Our LIttle Angel

We finally got around to taking pictures of Anna in her blessing dress.  Devin took 300 pictures...literally.  I am glad that I don't have to pay for him to take pictures of her.  She was in a pretty good mood, but it took 300 to get the shot that we really liked.  So after narrowing it down this is my favorite picture.

We also took pictures on Sunday in the dress that Grandma Baldwin gave her for Christmas.  We LOVE the pictures we got on Sunday.  She really is our little angel.

Only 10 Months

I should be going to bed, but I can't resist the temptation to blog right now. You see, for the last 10 months I have been working on a cross stitch for Anna. Right after we found out we were expecting we went and picked out the pattern. I figured I would need all the time I could get to complete such a task. I have never done anything like this before. My mom made a little cross stitch for each of us and I wanted to do the same. Needless to say the pattern I picked out was not the easiest thing in the universe. But that doesn't matter because today I finished it!!!!!!! I told myself that I wanted to finish it before the year was over. So with 4 days to spare it is done. We even went and picked out a frame tonight because we were both so excited. For a first time attempt I feel pretty good about my ten months worth of work. I asked Devin what I should do with my extra time now that this project is complete. He told me I should learn PHP so I can help him with all of the web sites that he does for side work. I laughed and told him I don't think I'll have a hard time coming up with my own projects to keep me busy.

Here is a random cute picture of Anna. She really likes to sit on my lap lately. I often read her stories, but this picture is from when I was working on my Relief Society lesson.

Tradition!

Devin and I have been talking a lot lately about what we want our family traditions to be. We have started something lately that we really enjoy. . . Friday Night Treats. This tradition comes mainly from the fact that we don't go out like we use to. With a new little baby and the desire to stick to our budget, we don't go "out" on Friday nights like we use to. We still wanted to do something fun, so we started Friday Night Treats. We make a fun treat and watch a movie. It has been fun to make different treats and spend time together making them.

I was thinking about what we should make this week and with it being Christmas time I thought we should make gingerbread men. I quickly looked up the recipe and was pleased to find that we had everything that we needed to make them . . . almost. Thanks to a few great neighbors we were able to get some vinegar (weird! I wouldn't think cookies should have vinegar in them) and some gingerbread men cookie cutters.

We had a blast making and decorating the cookies.

Anna...had a great nap.






We have decided that we should make gingerbread men every year the weekend before Christmas.

So today I have two things for people to comment on.

1st: What are some of your families favorite Christmas Traditions?

2nd: Can you guess what the following gingerbread men are suppose to be?

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Yes...all of the above gingerbread men were decorated by Devin. Mine were not nearly as creative as his.

Slow and Steady

My mom got me a really cool book called Slow and Steady Get Me Ready.  I love it because it has an activity for each week from birth to 5 years old.  The teacher in me absolutely loves having fun little activities to do each week.  Another cool thing is that the activities build on each other and teach important skills.  Not only are there activity ideas but it explains why each activity is important and what skills it is helping the child to develop.  I am grateful for good ideas of things to do with a 7 week old baby.  It is fun to see her learning new skills.  The first time I introduce an activity I think "dang, she doesn't get that at all."  But then as I keep doing it each day with her, she learns. Lately she has grown to love her little activity gym that I built.  That is another cool thing about the book.  It gives you ideas and they are all using simple stuff that you have around the house.  Anna just loves looking at the different objects and has even started to play with them.  This is fantastic because mom gets up to 30 minutes of "get stuff done" time.  Though I must say it is pretty fun just watching her.  She has also started "talking" more.  She makes such sweet noises and gets so happy when she makes the bell ring or the other stuff move. 

So any mom out there who is looking for fun simple activities to do with your kid, you should check this book out.

Virtue

I heard yesterday that they have changed the Young Women theme to add "virtue" as one of the values. http://www.lds.org/pa/display/0,17802,8449,00.html I think it is fantastic! I can't wait to see what the value projects will be like. My big question is....what color will virtue be?

Two VERY GOOD Things

Today I thought I'd share two very good things.
First, on Saturday I had my quilt class in Salt Lake, which means that I could either take Anna with me or leave her with Devin. I decided to leave her with Devin since quilt class really isn't too kid friendly. I left a bottle with him for emergency purposes. I fed Anna right before I left and hoped all would be well until I came back. With the exception of one fantastic "blow out" diaper things went well. She didn't even get hungry. We decided to try the bottle when she was hungry just to see if she would take it. I am happy to report that she just sucked it up!
Very good thing #1 is that my baby is happy with a bottle which means that Devin and I can run away to the temple as soon as we find a free evening. Way to go Anna!

Second, today I had my 6 week appointment with my doctor. The fantastic news is that I am healing well and I "no longer have any limitations on any activities."
Very good thing #2 is that I get to run again. I get to do sit-ups again.
Right now the sun is shining and I want so bad to go run outside, but Anna is sleeping. I'll run later...trust me I've been itching to run for SO long. The elliptical machine just doesn't give you the same "work-out-happiness" that running does.
Being able to do sit-ups again reminds me of New Years Eve 1999 to 2000. I was on my mission and our mission president said we should stay in because the "world might end." My companion and I got the crazy idea---probably it came from the fact that the members had been feeding and stuffing us every chance they had since Christmas--that we would do 1000 sit-ups to bring in the New Year. We did it, and boy did our tummies hurt the next day. And honestly I have done it a few other times just for New Years Eve fun. Yes...I know I'm weird.

Daddy Time

Our life right now is pretty much focused on Anna. Devin loves playing with her each morning before work and each night when he comes home. I don't know who likes the toys more, Devin or Anna. It has been fun to watch Anna grow as she is learning to follow objects with her eyes and even move her head more. We are so grateful that she is such a cuddly baby. We really don't mind holding her all the time. The last few days she has been happy just being in her swing, crib, or bouncer. She really likes the little animal mobiles. Our swing has a bright yellow giraffe, she loves it! It is so cute to watch her watch the giraffe go round and round above her.

Happy 1 Month!

Anna is now a month old. I am amazed at how fast she is growing. She gets cuter every day. She is smiling more and even laughed yesterday. We are most proud of the fact that she now sleeps in her crib all night. We have a little pack-and-play that we have kept her in in our room. But we decided Sunday night that it was time for Anna to sleep in her own room. She has done great. She still wakes up once or twice each night, so Mommy now has to walk farther to feed her, but she sleeps well.

We had a good Thanksgiving. It was SO nice to just stay home. We went to my Mom's house and visited with family. But as you can see from the picture, most of the time was spent just relaxing and enjoying being together. We are excited that even Anna knows that on holidays you should sleep in until at least 8 o'clock.

Ok, This One Time

I have been trying for several days to find the time to post something. My to-do list always seems to be more important than blogging when Anna is sleeping. But this morning I put "blog" on the to-do list and so here we are. I was tagged by Missy my sister-in-law to post about Devin. I normally don't do the whole tag thing, but I have been looking for an excuses to post this great picture of Devin being so manly fixing the toilet and to just say how great I think he is. Thanks Missy for giving me a good reason to brag about my perfect husband.

1. Where did you meet?
We met int he singles ward. We also say that we met because we were both doing what we should. We were active and participating in our singles ward. We were at FHE, Institute, Ward Temple Night, and all activities.

2. How long did you date before you got married?
About 9 months

3. How long have you been married?
679 days 22 hours and 53 minutes...I have it my phone :)

4. What is your favorite feature of his?
I love his smile, his eyes, his perfect size that I just fit right under his chin....everything!

5. What is your favorite quality of his?
I love that he is a true "Boy Scout." He is always quick to help others and to serve. He always puts the needs of others first. He does his duty so well. He really honors his priesthood. He not only does what is right, but he has a way of helping others do good things too.

6. Does he have a nickname for you?
My beautiful

7. What is his favorite color?
I don't know...blue?

8. What is his favorite food?
Pork...or anything but rice and raisins.

9. What is his favorite sport?
Running, thanks to me or racket ball. We use to play that all the time before we were married and before I was pregnant. (I kicked his trash all the time.)

10. When and where was your first kiss?
Friday, May 5th, 2006. We were watching Sky High at his condo on his old nasty couch. The kiss was way better than the movie.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Go to the temple. Or go to Disney World

12. Do you have any kids?
One, Anna Beth

13. Does he have a hidden talent?
He plays the piano really well. He is working on learning how to play Clair de Lune right now. I wish that we had a "real" piano for him to play. I think he would play more often if we did.

14. How old is he?
He is 28. He finally told me the secret to remembering his age. He was born in 1980 and the math is easy from there.

15. Who said "I love you" first?
He did. We were chatting on-line during work one day. He told me to remind him to tell me something that night. We went to ward temple night and as we were sitting on "our couch" in the Celestial room I reminded him and that's when he told me he loved me.

16. What is his favorite type of music?
Jazz or Classical....he doesn't really listen to a lot of music at all.

17. What do you admire most about him?
For the last four weeks it has been how amazing he is with Anna. He is such a good Daddy. The way he plays with her and talks with her and takes care of her is just so amazing. I just love watching him hold her and look at her. Each night he sings "Hushabye Mountain" to her. It is SOOO cute.

There you have it, a few things about my wonderful husband. I am so grateful for him. I tell people all the time that he was well worth waiting 28 years for. I don't know what I'd do without him. He is amazing. I hope that someday I might be as kind, hardworking, and just good like he is.

I tag anyone who needs a good excuse to say something wonderful about their husband.

Life One-Handed

I feel bad that I haven't blogged for such a long time. I am still trying to get use to life as a mom. I have quickly found out that being a mom means you eat long after everyone is done eating and only after you have warmed it up in the microwave at least once. It also means that you learn to take advantage of naps that can last anywhere from 2 minutes to 3 hours. You also learn to appreciate the wonder of Oxi Clean. (Where has that been all my stained-clothing's life?) I will forever be amazed at how just a little Oxi Clean can get out what I would call the worst of all "baby blow outs." The final lesson is that of being one-handed. I laugh that my one-handed typing skills are getting better and better each day. I have learned how to cook one-handed, fold laundry one-handed, and do many other things while holding my little bundle of joy. (FYI as of last week at her doctor appointment our little bundle of joy weighed in at 9lbs 9oz.) Life really couldn't be better. I'll be honest, sometimes "cabin fever" gets to me. I am not one that sits around all day...especially inside all day every day. But having a happy healthy baby is worth it. It just makes me more grateful for days like today when the sun is shining. The sun shining helps me to feel like I am still part of the world and not a hermit living in a dark cave. Enjoy the cute pictures of our little Anna. It is fun having a photographer husband. I don't know if I'll every bring myself to actually pay someone to take her picture. Who would pay money when you have a husband who takes hundreds of pictures any chance he gets?

Anna after her first Sacrament meeting this last Sunday.

1 week old.

1 week old.

We All Voted!

In honor of Election Day, we decided to take our first family outing. We thought it was very patriotic that for our first family outing we all went to vote. Devin came home from work and we all drove over to the elementary school close to our house. I was SO grateful that there was no line at all. Last time I went to vote the line was all the way down the hall and wrapped around and back. Anna was great. She didn't even make a peep. They even gave her a sticker that says "I Voted." The whole trip took less than 15 minutes. I'm glad that I could go vote at 10am. As you can see from the picture, Anna saved all her fussing until we got home. She is such a good baby, so please don't let the picture make you think otherwise.

Boo!

Happy Halloween everyone! We had a great Halloween, even if we were stuck in the hospital. Anna looked so cute in her little Trick-or-Treat onesie. On Halloween night we dressed Anna up in her costume and walked her around the hospital floor. All the nurses thought she looked really cute, we completely agreed with them.

She's Here!

Say "Hello" to our sweet little Anna Beth Baldwin.   She arrived last night (October 29th) at 11:20pm.  She weighed 8lbs and 11oz.  She is 22 inches long and has a 37 centimeter head.   We ended up having to have a C-Section to get her here.  She is beautiful and happy.  I'm doing great.  Anna is doing great.  For more details check Devin's Blog for the play by play (mobiledose.blogspot.com).  I'll post more info later. 

An Empty Pot

Last night was our ward's annual chili cook off. Last year I won first place for my chili. I was all geared up to win again this year. Funny thing when I went to find the recipe, I couldn't find it. I tore my cook books apart tying to find it. I even spent way too much time searching the internet trying to find the same recipe that I used last year. Alas, I could not find it. But I found a similar recipe. I got brave and changed a bunch of stuff to make it as much like last years recipe as I possibly could. Well, I tied for 2nd place. Devin says it is only because everyone ate my chili so fast that there wasn't enough for everyone to try it. They scraped the bowl clean (as you can see in the picture). I think it turned out pretty good. I wish I could have had some more. Too bad we came home with an empty pot. Don't worry, I wrote down the recipe and it is safe in my cook book so next year I won't have to re-invent the wheel again.
Oh, a side note on the baby thing. We are going to be induced on Wednesday. They will call Tuesday to schedule the time. Nothing other than that. No contractions. I'm not uncomfortable at all. Things are good. Just think lots of happy thoughts Wednesday that things go well.

Tag and No News

I normally am HORRIBLE about responding to tags on blogs. I am amazed at how fast some tags move around the blogging world. Well I was tagged to post my 6th picture from my 6th folder. Funny I went to i photo and my 6th folder only had 3 pictures. I went to my 7th, only two pictures. My 8th folder had more than 6 so here it is. This picture was taken last December after the Nutcracker 5k and our first really good snow fall of the year. Sniff, Sniff, I miss running!
As far as baby news goes....we have nothing to report. Well, I am dilated to 1 centimeter and I am 75% effaced. I go in on Friday for an ultrasound to make sure fluid levels are ok. Then I will be induced on October 29th, which is next Wednesday exactly 1 week past my due date. We have laughed that I must be in "too good" of shape because walking up and down stairs and taking long walks hasn't done anything to get the ball rolling. I guess that is what you get for going to the gym almost every day of your pregnancy. I did suggest that we hike the "Y" since I've never done that before and that might get things going. Devin said, "NO WAY!" Keep praying that she'll come. It seems like everyone I know is having their baby before me. I guess she just wants to spend some extra time in heaven before she has to come and face this nasty world. I can't blame her.

What Are You Going to Be?

One of my favorite children's songs is called "What are you going to be on Halloween night?" Halloween is a very important holiday. I usually start talking Halloween costumes. . . by June at the latest, if not all year long. (This drives my sister bananas he, he, he.) This week I almost finished Anna's Halloween costume. This is what it looks like so far. Can you guess what she is going to be???? I have a confession to make, Devin and I actually decided that this should be our first child's costume when we were on our honeymoon. I remember talking about how cute it would be to have a little "candy corn" for Halloween. So I guess that means we started talking Halloween costumes in January that year. I do think it is turning out really cute. I am leaving a few things undone so I can adjust them when I know how big she is. Hopefully she'll make her debut this week.

We are now taking guesses. When will Anna show up? She is due the 22nd. They are planning to induce me on the 29th if she hasn't come on her own by then. Make your guess for the day she will be born, how much she will weigh and all that other stuff. The nice thing is that even if I have to wait until the 29th she'll still be able to wear her costume.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Hi everybody.

I have a very important announcement:  Today is Julie's birthday!

Sorry for those who think that Anna has come.  She's still safe in the womb. We will post that announcement and pictures right here on this blog, so stay posted.

Happy birthday, Julie!  I love you!

Devin

Three Random Things

I use to have just bucket loads of things that I thought I could blog about. I would look forward to Sunday afteroons when I would sit down and pick the most exciting things from our week to share. Perhaps because I am 10 days away from our babies due date my mind is completely focused on one thing and I can't really think about much else. We are keeping busy and life is good. My brain just hasn't been able to think of much to blog about lately. So here are three random things.

Saturday afternoon and evening we had some good Baldwin family time. Because most of Devin's family lives in Idaho we don't see them very often. Friday night we found out that his parents and sister were going to be in town over the weekend. We usually get together with Devin's brother Gene and his two kid on the 2nd Sunday of the month. We decided to move our Sunday activities to Saturday night so we would get a chance to hang out with everyone. It was lots of fun. We even had a quick party to celebrate Cole's 1st birthday (a week early).

This is the icky snow that was outside my house this morning. Did someone forget to tell the "snow making man" that it is only the 12th of October! Even though I was a little ticked off by the snow covering up all my beautiful Fall colors, I still was surprised how Christmas songs filled my head today. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It can't though. I still haven't finished Halloween costumes yet!




Here is the picture many people have been wanting to see. This is a great shot after a good long Sunday nap and a very busy weekend. It is crazy to think that we are due on the 22nd of October. I am amazed at how fast the last 9 months have gone by. Life is about to change forever...for the best thing in the world. I keep telling my little baby that there is so much more room outside and that we will have so much fun together. But I guess she is pretty happy where she is at right now.

Check!

Check another thing off the list! I finished the bumper pad for the crib today. It didn't turn out half bad. On to the next project. I've started quite a few projects, now I just need to finish them. Having the bumper pad done makes the crib look so much more complete and ready for our little Anna. Not that she is going to be rolling around for a while. But at least it is cute. Who knows maybe I'll have something else done tomorrow. It is crunch time. Unfortunately I am one of those people who try to get things done in advance, but always end up cramming at the end. I am really good at making lists, planning, and prioritizing when there is a lot to do and not a lot of time. So here's to the baby to do list. On your mark, get set go!

The Blanket Is Done!

I am happy to announce that I finished Anna’s blanket today. A while ago I decided that with each of my kids I wanted them to have a cute stuffed animal and their own special blanket. We bought the cute purple bunny quiet a while ago. Then I had the great ah-ha that I wanted to make a blanket to match the bunny. I found a pattern for a blanket that I really liked. I went to countless fabric stores looking for cute material that would match the bunny. Once I had the material, with the help of Emily my very talented creative sister-in-law, we came up with the color pattern for the blanket. Now after many hours of sewing, TA-DA! I think it turned out really cute. Now the bunny has a blanket and all the bunny and the blanket need is a baby. Now we are on to the next project. Let’s see how many “Anna” projects I can finish in the next 2 ½ weeks. Wish me luck!

A Very Busy Week

Last week was incredibly busy. Busy with good things. I should probably take the time to blog about each fun event, but because life is still busy, I will just share the daily highlights.

Monday
The last few Mondays I have had the chance to go to a "How to Use Your Sewing Machine" class. It is very interesting, I'm learning a lot. It has been fun to learn about all the amazing things that my sewing machine can do.
We also have been attending our Prenatal classes. To spare you all the exciting details, I will simply say that it has been VERY informative.


Tuesday

Tammy and Cameron got married!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!! It's about time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!









Wednesday
We had mutual. This was hilarious!!! It was combined young men and young women (which Devin and I love because then we actually get to hang out together on Wednesday night). The Silly Talent night turned out great! Here are just the highlights of the talents we videoed.




Thursday
I worked like crazy on the bumper pads for my crib. Here is how they are looking so far.










Friday
We made our last trek to Idaho for the last Baldwin wedding on Saturday. We stopped by Megan and Ben's house to pick peaches. Idaho doesn't have any clue on how to grow peaches so we had to bring some up to the family. The peaches were SOOOO yummy. Thanks Megan and Ben!







Saturday

Chris and Chantelle got married. It was a great day, despite the rain. I think the rain made it a fun adventure. We are really happy for Chris and Chantelle.








Sunday
We went to church with Missy and Briant. We visited with Pam and Devin' parents for a bit and then drove home. Thanks to Peter and Emily for meeting us near Tremonton so I could get out and walk around a bit. Sitting in the car for more than an hour is killer at this point.


Monday
We started all over again.

So you can see it was quite the week. Really fun. But busy busy busy! You know what they say, "There is no rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need any sleep." We are truly testing out that theory right now.

The Most

One of my ward's Enrichment groups is a book club. I have always wanted to participate, but with school I just never had the time to go. Now that I don't have school as an excuse I was very excited to participate this month. This month's book was To Kill A Mockingbird. I love this book! As I picked this book up off the shelf I realized a funny thing, I've read this book more than any other book (not counting the Book of Mormon and the books that I have read to my class year after year). It surprised me that of all the books in the world that this is the book that I have read over and over. I really love the lessons that it teaches. I get excited every time I read the trial chapters and get frustrated at how people can be so stupid and unjust. I still curl up in a little ball as Jem and Scout are walking home on Halloween night worried about what is going to happen.
The sad thing is that I went to book club tonight, and I was the only one that showed up. Bummer!!!! The sister who had it at her house has actually been called to a stake Relief Society presidency for a BYU ward and isn't really in charge of this little enrichment group anymore. She told me that they typically pick the next book, and since I was the only one that showed up I should pick the next book. I have a stack of children's literature books in my room, but I don't know if everyone would enjoy those. I also am going to have a baby in less than 4 weeks so I don't think I would be a good one to be in charge. She told me just to pick a book, but I don't know what book. So two questions.....

What book have you read more than any other book? (The Book of Mormon doesn't count, though it is my all-time favorite :)

What book should we read for next month?

A Deer In the Headlights

Yesterday I felt like a deer in the headlights. With less than 6 weeks until our baby is due reality is starting to settle in. I had a huge reality check yesterday at my family baby shower. I thought bridal showers made me uncomfortable, this one was much weirder. As I opened all the cute little presents I had a hard time really swallowing the fact that there will soon, very soon, be a little girl in our house to use all of this stuff. Weird! Baby stuff is so cute, but stuff for MY baby???? By the time I got home the "weird" feeling had evolved into an "overwhelmed I don't know how to really take care of a baby" feeling. I was not one of those girls who spent every second babysitting. I have very little experience tending babies for long periods of time. Devin was so good to just let me sit on his lap and cry out all of my worries and concerns. By the end of our conversation we came to the same conclusion that we have before when I have been feeling unprepared and not quiet qualified for motherhood, it's going to be ok. It's ok that I don't know "everything" because no one really does. Motherhood is a learning experience, a hands on learn as you go experience.
So with the "overwhelmed" feeling gone, we had fun the rest of the evening organizing our baby stuff. Baby stuff really is so cute! We got a little brown hoodie that is just adorable! Our favorite new "toy" is our baby monitor. Devin had lots of fun setting them up and talking into them. Though we know for a fact, our little girl will not be talking into them and saying funny things. I really am excited to hear how she sounds, to see what she looks like, to just hold her. Even if I don't really know what to do with her, I am excited out of my mind to just love her!