Happy Birthday to my Sweetheart

This past week we celebrated Alan's birthday. We had gone out to dinner at Olive Garden the weekend before, so the actual night of his birthday we just ate dinner at home. However, I did surprise Alan with a yummy frozen dessert we love. (We had a hard time getting candles in it, it was so hard.) You can get the recipe here.



I love Alan so much and am so grateful for the wonderful husband and father that he is! Happy Birthday!!

The Gardens

A few days ago I went with some of my siblings to see some beautiful flowers at a tulip festival. It was so gorgeous! I am anxious for my own tulips and daffodils to blossom! Too bad it SNOWED today!

Looking at the disgusting, giant fish in the pond.

Jared wasn't too thrilled about this picture being taken because he wanted to play with the water.

Here is a picture of the whole gang. Jared's face is messy with his lunch.

PBJ! Yum!

Dinosaur Museum

Last week I went with some other moms and kids in my neighborhood to a dinosaur museum. Jared had lots and lots of fun, although now when I ask him what his favorite part of the museum was he says "The potties flushed ALL BY THEMSELVES!" Yes, potties and potty training is still in the front of our minds.

Jared digging up some dinosaur bones

Playing in the wet sand. He HATED getting his hands dirty at first, and it took a lot of convincing for him to finally play.

The shark. Ugh, do I really look that fat?

Not an Egg-citing Confession

Confession: I am careless about eating raw eggs. Well, raw eggs that are in cookie dough, cake batter, etc. While I'm pregnant. Can you blame me?

Crazy or Smart?

When Alan and I were first married, I was just about to finish college and start working full time, and Alan was in school full time and working part time. Since we were both super busy, it was hard to find time to prepare dinners every night. My friend and neighbor Jennifer then saved the day by doing a presentation at a Relief Society activity on how to prepare and freeze tons of dinners all in one day. Hallelujah! Anyone who knows me well will remember how Alan and I did this every so often during those years that I taught high school. It was tons of work but well worth it!

Since I stopped working full time and have had more time to cook, I haven't really cooked freezer meals as much (although we did it right before Jared was born and also as soon as I found out I was pregnant 7 months ago--anticipating many days of morning sickness.)

Two days ago my INCREDIBLE husband and I devoted most of our day to cooking and freezing meals once again. (We also spent several hours prepping the night before--chopping vegetables and assembling things, etc.) We were completely wiped out by the afternoon, but we did it! And I'm sure in the next couple months after the baby is born, our stomachs will thank us daily! Our freezer is now stuffed to the brim--literally--with 35 or so delicious dinners waiting to be thawed, cooked, and eaten (not to mention that almost every meal has enough for Alan to take some to work for lunch as well!) Some of the items we made: lots of lasagna, 2 kinds of chicken enchiladas, lots of sweet and sour chicken (thanks, Billy Ashley, for the recipe!), chicken and pea soup, apple curry chicken, lots of saucy pasta with ham recipes, raspberry glazed chicken, cheesy hash browns with ham, sloppy joes, and I can't even remember what else!

This picture doesn't even begin to show the extent of our cooking!

Hello, deliciousness! (And thank you, thank you, Alan, for being the best to do this crazy thing with me!)

Fun with Jess

Pregnant bellies!

On Friday I spent the day with my awesome friend Jess. She and I used to live next door to each other, and we while we were neighbors we both had husbands with jobs that required them to work really late every night. So we spent a lot of evenings together and had dinner together a lot. Needless to say, Jess is one of my and Jared's favorite people. :)

Now we live almost an hour apart, but we still get together every couple of months or so. When Jess has a day off work, she comes down to visit and we go out to lunch and hang out. This past Friday was one of those lucky days for me. These past 8 months or so we have enjoyed being pregnant at the same time, with Jess just 3 weeks ahead of me.

Several months ago Jess and I decided to make each other blankets using our respective talents. I crocheted Jess' future baby a baby blanket (not pictured), and Jess made Jared a GORGEOUS twin-sized blanket for his bed. Jared LOVES his new blanket and has been sleeping and cuddling with it ever since he got it. ("Jessica is my friend. I love Jessica!" he said recently.)


Jess actually just had her baby YESTERDAY (almost 2 weeks before her due date!) , so I'm super glad I got to see her when I did. Congratulations to the new mommy!

Potty Update

I have had a couple friends and family members email and ask me how the potty training is going so far. The first 4 or 5 days were emotionally EXHAUSTING for me, and I felt like I was on the verge of tears several times. I was using the book
which was recommended to me by a friend (it also happens to be the book my momma used with her kids!). I liked the most of the book's methods and its emphasis on eventually rewarding the child just for having dry pants and NOT for performing on the potty (at first Jared would squeeze out a few drops and then expect a treat!). However, the "practices" required after the kid has an accident can be exhausting for the parent (especially if your kid has several accidents right in a row.) As a side note, I also didn't like how the book never mentioned teaching your child to wash his or her hands as part of the potty routine. ANYWAY...

Things are getting better everyday. Jared still has an accident once in a while, and there are often several false alarms before he will finally go #2. I'm also still trying to figure out how to keep him dry during nap time. (He is still wearing diapers overnight.) But overall I am pleased with how he is doing. I just need to get daring enough to leave my house more often! Luckily it has been cold and snowy so Jared hasn't been asking to go to the park every day.

Doing his duty. I quickly realized that toys and books were distracting while he was sitting on the potty, so we don't use them there anymore.

Some of Jared's favorite treats hanging in the bathroom

Here are two bonus pictures:

Daddy and Jared cuddling in the morning

34 weeks! Apparently I haven't gained as much weight as I did when I was pregnant with Jared (and probably won't catch up in the next 6 weeks), although I feel so fat! It's probably since I haven't been retaining as much water like I did when I was pregnant with Jared during the summer time.