Russ and Amalie

Madalynn's first boating trip

2011-07-02T08:53:00.002-06:00

Well, here is the start to my 4-day weekend. It was sooooo much fun to get out on the lake with my little family. We went with a group that just wanted to tube and play in the water so it was soooo relaxing. My kind of time.

Madalynn is so funny about water. It took a long time for her to like taking a bath and then even after she liked that sometimes it is just trauma screaming the whole time. Then when we bought her her first blow up pool, she was the same way. Well, boating for the first time was no different. She hated the life jacket which rubbed on her cute cheeks. She hated the water...definitely not a surprise...and she was a bit difficult. But she warmed up to the water a little bit and finally got herself in off the end of the boat.

Here are a few pictures of our trip to the lake. We went with my sister-in-law Megan, Jessica and some of Megan's family.

Here is Madalynn playing on the back of the boat. She did better with the floaty tube than with the life jacket. I finally got a good picture of Russ playing with Madalynn in the water.
Well I had to add a picture of Madalynn in the life vest. Oh my goodness. It was so funny and she hated it so much. She screamed for quite a while. It was cutting into her poor cheeks.
I finally got a good picture of Russ and Madalynn in the water.
We pushed Madalynn out on the tube and everyone played with her. It was fun to watch.
Megan and Jessica are having fun trying to entertain her.
I finally got Russ to take a picture of Madalynn and I. At this point she was pushing herself off the end of the boat to kick her feet in the water. It was fun.
Russ and I got on the tube with Madalynn. She liked it for a bit.

Once the tube got going, Madalynn decided to wave at Jessica taking pictures. That was really fun.

I went tubing with both Russ and Jessica. We didn't get a picture of Russ and I tubing, but we got a few with Jessica. She thought that I was really boring because I just wanting to stay right behind the boat and now be pulled to hard, but that it just my way. I have no upper body strength and can't hold on very long and just enjoy my feet dragging in the water. It was fun. Last time we went out on the lake I was two months pregnant and wasn't feeling well, so this was a fun trip to just sit and relax and take it easy.

Hope that you enjoyed. I will be trying to play blog catch up this weekend with the pictures from all our excitement in June.

Madalynn Year Old Pictures

2011-05-28T23:16:00.006-06:00

So I decided that I needed to take some time and write about some past moments. There are just a few things that have happened this month that have been really fun. Madalynn turned ones years old. That was exceptionally fun. Hopefully I will post pictures of all her birthday fun the next week. So, I really wanted some fun year old pictures. Her 6-month pictures were in the fall leaves and I thought that it would be fun to get some in the blossoms.

Unfortunately for Madalynn we choose days that are really cold. Poor thing was not super happy. However, these are the pictures that we did get. The location for all pictures was the Mount Timpanogos Temple Grounds and American Heritage school grounds.

Hope you enjoy!

There is nothing more serene that looking at the House of God with the beauty of nature to enhance it.

Oh, she is too much fun!

Its been forever

2011-05-27T14:01:00.005-06:00

Well, it has officially been forever since I have updated this blog. I am determined to do better. I am always better about my craft blog because I am just so excited about what I am working on. However, I am just as excited about my family and I need to keep track of what we are up to for myself. Well, to start I am going to post pictures of our latest Madalynn photos. Russ decided that it was time to take more pictures on the toy box, so I got her all dressed up and ready and this is what we got. Hope you enjoy.

Here she is running to Russ.
Here Russ is setting her on the toy box and she is jumping into his arms..before he finished counting to three.
She absolutely loves to read. I can't get enough of her talking and pointing to her book.
Ah...the half smile.
Well, we never quite got her happy smile, but she is still just too cute!

Having fun running at mommy.

Playing with her pillows and running around the room.

And we are all done. See you later :)

Our weeks full adventure's

2010-09-25T20:32:00.019-06:00

Well, while the first half of every week is full of work and work and more work, every weekend holds new adventures in store. Starting Thur. until today, we had quite the rest of a week.

Madalynn attended her first birthday party today. The Dorton family lives in our building. I remember when we lived in our first place and Russ helped them with their closing walk through when they bought their home. Their little boy turned one and they threw him a birthday party at Thanksgiving Point. They did it at Farm Country where they have a petting and feeding farm, pony rides and horse draw rides. Here is little Andy with his birthday cake. He was not really interested in the cake, the presents or anything. It was fun though. Here is little Andy on his pony ride with his dad holding him. It was really cute.

Here is our neighbor Becky Fuller and her son Holland. Holland didn't like the pony ride tons and finally got himself off and by throwing his legs over the side toward his mom.
Here is Madalynn, watching....too young to ride. Maybe in a year or two. Poor thing spent most of the day in her car seat. I had to go teach my Thur students this morning and then she ran to this party and a baby shower....she was tired. She has been asleep tonight since 6, which means I should be getting to bed since she will be up in the middle of the night.
We went on the horse ride. That was fun. It is always nice to do something that is nice and slow on a day when you are running around like crazy. Things just move too fast in our lives. We watched the train go by on the tracks at a speed faster than we were moving... The trees are starting to change color and that was fun to watch. All in all, the party was fun.
After the party I headed to a baby shower for my friend Starla. I am very excited for her. This is her first baby. She is having a little boy and it is going to be fun. I got to see her and a couple other friends from high-school. It is so interesting to see friends of mine from that time period that who have kids in elementary school when I just started having my first. I guess that is like Parker and Tiff having Maya in school. Wow...I am getting old. I was going to take pictures and forgot, oh well. That is how it goes.

So last week, I had an hour and a half off work and so Russ took the jeep to hose down the engine and to get it slightly degreased so that it was not quite so dirty to work on. We just need a thousand hours to be able to work and play, be parents and work on our hobbies. Ugh...time just does not seem to work like that.
So, it is a dusk shot of our view off the front porch where we live right now. I love the view of the field. I will be very sad to leave this place.
So, one afternoon while Madalynn was fussing Russ and I went and sat on the front porch. Russ was responding to a text and I shot these pictures. I just thought that they were too cute not to post. I love the looks on her face. Ah.....

Thur we watched our neighbors girls for the night. They were a hoot. We took them to dinner and they sure have a lot of jokes to tell. Their banter to each other and everything around them is certainly funny. It is interesting when you are in that situation, the responsibilities that you remember to have. Working on homework with them and making sure that they got their reading done and reviewed their spelling reminded me of how it was to grow up and work on those things. It is a good reminder..
And of course as is common in our house these days, a movie night had to follow. I can't wait until next week when they get to spend one more night. I haven't laughed so much in a long time.
So, I love my husband and my daughter. It is husbands week and I have been putting together a post that hopefully I will put up tomorrow of all the amazing things that my husband does for me, but here he is in one of my favorite poses...holding our daughter. I just can't get enough of them together.
Here are just a few random pictures of Madalynn...I love the one with just her eyes. I know that it is a very weird picture, but I couldn't help posting it because of how expressive those eyes are.
She spends tons of time on her stomach these days..and loves it. On thur. afternoon Madalynn went in for her four month check up. Wow, she is so big. Her head is not in the 50th percentile any more...it is now in the 90th percentile. Ah, our little girl is one big and chubby girl. I love that she is that way. She is nice and healthy.
Well, after our very long day, here is my little girl. Poor thing spent most of the day in her car seat. Well, more tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

The beginning of a week...at a glance.

2010-09-22T18:45:00.010-06:00

Well, it has been a few days. After long days at work, I get home and put the baby to bed. When she goes down....I try to go to bed right then. That way I am not too tired in the morning. However, I get nothing done since I am gone all day. Oh well. Decisions that have to be made.

I tried to get my mobile google notes of my phone and that didn't work, but I have them and I am going to retype them. These are things that happened over the last week.

So, one of the biggest highlights of the last few days is that i got a new computer. My dad gave it to me for my birthday. Russ had to make a stand for the computer monitor since it was a wall hanging monitor before. He took some metal off a microwave that he threw away this last week and connected the base to the monitor. Then we set up my computer. Marcus got it running so that it is networked with Russ's computer so that we don't have to set up the printer on my computer and it will print through the network. Yay!! I am loving it. I don't know if I already wrote about that, but it is still exciting news today as it was Friday when we hooked it up. I love the fact that there are USB ports in the front of the computer which makes it really easy to put in my memory cards. That has made it super easy to post pictures and add them to facebook and my blogs. I love it!!! I know, the littlest things in life are so fun and exciting for me, but there is nothing wrong with that? Right?

So, Russ took some pictures of Madalynn with Megan. Every couple min she would look to make sure that I was there in the chair close by.
We gave her the pacifier to chew on. You can't really see it in this picture, but she likes to chew on it and stick her tongue out to the side. She doesn't really take a pacifier, but I am hoping it is something small that she will chew on when her teeth start coming in.
So, one of the moment I remember so vividly about being pregnant was the third ultrasound that we had. We were really lucky to have this one about 24 or 25 weeks along. During the 20 week ultrasound they had not been able to get a good glance at the heart. So, they told us that they would like us to come back in and look at it again. The things that they needed to look at lasted about 2 min of the 10 min that we had in the ultrasound room. The technician could have just let us go, but she gave us one of the best moments of my entire pregnancy. For a minute she held the sonogram thing still on my belly and just let us watch the baby. I can't tell you how nice it was just to lie there and watch her for a minute. As we watched, she put her hand up toward her mouth. One finger was definitely pocking out. However, once she was born we thought that that couldn't be that we saw her sucking her thumb. She tucks in her thumb and so it must have been her eating her mouth. Well, recently she has taken to putting her right index into her mouth and chewing on it. She has officially started sucking her finger. She is constantly gagging herself with it and now spits up quite a bit as a result. It is crazy. But it is fun to see how she is discovering things, grabbing things and enjoying herself. She is starting to reach for everything and I love watching her do it.

So, Madalynn is a bit rough these days. She is having separation anxiety I have decided. She has a really hard time going to different people while I am at work. She won't let people feed her a bottle and cries a lot. Last night when my mom brought her back to our house, she cried until she saw Russ and then she smiled. She has done this for me too. When I put her in my lap after she has been with someone, she is always calm and happy and smiling when she has been super super upset a few seconds before. Ah...the stages that an infant must go through.

Here is a crazy picture of her. She was wearing pants for the first time for a whole day so I just had to take a picture. I don't know that she really like the picture taking session. This is the best picture I found out of the bunch. Oh well. She is cute anyways.
So, Russ really likes these peanut butter balls that my friend Shayla makes. I bought the ingredients to make them back in Jan. I know, I know...that was forever ago and he spent an evening making them this week. I don't care much for peanut butter which is great for him...I don't eat all of his treat. It is made with peanut butter, graham crackers and powdered sugar covered in melted chocolate and butterscotch chips. I love the butterscotch part...yum.
So, Mon Russ texted me while I was teaching and said that the post office had had him scheduled for dispatch and he hadn't known it. They changed the schedule after he had looked at it last week. So, we were a little bummed because any work is work right now and it doesn't matter whether it is 1 or 50 hours. So, he found out he was also scheduled for Tues and we were happy. Then as always at that great hour early in the morning....when noone should ever call someone, we got a call from the post office. Russ had to deliver on a different route. So off he went and Madalynn got to come to work with me. After everyone has such a hard time with her in the mornings while they are watching her, I get extremely stressed and nervous that she is going to cry all the way through class. I mean, I had to bring her to class with me...in a professional company. I would feel terrible if she cried. Well, I propped up the bottle about 20 minutes into an 1 1/2hr class and she fell asleep. With a little bouncing the car seat each time I started a piece, she managed to stay asleep for the rest of class. It was WONDERFUL!!!! Here is the picture that i took. This has to be one of my favorite pictures of her yet. She is so peaceful when she is sleeping. I love it. And, my phone takes pretty decent pictures I have decided.
So, Marcus is always telling me that my mind wanders a ton and this blog is a good show to the world how my mind wanders. It is crazy to some people I know. It never stays in one place long. Sorry for anyone that gets confused as I ramble. So, I have to admit that I have not eaten so many apples in my life. I got a box from one of my students families that owns an orchard. It is one of the last orchards in Lindon. I really need to make some applesauce but they are surprisingly good. I am happy. I don't care much for apples most of the time. With just a little bit of cheese, it is a good treat. I just might have to try some peanut butter with them. I am weird but I don't care much for peanut better as you learned earlier.

So, I don't know how many people drive by the same location all the time and suddenly notice something that has always been there that you have never noticed before. I saw a sign on a business while I was driving down Geneva Road this last week that had the greatest quote about using tact in your relationships. I really need to drive by again and write it down so that I can post it. But, it made me really notice how many different places that I drive in one week and how little I notice besides the road that I am driving on. I could probably tell you all the pot holes in the roads and what changed in construction, but very little about anything else. It is pathetic how little I notice in life. I can tell you though, that some of the sunsets I have seen, and storm cloud formations...are super pretty. One of my favorite places to drive is down University Parkway towards the freeway. On a super rainy day or just at sunset, Utah Lake is one of the prettiest places to look at. I love watching the water dance and play in the light. Ah, the world is made of some beautiful, wonderful things. I hope that someday I can create all those beautiful things in my own worlds.

So, one of the most random things that I have seen in the past week happened with a construction guy. One of those stop/go guys was stopping traffic. I hate when they do that when you are in a hurry. I esp. hate being in the front if they are smoking and having to turn on my fan for the air conditioner or roll up the windows. However, this guy was the complete opposite. As he let us go through, he skipped back to his places. I mean it, he really skipped back to his place. It was super funny. I couldn't help but laugh. I guess it does not matter what job you have you just have to be happy sometimes.

It rained all day today. I love the rain. It was really crazy how loud the thunder was. At one point while i was playing for ballet class today, I thought that it was a train hitting a car outside the studio. But, of course it wasn't. I am deathly terrified of trains and the possibility of ever getting hit by one. And naturally, I must cross three train tracks on my way to work and then again on the way home. The other day, Russ pulled up onto a train track. There was a sign that said to park behind it and he didn't see it. I looked out my window and there was a train that was just starting to move heading towards us. Because he was just starting to move it had not honked its horn yet. We moved just fine, but I was so mad at him. Well, when I hear a train coming while I am playing for class I get worried. When you have a fear, it just seems to become an irrational obsession. Someone took the stop sign by the tracks a while back and I have been worried that someone would run right through and get hit, so I sub-consciously listen everytime the train drives by during class to make sure that nothing happens. OH...it is so bad. So, there everyone knows my first greatest fear in life..

My second greatest fear in life is getting hit by lightening. I don't really want to explain that fear...but it is a great one and I don't like to see it at all. While thunder is cool, it send shivers down my back that it was accompanied by lightening. Oh, the stupidness of fears.

Well, my mind keeps racing and I just keep typing, but I really need to get to bed. I think that if I was really honest with myself, I could write all night.

My Sat--my 5K, playing and working

2010-09-18T22:50:00.015-06:00

So, I ran in my third ever 5K. I ran in my first one when I was in Young Womens. We did it as an activity. We raced from Alta High School to Alta View Hospital. Running along 13th east in Sandy was a bit terrifying, esp. since I wasn't with anyone that I knew.

Last year, 2009, my sister Jessica wanted to run in one for her birthday. I just happened to be a run in Orem that one of my college friends had put together for families of fallen policemen. I actually did run the second have of that race.

Today, I ran in a run to raise money for Utah Regional Ballet. Those who wore tutus and tiaras won extra money. So, I dressed the baby in her Tutu from Russ' aunt Denise. You will be seeing this Tutu again since it is part of her Halloween costume. It was FREEEEEZING. Here is Madalynn with her morning bottle all wrapped up warm.
Oh well. That is what you should expect going up the Provo Canyon at 7am. I pushed the baby walking uphill and then let the momentum of the stroller pull me down. I am feeling the soreness of pushing her up fast. It was fun and here are some pictures of people at the race.
Some raced with a dog in a tutu.
Here are some pictures I took of what the canyon looked like during the run. It was fun.
I finished three minutes before this..but this is where I finished.
After we finished.
Madalynn in her Tutu.
She was really good during the run. She slept pretty much the whole time. However, she is getting into a stage where she wants to be sitting all the time. So, after trying to put her down and pick her up all day long I put her in her Bumbo. The problem is that if she drops a toy then she has to reach over to pick it up. That is when I remembered the tray on the Bumbo and went and grabbed it. I hooked the links to the front and the back and hooked toys to the links. This was a huge success. She could play, the toys would not fall off and she could sit up. I really enjoyed this. We could both do what we wanted to sitting next to each other.
I got working in my sewing room again today for the first time in over a week and that was really nice. I can't believe how much work one little project takes, but it is totally worth it when it is done. I am trying to go through all my craft stuff to see what I can get rid of. I really need to cut down the amount that we have to move in half by Feb. That would be really nice. I am going to sell all the bolts of fabric if I can in the next month and a lot of my scrapbooking stuff. That would cut down the boxes by 4. I got rid of three small boxes today and so we are down to only big boxes. I am also going to sell all my crates and my baskets. I am really hoping that someone will want to buy them. I love them, but I just don't want to have to store them or move them again.

Well, tomorrow for my blog post I am going to upload my mobile notes from my phone. I have been writing everyday, but I just have not been posting everything. I have been trying to go to bed early the last few days and need to get there now. Good night.

Amalie

Work

2010-09-15T21:53:00.002-06:00

Work, work, work....that is all I seem to do, and yet I feel like we still barely make ends meet. I am happy that the last few days, Russ has been able to be home with Madalynn. The next two days she will spend at abby's. I really hope that she is ok for abby. She is such a good friend watching my daughter. She has to teach piano lessons and has a daughter of her own and then my daughter. Madalynn has been crying more and more when she is not with Russ and I. It is a stage she is going through and I hope that it goes fast. I can't bear it when she is like this for other people.

Well, I need to scan the card that one student left on my car a couple weeks ago. It said something like, "I am sorry that I quit piano. It is just not my thing. You were the best teacher I have had." It was really sweet. Teaching can be a pain sometimes, but is so much fun most of the time. I really have such a challenging schedule on Wed nights. I have stacked my students 10 deep in 4 1/2 hours so that I only have to drive there once a week. My hope is to save gas and time. However, it makes for a long night. A couple of my students have been in foster care for the past several years and are being adopted by some of their relatives. I feel bad because they obviously want attention by the things that they ask me to watch or listen to. I hope that this can help teach them a little discipline and concentration skills.

So, Madalynn was awesome and took a 2 1/2 hour nap today during my 2 1/2 hour break. It gave me the time that I needed to get things done around the house. It also meanth that she was super happy when I got to my students' house. However, it also meant that apparently she was going to poop and exploded out her diaper and her clothes. Ah......you can't trust that if you leave just on-time to get to work that you will make it on-time. I try to leave ten minutes early. However, on the days that I am early, we are just really early because nothing happens.

So, I guess that I am going to be reading the hunger games books. My mom bought them for me for my birthday. I am going to have to start reading them after I finish reading all the books I have from the library. I am reading right now a lot of different opinions about how to use my own sewing machine to quilt. I have read so many different ideas about how to use different feet and how to change the tension and the kinds of thread to use, that my mind is swimming in different ideas.

I have been trying to put together some new music for ballet this week. I am hoping that by having new music to play that it might change things up a bit. It has been a little rough going to work somedays. Besides the different music that I play and that I love playing it, it is monotonous to keep playing the same exercises over and over. At least the dancers are working on bettering their abilities and strength and such. That way I am sure that it can not be as monotonous as playing for the same exercises time after time all day. I am glad that I teach piano to change things up a bit. my dad bought me a copier for my birthday. It is wonderful. Now I don't have to go to Kinko's for copies anymore. It is a really nice copier too.

I tried to plan dinner tonight. I put a meal in the crock pot. However, the times in the recipe book are far far too long. The meat was super dry and over cooked. I will have to remember to take 2 hours off the long cooking time. It was nice though to have planned something and have it ready when i get home at 8:45 from work.

Well, my back really hurts. The baby fell back asleep in my arms this morning after she woke up. I went back to bed and just kept her in my arms asleep. Unfortunately the pillow was not up high enough and I got a kink in my neck. On top of just having to hold the baby while I was teaching tonight, it was hard to keep her in my arms from my upper back pain. So, I think I better get to bead early so that hopefully the pain will subside while lying down.

For pictures, I was going to take a picture of my new copier and my car that drives me around, but then I decided that I didn't want to get up to take them now. I know that this is supposed to be pictures of 365, but I think as long as I keep writing and posting pictures as often as possible, then I am doing a good job.

I am onto my last day of serious work this week and then I have a lighter weekend. I love Fridays and how little I have to work. :) That is what I am looking forward to this week.

Amalie

Weekend Fun

2010-09-12T21:28:00.009-06:00

Well, yesterday was my first day in a while that I got to spend the whole day with my daughter. Russ took this picture when he got home from work. She was just willing to lie with me and cuddle. She doesn't often do that and it was nice.
I spent the morning at a Leadership Training meeting for primary. It was nice, however, they really didn't get to anything that would help. I will have to look through the packet they gave me. I am currently Senior primary chorister. It is really fun. Our primary is tiny compared to the last one I worked in. With that...it is taking some time to adapt to doing things that will involve everyone and still get some sound out of their singing.

Every Sat I take Russ lunch while he is out on his postal route delivering mail. It was esp. fun when Madalynn was first born. It was some of my first times driving with her in the car and being a mom. He used to drive his tiger jeep, but now he has an LLV. Last Halloween we had him dress up in his UPS uniform to deliver mail at the Post Office. These are some of the pictures that we took. He is so tall compared to the little jeep. He can push this jeep with very little effort. It is amazing. Ah, taking him lunch is really fun and nice. He doesn't have to stop during his route to get something, I can see him for a minute, and he doesn't go without lunch. It is just a fun thing that has become a routine the last two years. So, instead of writing tonight, I should be getting to bed. Madalynn didn't take an afternoon nap today and therefore, went to bed at 7:30pm. I really think that I should get to bed since she is going to be up again in a couple hours. Ah...

So, we celebrated my birthday with my family tonight. Fun huh. I blew out all my candles in one blow.
We played Wizard, which has to be one of my favorite games to play. While we sat the table we watched the baby playing with a phone. She has started trying to grab things and has complete interest in everything in front of me. I love the faces that she is starting to use that show how she is feeling. This one to me is her curious look...Just finished watching Leap Year. It was awesome...again. The last line: "We'll throw him in the warsh. He'll be grand." I have not laughed so much in a while. Well, this is going to be a long week. I have a lot of work. I am teaching all my students this week. I haven't done that in a while. I have a couple that go every other week and so I don't even see them most of the time in the same week. I am starting a new student on Thur too. That should be fun.

Well, I am off to bed. My pictures of everyday life are certainly interesting. Some are quite boring, however, it is a good record.

Amalie

Friday

2010-09-10T22:47:00.004-06:00

Well, for my post today, I updated my crafting blog. I took pictures of all the projects I have worked on and finished in the last year. I am missing three that I gave away as presents. However, it is good representation.

When I came home from working this morning Russ turned around as I walked in the door and said, "She just feel asleep while playing." Doesn't she just look so cute? She stayed asleep for a while. Oh, I love my baby girl.I got a new phone for my birthday and I got to use it today. That was really nice. I am really happy with my choice. That is for sure.

Friday is my lightest day of work and today, I played for class, came home and cleaned and put my daughter down for two naps, went back to work and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. Russ made dinner--hamburgers, and we have probably watched 3 movies today. Russ does watch some weird ones, but I guess that there are some really good lines in the movies. Right now we are watching Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Well, check out my craft post and good night.

Amalie

The end of 29 and onto 30

2010-09-09T22:42:00.004-06:00

Our small family on my first birthday as a mom. She is such a joy. Her birthday present for me was sleeping in until eight this morning after going to bed last night at 8:30pm. That was very nice of her.

So, I was thinking about the years of birthdays that I remember and I clearly remember 2.

23 years ago I had my first piano lesson. My mom learned how to french braid my hair that day. We lived in a house that had a small window close to the floor on the landing where the stairs turned. I sat and looked out of it while my mom pulled hard on my hair. It hurt, but then again, back then it always hurt when she did my hair. She pulled it tight, but it never came out. Then she took me to my piano lesson. I don't remember much about my first teacher. The thing that I remember the most is trying (like every little kid does) to reach the farthest notes apart from each other on the piano and the day that I came into my lesson to tell her that I could read music by just looking at it and not looking at my hands. I really wish that my little students could learn that. They would learn how to read music so much better and not stop to look at their hands so much.

I remember my 16th birthday pretty clearly too. It was a crazy day, running to dance and home again. However, we were moving into the home that my parents live in now. They moved in Halloween that year. I was going to get the old double bed that my parents had slept in for many many years and my mom had had when she was in high-school. My mom bought all new bedding for the bed. It was really nice. Definitely not my style and I don't think that I would ever make a quilt like that for my home, but it fit my moms home. It was nice to sleep in a bigger bed. Around the time of my mission I got a new mattress for the bed for Christmas. That was the best. I have a tall husband and don't know how it would be possible to sleep in a double bed with him, a queen was small enough while we had it. But, that is the second birthday that I remember.

I don't have a great memory for details. That is one reason why journals are such a good thing for me.

We tried a pair of shoes on the babies feet today. It was just for fun...however, it didn't last long. They made her feet really heavy. So I promptly took them off. Russ tried really hard to get a good picture of the two of us together and he got his one with her smiling, but forgot to get me in the picture :)Here are a couple of other pictures that my sister and Russ took today. She is getting ready to eat her shoe in this picture. Today, I met with an insurance agent to work on getting us some health insurance that isn't cobra prices. That was nice. It was a bit scary and very confusing. However, it will all work out and hopefully be a investment.

We went and got sushi tonight. That was fun. I have really learned to like it. The first time that I went someone added tons and tons of wasabi to the soy sauce and it was a bit much for me. I didn't like it at all and felt sick afterwards. It took two years of being married for Russ and my sister-in-law Megan to talk me into going to get sushi again. I love it!!!! I really like the different flavors in each roll and the place we go to, The Sushi House, is a good price for rolls.

My dad bought me a new phone. That made me really happy. It has some great new functions that I didn't even have on my old phone.

Well, I am exhausted. It has been a very long day. Work was rough today, and I am very excited to be done with work for the week tomorrow. I didn't even have to teach all my students this week and i feel like I have not stopped working. maybe that is because I haven't seen my daughter much. Russ has been home the last couple days watching her and that has been super super nice. I am glad that she can be home him. I feel so loved when I cuddle up with her in the corner of the couch to put her to sleep at night. I really wish that I could sit with her there all day.

Well, Russ is watching his nightly movie right now. Because we don't have the cable box, we have been watching his huge movie collection. It is nice that we do have such a large collection and I love movies. They are better than TV shows, at least that is my opinion. They have a start and an end and don't drag out forever. TV shows are always looking for ways to twist the story to make sure that they can keep going and make money. Movies are a story line that starts and ends. I really like that.

Well, i am off to bed.
Amalie

The Kitchen

2010-09-08T21:56:00.005-06:00

After a long day of work and teaching, I came home to eat dinner. I don't get home from teaching until after 8:30pm on Wed. That is really late to eat a good home cooked dinner. This is the reason in the past that I have never bought fresh fruits and vegetables. I have high hopes of using the fresh fruit really quickly to make meals. However, when you are getting home that late, making dinner vs. finding something that is quick to eat always has the same consequences....eating what you can find quick.

So, I am proud of the fact that for 3 weeks now i have had fresh vegetable and have eaten them with regularity. I have been eating a lot of sandwiches and I love lettuce and tomatoes on my sandwiches. This has made it a little bit easier to use them regularly. Abby gave me some yellow squash from her garden and a few peaches from her group for canning. It has been nice. I have the goal to continue eating fresh things for snacks and such this week. I sent Russ grocery shopping while I was working tonight and he bought me baby carrots so that I could use them for my lunches. I really hope that this goal doesn't go away.Since moving into the place that we live in, I have been doing a much better job about keeping the kitchen clean. Marin, if you read this, don't worry this is not a bad thing. However, we are staying in Marin and Ammon's place for a while and she is such a good housekeeper. I have never visited when there was anything out of place. The house is always so clean. This has motivated me to keep the place pretty clean all the time. I am constantly doing the dishes and cleaning the floor. I am terrified that I am going to put a scratch or gouge in the floors. They are beautiful huh!
I have never been a good cleaner, but staying in a friends house, you tend to take much better care of things that in just any rental.

The constant need to cleaning bottles for the baby to eat out of, and for me to pump is a little much sometimes. When the baby was first born the place we were living in had the most steep stairs possible. The kitchen downstairs was far to far away. So, we kept the bottles in our bathroom for cleaning. I love that we now live in a place where the master bedroom is just outside the kitchen. It makes it much easier to keep the bottles in the kitchen and keep them clean. Pumping to feed your child...takes time and effort. I have to admit that sometimes it is very inconvinient and I would like to stop and just use formula instead. I know that formula is not bad for my baby, however, breatmilk is just that much better for her. So, while I continue to work I just keep pumping for her. It was very nice that i was able to start pumping so soon after she was born because Russ could do one feeding around 11pm for me and let me sleep for 4 hours. When she was little, that saved my day. When you get some consecutive hours of sleep you are able to handle anything. At first I tried to breastfeed and pump, but she would choke on the bottle when she would go back and forth. since she was going to have to take a bottle while I was gone, I went strictly to a bottle and that has worked really well. I like knowing how much she has eaten everytime she eats and how often she needs that amount to eat. It is amazing to me how much she eats now. Every lbs that she puts on the more that she needs to eat.

On Wed, I teach a lot of students in a row. I was super super grateful that Russ is not have dispatch at the post office today so that he could watch madalynn for me. He said that she cried a bit while I was gone, but my neck feels so much better tonight. The stress of watching the baby and feeding her and having enough time to change her diaper and be professional teaching...it is very hard some weeks. If I didn't teach so many students in a row, it would probably be better. However, I only want to drive to Mapleton one night a week and so I put them back to back to save on time and gas. My students are definitely each very different. My last two news students are amazing. They practice really well and learn as much music as I think that most people can learn in a week. It is really nice. A couple of my students are hard to teach manners and listening skills to, but they are learning slowly but surely. I keep to my schedule tonight the best I have kept to my schedule in a long time.

I love my daughter. I don't know why or how, but she certainly knows when it is bed time. We put her pajamas on her and wrap her in a blanket and she knows that it is time to go to bed. I cuddle up in the corner of the couch and feed her and she is almost always instantly asleep and stays that way all night. I just don't understand how a baby learns to do that, but I am grateful. I could not go to work and really function if she didn't do that for me. Because of several things that have happened to me in the last few months, I know that I am supposed to be working right now. It is hard somedays to leave the baby, or while I am teaching, almost ignore her, but there is a reason and I know that I am supposed to do this and that helps me get through each day.

Well, enough of my rambling. I am exhausted and falling asleep while I type. I have so much more that I would like to write, but a little will suffice.

Amalie

My Purple Bag

2010-09-07T22:26:00.007-06:00

One year ago today, I bought my purple bag. I bought it for my birthday to carry my ballet music. It was too heavy for my shoulder anymore. I am glad that I did. It was the best thing for the time that I was pregnant. It kept me in-shape pulling it up the small hill at UVU quickly everyday. However, in one year I learned that I can't drag it through the rocks out back of Jackie's studio. It is cramed to the brink with a heating pad for my back (I used it a lot at the end of my pregnancy) and music that I have not sorted yet to put in my notebooks. I really need to get to doing that certainly soon. The following picture shows the wheels of my bag and how they are spliting. The bag might be on its way out. It is so loud these days as I walk down the hall of the studio and even on the pavement on my way into UVU.

So, every weekday of my life I walk into the ballet studio now. I sit at this piano.

Today I sat at this piano for over 3 1/2 hours and in other studios for more than 3 hours. Yep, anything to do with the piano is my home away from home. Unfortunately Russ phone went off at 5:30am. Tracy, the full-time postal carrier that Russ carries for on her 6th day, called in sick. After Russ asked her if she was going to take today off last Thur. she said no. Therefore, we didn't find a babysitter for the baby and he was going to watch her the entire day. She end up coming to 3 1/2 hours of ballet with me.

At one point I was able to put her on the floor for a minute and she played with the handle on the diaper bag for about 10 min. I was in heaven. Between bouncing her, feeding her, putting her down, picking her up, trying to calm her, rock her car seat while she slept so that she wouldn't wake up each time i start a piece all the while paying attention so that no teacher had to give me a beat twice, pull out the right music to play and be ready in the moment they expected music to be playing...it was interesting. I felt like I had run a marathon. It was horrible!!!! I was worn out and I was very happy to get home. Well, my Tues is full from beginning to end with ballet. My mom took the baby for me while I went back to the studio this afternoon and the little pill cried and screamed at my mom for several hours. She is definitely starting to get in the stage of--"if it is not my mom or dad, I won't be happy." It is horrible. How can she be that way with someone that she has seen at least once a week for her short life. When my mom dropped her off, she had Madalynn in her lap and she started crying even with me sitting here.

I took her to the last part of our Relief Society activity, on homemade breads and jams. She was completely awesome and calm. She even squealed a little bit. Oh!!! Why is she going through this stage! My poor babysitters. Well, I can't wait to try some new bread recipes. I have been wanting to learn how to make homemade bread. We will have to try soon.

Last night I went to bed super early--9:30pm. Madalynn had just gone to bed and I was exhausted. When we got our 5:30am phone call, I was really glad that I had gone to bed early. Well, of course she woke up as soon as I got up. I swear she can hear me moving around in the house or something. She just senses when people are up. I fed her and decided that I could go walking before I had to go to work. It was only 50 degrees when we got out and that is rather cold. Here is the baby half way through the walk, napping and wrapped up in several blankets.
So naturally I had to take a picture of the clear sunrise. It was beautiful this morning.
The baby was supposed to have her 4 month appointment today. However, we are trying to find new insurance for her and hopefully that will happen by the end of next week. I am glad with all that happened today I didn't have to deal with a child getting shots as well. Oh, that would have been rough.

On my drive home from work tonight, I was thinking about a conversation I had with a co-worker. We had been talking about the time that it takes to clean a house and the energy it takes. I said that sometimes it is hard for me to clean a house when I have an hour that the baby is asleep because I am always cleaning rather than doing other things that I would like to do. Then I started thinking about Martha and her sister in the bible. One was running around trying to get things ready and one was sitting at the Saviors feet. Where do you draw the line? When do you stop getting things done and when do you soak in the things that are the most important in life? As I go to bed, this is my thought.

Amalie

Park City

2010-09-06T16:13:00.009-06:00

So, this morning I was trying to figure out what I did yesterday morning. I realized that I slept the morning away. Russ took the baby yesterday when she woke up at 7 and I went back into bed with a headache and slept it away until 10. It was really nice. This morning I was so rested and I think that that helped.

So we got up early and went with Kelley up to his in-laws house in Coleville this morning. We used our truck to pick up some cabinets that he is going to use in his garage. Last summer Russ went up and helped Kelley work on the roof of their house. When they left on their mission to Greece they sold their farm in Wisconsin and started building a home here on the land that Kelley's father-in-law grew up on as a kid. Well, their home is beautiful. They cut down the walnut trees on their property in Wisconsin and brought the lumber here and left the wood to dry while they were on their mission. The following pictures are the cabinets and things that they used the wood to make...it was beautiful!!! It was fun to see the house finished. Last i saw it it was just framed. If i could find the pictures i would show the before and after pictures.

This is a picture of their view. I think that it is very pretty. I couldn't live here. The winters are far too cold and severe. It is Labor Day and their garden froze this morning because the weather was 22 degrees this morning.
We learned the baby decides to explode in her diaper when we go up and down mountains. She did it multiple times while we were driving up and down cedar mountain when we went to the cabin a few weeks ago. Glad i always pack an extra outfit and extra wipes. She never poops on a constant basis so i never worry about it normally. We have learned though that to help her pop her ears we just need to make sure she drinks a bottle and she is ok. Unfortunately, she wouldn't drink much today, so by the time we got to the factory outlets in Park City she was screaming bloody terror. I am glad that she decided to sleep as we walked through the stores. Russ of course took charge of the stroller since shopping is not his favorite thing.
I just wanted to go since the weather was wonderful and it was nice to walk around during all the sales. It was only 60 degrees. That is perfect for me. Just cool enough to need a jacket but not too cold that you feel cold in your bones. The baby donned her first sweater. She looked so cute. I decided that I was going to buy her a couple nice thick sweaters to wear this fall and winter rather than a coat or long-sleeve onesies. I have tons of short sleeve clothes for her and she is going to be in-doors most of the time since I don't like to go out in the cold, so it should be good. It was hard to get a good picture. She has started playing with her lips in and out and spitting all the time. It is cute, but she doesn't smile as much since she started doing it.
All baby clothes were50% at the carter's store and it was a mad house. I saw the cutest dress on the rack outside and I really can't wait until she is a little older and I can make her cute dresses like this one!! I love the colors! I want to find a pattern like this one to make her a Christmas dress. I have some great fabric that I have been waiting to make a formal skirt. maybe I will make matching formal attire for Christmas. I think that that would be fun.The baby has been a pill today. Flopping over onto her stomach and made that she keeps doing so. She wants to be held and not put in her swing or bouncer. I love holding her, but not if she is still going to fuss all day. Gone are the days that I can just put her on the floor and she will quietly play. Russ was trying to sooth her and started playing with her and her favorite toy a cookie monster. She almost always smiles when cookie monster talks to her. Well, I was really sad that she pooped out of her clothes this morning. I dressed her in a cute watermelon outfit that I thought was fitting for a near the end of the summer holiday. Oh well. I will have to take a picture of her in it later. We were just in much to much of a hurry this morning in leaving to get a picture. Well, i better get off and do the laundry and clean so that I am ready for the week of working and trying to just get through the day.

Amalie

My morning walks

2010-09-05T23:36:00.006-06:00

Well,

I was going to go to sleep. But, Russ is asleep on the couch and I am finishing writing on my craft blog. When I was closing my pictures, I saw the pictures I took yesterday with my camera. I am surprised at this picture. I took it really quickly without even really focusing to make sure that the Angel Moroni was in the picture and just took a shot. This is what I see on my morning walk.Beautiful huh!!! The sky is so blue! If you ever ask Russ about the sky being blue he will tell you that one day I told him that out of the blue. I said, "Look Dear the sky is blue." He said, "well thanks for pointing out the obvious" and now take pleasure in telling everyone that I told him that. Everyone always laughs at me. Of course I also told him that mid-thought. At the time I was looking at the sky and admiring how clear it was. You know, just one of those days where the blue is so perfectly clear and amazing. Just like in this picture.

My walk, which I realize I probably shouldn't post the exact times and locations that I walk since it is similar most of the time, consists of walking around the Mount Timpanogos Temple once. I walk about 3 miles every time that I go. When I am walking consistently I have been loosing some weight. That would be a goal of mine to get below 200lbs by the end of the year. I was just at 200lbs when i got pregnant and I have already lost 35lbs since having the baby. Granted a lot of weight was the baby and the fluids around her, but I think that I have been doing a good job. Since my 6 week check up I have lost 10 lbs and have not seen the weight go over 211lbs. It is a nice feeling to feel like I am in shape. My current goal is to walk a 5K in a couple weeks for URB, Utah Regional Ballet. I play the piano for their classes. I just needed a goal to keep me pushing through while I am working an running around like crazy.

I took the following picture of the temple grounds flowers to remind me how beautiful the walk is in the summer. We will be moving before the end of the summer and I don't know where we will be next summer or if this will be my walking path again then.
The worst part of the walk is the hill leading up to the temple. This picture just does not do it justice. It is a gradual climb with a steep walk at the very top. My calves are always burning when I get to the top, esp. now that I am pushing a 30lbs jogging stroller and a 17lbs baby inside. However, it gets my heart rate up and that helps with the exercising. While I do have weight I would like to loose, I really just want to feel like I am in-shape again.
The baby usually just coo's and talks the first part of the walk and then slowly she mellows out and just stares at me or sleeps. She loves being outdoors and I love that she likes it. It makes it so much easier to stay motivated to keep doing it. The temperature is becoming much more pleasant and I wish that it would stay in the 60's and 70's forever. Anything 80 or above is just too hot for me. I don't like that heat and physically feel ill when it gets that hot. My stomach just doesn't like it.

I love walking past the different homes in American Fork. It makes me realize how much I want a home of my own. I want a yard to plant flowers in. I want to be able to decorate my own home. I want a yard for my daughter to play in in a couple years. While I walk, I either listen to a book on tape or just think. I gives me plenty of time to think through my goals and what I am doing and I like that I have that quiet time. Most of the time I am behind a piano or the steering wheel of my car. While, those can be quiet times, they also require concentration. Walking is slow paced and relaxing. It is the only kind of exercise I will ever be able to do, so i am really glad it is free.

Good night all,
Amalie

My new goal!

2010-09-05T21:47:00.003-06:00

So, every birthday is the finish of a new year and the opening of an old one. So, as I turn 29 years old this week, I am finishing my 29th year of life. So, I decided in the year leading to my 30th birthday...that I would get back to writing again. I used to keep such a great journal before for several years and then I just quit. Many of my friends have tried to do this 365 project. I decided that I would take a picture a day for a year and whether I write once a week, every night or once a month...I would post 365 pictures of my life this year. Then i plan on printing it out as my journal.

So today, Sun Sept 5, 2010 my baby girl turned four months old. She started rolling over a few weeks ago and now she just pops over all the time. This picture is of my baby just after she was watching TV. After sacrament meeting we brought her home because she was fussy. While I went back to Primary, Russ put in Aristocats and apparently she was watching for quite a while. Suddenly Russ says that she turned her head to look at Russ and just fell asleep. She woke up as I walked in was just entranced in the movie. Unfortunately by the time that I got out my camera, she had turned her head. Oh well.For dinner we went to the Robinsons. Kelley and Teri are Russ's aunt and uncle. They are the nicest couple, the best examples and I would love to be like them. They are so open and honest and giving. They have the best kids and love them so much. It was fun to watch Kelley playing with Madalynn. She gets really serious right now with other people or cries when she is around them. I think that she is in a stranger danger stage. When we were at the cabin with Randy and Glenda a few weeks ago, she started really crying when Glenda was trying to feed her and she has since done it to my mom and Abby. I feel very loved that my child wants to be around me and feels comfortable with me, but I hate leaving my child somewhere with someone when I know that she will probably cry for them. Most of the time if she hear my voice she will turn to look at me or she will start crying because I am not holding her.Sun is usually the day before a monday of hard work, however, tomorrow is Labor Day. I am really excited about that. A day off where Russ won't be called into work and I am not running the baby around to have someone watch her while I am working. The days that I am running the baby around are the most stressful, but managable. One day in our future one of us might be able to care for her full time while the other one has a stable salary-like job....but maybe that will never happen either and the constant running will be our lifestyle. That is what I have always known and so I can handle that. While it is a different kind of stress, it feels like I am in school again...working, going to school, doing homework except my responsibilities now are working, taking care of my babies needs (pumping, changing diapers, clothes and playing with her so that she can feel loved and no neglected) and doing house work. I have been trying to clean the house every night and doing laundry every sat. Until this weekend I have done a good job.

So, testimony meeting reminded me today that I love the gospel of Christ. I know where I am going and that I am loved and cared for. I have so many blessings. I need to start reading to my daughter and teaching her constantly what is important in life. While the primary kids may not sing for me, I love my calling because the primary songs have so many lessons to teach. I remember the things that are important in life. Well, I am rambling like I usually do. While it isn't my birthday yet...I have started and hopefully I can be pretty consistent.

Amalie

The first of many

2008-08-19T18:25:00.002-06:00

So, I am going to try and put up a blog that tells about what Russ and I are up to. It should be fun. Watch for pictures coming soon!