hard I might add) I am really happy we are having a girl. So today Jackson and I decided to take a trip to the Chandler mall for some window shopping and time in the play area. I wasn't going to buy anything but then I noticed that one of my favorite baby stores Janie and Jack were having a 60% sale on their ENTIRE STORE! I normally do not shop in this store because my rule for myself is that I refuse to pay more than $15 on any piece of baby clothing. It just never made sense to me because babies don't care what they look like and they grow out of clothes so fast. So a 60% off sale I figured I would go in and look around. They had the best stuff. So many cute dresses with flowers, butterflies, and great colors. Looking at Jackson's wardrobe I can tell he is a boy because everything is BLUE. I am trying to stay away from too much pink but the pink and purples and cornflower blues are so pretty I couldn't resist. I really had to control myself seeing how she isn't even born yet. I got 3 dresses and 2 sweaters all for under $10 each. If you have a baby and haven't heard of this store I would encourage you to go online and check it out (janieandjack.com). Here is one of the sweaters I got.Having a girl is really going to be fun!

Family Picture Day

Today was a great day. I spent the morning hanging with Jackson and Brandon swimming and playing with bubbles. Then this afternoon I have the opportunity to take pictures of a family that I love. My friend Danielle Wilson from my mother's group let me take pictures in the hot Arizona sun of her with her husband and adorable son Daniel. They were so happy and supportive of each other. Smiling the whole time and sharing precious moments. I love being around people like them. Here are a few shots that I really liked. Thanks Danielle for giving me some practice on beautiful people.

Baby Update

I thought you all might like a pregnancy update. As you can see from the side bar on my blog the baby is growing and looking more and more like a baby each day. I am now weeks (6 1/2 months) and my tummy has definitely started to look like a pregnant tummy (mom). I am feeling really good other than some backaches at night. Probably from carrying Jackson around all day. The second trimester is always the easiest. The other night I had some Braxton Hicks which is normal for 2nd time moms but it felt like it was really early to me. I guess my body just remembers from before. The baby is now over a foot long and is close to 2 lbs. She kicks all the time and is a mover and a shaker. Everything is going as planned and we should be welcoming her into the world in about 15 weeks! Yeah, thank heavens for little girls.

Saturday Swim Lessons

Recently the Stokers put a pool net over their pool. What exactly is a pool net you ask? It is a Spiderman style net that stretches over the top of the pool and hooks into tiny anchors all around the deck of the pool. Definitely a great safety arrangement but it has some downfalls. It is easy to get on and off if you have 3 people doing it with you. It is almost impossible to put on all by yourself. Hence we have not been going into the pool much this past week. However the pool was getting pretty grimmey from not scrubbing it down (plus the vacuum wasn't working) so it was time to take off the net and get a little wet. We decided to try out the new swim suit Grandma bought Jackson. I think it is from her generation because she kept raving and raving about the floaty swim suit. The problem is Jack is still a little bit young for it and he falls over a lot when he is wearing it. But as love as someone is holding onto him he loves it. Today he was laughing and splashing. . .having the time of his life with dad in the pool. We captured it on video but for some reason when we were uploading the video something went wrong and we erased it from the card before we realized there was a problem. I guess that is the problem with technology but where would we be without it? I did however snatch some pictures.

Family Time

I have to admit, I may look like motherhood is easy but I have had a ton of help. Motherhood is not easy. . .and thankfully my family and friends are there to support me. When Jackson was born my mother came out to help for 2 weeks. She was such a life saver since I had to have a c-section. She cleaned my house, cooked us meals, and pretty much took care of the day to day stuff so that I could spend time with my new baby. She even got up with him a few times at night so I could get some sleep. (What a great mom, huh!)

Then for the first few months Brandon was working insane hours at his job. Waking up at 2:00am and not getting home until 5 or 6pm everyday. Needless to say those times were hard, too hard. So Brandon decided to quit his job and try to study for graduate school to further his career. Well right after he quit the market plummeted and it was hard for him to find a new job. Nearly 8 months have gone by since he stopped working. It has been hard, really hard money wise but at the same time it has been such a blessing because we get to spend so much time together. He has had the opportunity over the last 8 months to form a really strong bond with Jackson and I know that had he continued working for that company he wouldn't have had the chance to build that bond.

Well, now Brandon is going back to work. This is a good thing because we have no money and no maternity insurance, but I know a part of me is really going to miss having my best friend to hang out with whenever I want. Thankfully I have formed some really great friendships here in Arizona. The moms I have met are amazing. They kind of remind me of stepford wives. Always looking put together, their children in right place at the right time, beautiful houses, and welcoming arms. I am so lucky to have such a great support system at home and around Arizona. I would probably go crazy without them.

Hello everyone!

I just thought I would post a couple of funny pictures of Jackson enjoying time at Grandma's house. Jack is 14 months now and looking and acting more and more like a little boy and less like a baby. He is so funny. He loves this giant stuffed octopus that Aunt Miss has. I tell him to go tackle it and he runs over and body slams it. Then he plays peek-a-boo underneath it and puts the blanket over the top of it to have it hide. What a silly kid!

(calling Grandma Miller. . .we miss you)

He also loves the puppies. Twix is really warming up to him, I think it is mostly because Jackson shares his food with him and gives him hugs. They are good buddies. Snickers. . .not so much into Jack but he's not really into anyone.
I am amazed by how smart he is getting. I love how I can tell him to do something and he does it. He helps me so much. Like filling up the water bottles, he puts the caps on and then helps me carry them to put them in the fridge so they are cold. Also, we are working on learning the names of things like the fan or the table or animals in his books. He is getting really good and pointing them out when I ask him where something is. Except the other day I was asking where the Toads were in his book and he kept moving the book up. I was like "Jackson where are the toads?" and he kept leaning forward. It was then that I realized he was pointing to his toes, lol. He can point to his toes, knees, and belly button. He also knows where the baby is and he points to my tummy and gives it kisses. I am so lucky to have such a good kid.

This is a swing in Cameron's room and Jackson will sit in it spinning around and holding that pink pig for an hour. He loves hanging out with Missy and Cam. He has so many friends at Grandma's house.

May I please have S'more?

Friday night used to be date night for Brandon and I. Most of the time we would take Jack with us (which I guess isn't much of a date but he is pretty good in restaurants so it wasn't a big deal) but every once in awhile we would get to go by ourselves. However, since we are broke and saving every penny we have to buy a house we have to be pretty creative for date nights. Tonight we decided to have a campfire and roast some marshmallows for s'mores. Brandon made the fire using only 1 match which both of us were very impressed by and then we sat outside watching the fire and roasting mallows. Jackson wasn't too crazy about the marshmallows but he did love the graham crackers and chocolate. He had about 2 baby bits and was done which was fine with me because that just means more for me and I LOVE S'MORES. All and all it was a great date night and totally free.

My Great Life

Three years ago I married my best friend. That's what everyone says right? Well I really mean it. Brandon and I were married 3 years ago today at 11:00am and it was a day to remember. First, record breaking heat of 113 degrees in AZ. My family was all dying being from rainy Washington. Then eating lunch at the Landmark, and finally the reception that night where the stupid cake lady forgot my purple strips and I am still mad about it. After that we left for the Mariott to await our dream honeymoon in Hawaii. Sounds like a dream right. The wedding day was great, great pictures, great family, great friends, and great food. Everything went smoothly and I was just happy to finally be married to Brandon after 3 years of dating.

However the honeymoon is another story. First when we were leaving the reception we got to the hotel and I remembered that I forgot my makeup bag so we had to drive all the way back to the house. Then by the time we got back to the hotel it was so late and we were so tired, needless to say it wasn't much of a honeymoon night. Then we woke up early to catch our plane to beautiful Hawaii when we realized that the airport was ridiculously crowded. We ended up in the wrong line for 45 min (even though we asked 2 airport people if we were in the right line) and ended up sprinting down the runway in flip flops in order to catch our plane where we didn't even get to sit next to each other. Finally we got to Hawaii, got all our stuff, and drove to the beautiful hotel where we were staying. The hotel however failed to mention that it was in the middle of a construction zone and our 2nd floor room was right next to the elevator with a view of the cement side of the next building. Waking up to a vacuum at 6 in the morning is not my idea of a great honeymoon. We decided to make the best of it by enjoying the free vacation thanks to Brandon's parents. The first 2 days were fine. The beach was crowded and not the best but we made it work. One good thing was the ethnic market down the street that had all kinds of food and fun shopping. On the third day we ventured to the north side of the island where it was beautiful and went to the PCC. However, half way through our PCC tour Brandon started to feel ill and by the time the dinner started he was shaking and sweating. We had to leave. Then for the next 2 days Brandon laid in bed, all day, by himself while I hung out on the beach and by the pool. Needless to say it wasn't great so in 7 years for our 10th anniversary we are going back to do it right.
Even with the rough start our marriage has been a dream. We get along so well that the only thing we have ever fought about is when to have Jackson (I won of course). He is my best friend and understands me better than anyone else, and he even loves me with all my flaws and sometimes crazy behavior. He is understanding, supportive, funny, and loving. The best husband and father I could ask for and I am so grateful to God everyday for bringing him into my life and allowing me to live my life with him. I love him with all my heart and am so happy to call myself his wife.

Bringing home baby

I know some of you are wondering how I am going to decorate the new baby's room. After a lot of research I have decided that I am going to make my own bedding for the baby's room. I am an amateur sewer (and when I say amateur that means I have made skirts and Jackson's Halloween costume last year) so with the help from Brandon's mom I am going to attempt to make a window valance, crib skirt, bumper, and light blanket. I might also make some fabric wall hangings to go with the theme of the room (if I get that far).

So what theme did I decide to go through my endevor with you ask? DAISIES! They are a very friendly flower and although they might not smell the best I love the light girliness feeling that comes when I look at them. Here is a picture of a similar design that I have chosen.

The complimentary colors will be yellow and green. I know that blue, white, yellow, and green may not seem very girly but I think the flowers are girly enough. So if anyone sees a cool picture or something else that might go good in the nursery with this theme let me know. Happy projects everyone!