Keeping up with the Evans

This is life

2012-01-14T21:30:00.002-07:00

I have a pile of laundry known as Mount Everest taking up my closet

I have a laundry basket almost empty that was once filled with clean clothes that never got folded.

There is a suitcase, still half-full, waiting to be emptied from our trip to Arizona this Christmas.

The list of thank-you cards I need to write and send is 2.7 miles long.

I am teaching a primary lesson tomorrow that I haven't even had a chance to read.

Life is good.

Today was the Thanksgiving Point Wedding Expo, an event that takes up every spare second to plan and ends up being totally worth it every time. On top of that, I shot a wedding today. I can safely say I wasn't thinking when I let that happen, but it worked out so well because I have the best family in the world.

My dad and Geoff lent their vehicles, time and strength into hauling props back and forth
My mom took me shopping yesterday and helped me find something cute to wear
Carlie babysat Norah yesterday so Jason and I could set up our booth
Rylie babysat a sick Norah (she threw up twice) all day today
And grand prize goes to Jason who not only kept me company in my booth today, but flew solo while I photographed a wedding AND was in charge of taking down my entire booth. That folks, is love. My business may be registered as a "sole proprietorship" but if it weren't for my amazing family, Jessie Alexis Photography could not exist.

Thank you everyone who helped make today possible!!

Now let's just hope I can get that suitcase emptied so I can pack it up again next week ...

Cousins

2012-01-01T21:48:00.001-07:00

We just returned from a wonderful 8 day trip to Arizona to spend time with our family down there. I took 437 pictures ... so it might take me a while to sort through and post some of those, but I just had to post this one from the zoo. Norah had a total blast with her cousins and we hope it won't be too long before we see them again!

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-18T20:22:00.004-07:00

We've had the Christmas tree up since before Thanksgiving (I'm a rebel, I know) and it has brought us so much fun! Norah loves to re-arrange the ornaments and tell me "uh oh!" when she pulls them off, while Sonny acts as the watch guard. Perhaps one of these days I'll get one of Norah actually looking at the camera but let's be honest ... a glowing tree v. mom with a camera in your face? We know who will win that battle 10 times out of 10.

Epic Fail

2011-12-01T11:47:00.001-07:00

For Thanksgiving we kept with tradition and headed up to the cabin. Because of weather conditions and the fact that Carlie had to work until 9 the night before, we didn't head up to the cabin until Thursday morning. Because we were planning on leaving so early, Jason and I decided we would spend the night at my parents house. Which meant I needed to be packed for the cabin Wednesday morning. In my hustle to get the three of us packed, I totally messed up. I grabbed my camera and two of the lenses I would need to take pictures as well as a third lens that I had sold and needed to deliver that afternoon. I made the mistake of putting my brand spanking new $500 lens in the box to be sold, while putting my old cheap lens (that I sold for $120) in my bag. On top of that, I didn't bring a battery for my camera. So the lack of battery explains why I have zero pictures of our Thanksgiving festivities. The lens blunder explains why I'm stressed out and my currently broken-down jeep explains why I haven't made the lens switch yet. Blerg. But, here's a cute picture of Norah at the cabin I swiped of my mom's blog :)

Little Reader

2011-11-22T11:10:00.001-07:00

The other day I walked into Norah's room and found her like this:

I think she needs a bookshelf.

Autumn Fun

2011-11-18T13:57:00.001-07:00

Last week my Uncle David and Aunt Diana came out to visit and while we snapped a few photos of them, Norah enjoyed the best thing about fall - playing in the leaves.

My latest craze

2011-11-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

There is something so comfy cozy about a quilt. And there is something so snugly about a baby, so naturally every little baby deserves their own quilt to cuddle up in. These are two quilts I made for my sister's-in-law and their newborns. The first I made for baby Vivian and the chevron quilt (which Jason called the "Charlie Brown" quilt) is for baby Rowan.

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-02T12:04:00.001-06:00

Other than the amazing Halloween experience I had in Nauvoo (seriously, that town knows how to party when it comes to Halloween) this was by far, hands down the best Halloween I have ever had. Having a little girl is more fun than I could have ever imagined. From the pumpkin carving to the dressing up, Norah was excited about everything. And just when she thought it couldn't get any better, people gave her candy. I have never seen her smile or giggle more than she did Halloween night. We dressed Norah as a ladybug, and despite the fact that her wings were quite large for her little self, she didn't seem to mind them at all! Jason was Harry Potter and I was Hermione Granger.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-01T12:24:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we carved pumpkins and it was a blast. Norah was so cute helping Jason clean the slime out of the insides of the pumpkins. She didn't love the feel of the slime, but she loved using the scooping tool. Once the pumpkins were done, we lit them and Norah was giggling like crazy. Apparently it was the coolest thing she'd ever seen.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T15:24:00.001-06:00

I really want to be one of those fun moms that makes a big deal out of holidays. I'm not great, but I'm working on it. Our October has had a few fun Halloween activities, including a visit to the pumpkin patch (which Norah LOVED, as you'll soon see in pictures), a ward party and a "no kids allowed" Halloween party.

Today we plan on carving pumpkins, getting all dressed up in our costumes and indulging in way too much candy.

16 months (almost)

2011-10-20T11:26:00.003-06:00

Look who's getting so big!

Norah is a non-stop talker. Trouble is, we can't understand much of what she says. She's finally starting to say "mom," but only on rare occasions. She also has an affinity towards words with the "s" sound such as "shoe" "sock" and "yesssss." This little darlin' lights up our lives and we're not entirely sure what we did to get such a fun little girl, but we love it!

Farm Country

2011-10-10T21:35:00.000-06:00

A while back Norah and I went to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point with my friend Brittany and her two darling daughters ...

Norah attempted to ride a pony, but the second it started moving she freaked out big time ...

So we just watched.

The pony experience wasn't too traumatzing though, because she was hamming it up for the camera just a while later ...

She was rewarded for her cuteness with ice cream ...

Which she loved.

The end.

Playing Catch-up

2011-10-07T20:14:00.004-06:00

You guys, I blogged once in September. Only once. I'm so ashamed. I guess because I blog fairly regularly over on my photo blog, I feel like I'm blogging often and I forget my little 'ole family blog. Shame shame. Do you want to know what we've been up to?

Jason: Got a new job. I know, right? Seems like he just got a new job (and he did, December of 2010) and now he's at an even newer job! And he loves it. And so do I. Because who wouldn't love increased pay and flexibility?

Jessie: Still has the same job(s). Namely: Mother, wife and photographer. Between the three I am busy, and very much overjoyed to be me. I recently attended a business conference for wedding industry vendors. It was amazing, I learned a ton and I can't wait to implement all I learned into my business. I also had my picture taken in a photo booth, here's a gem from the photo strip:

Norah: Stinking cute. Seriously. The girl has a personality that never stops. In fact, our home teacher asked us last week if she was always like this. "This" being an entertainer who thrives in the spotlight and knows how to turn on the charm. Yes, she's always like this. The other day we had the first snow of the season. Norah and I were loving it! I even let her run outside in her pajamas. I'm a fun mom like that.

Sonny: Or, Mr. Sonny, as he's most often referred to, opted to enjoy the snow from inside. He's a scaredy cat.

The Words We Eat

2011-09-19T13:53:00.000-06:00

Let's play a game. I'll say a phrase, you fill in the blank.

"When I'm a parent I will never _________"

(for those of you blessed with the walking messes known as "children" you can still play too, just think back to the gold days when you were a perfect parent - before you had children.)

Wanna hear mine? I have many, but for the purpose of this post I'll limit it to two.

"When I'm a parent, I will never let a sleep schedule dictate my life."

Hi, my name is Jessie and nap time is 10 and 1:30, bed time is 7:00. Don't mess with the schedule or I will mess with you. Seriously.

"When I'm a parent, I will never let my child make messes of meals. So gross."

Hi, meet Norah:

Some days we just give up on bibs, it's much easier to strip her down then hose her off when she's done.

What are some of the things you swore you'd never do as a parent, yet you now find yourself doing?

Alpine Loop

2011-08-29T09:51:00.004-06:00

Tom and Cheryl came to visit in July and we had so much fun spending time with them in some of the beautiful places around our house. We spent one of the days driving around the beautiful mountains just behind our house. The views were spectacular and perfect for pictures!

Norah was getting a little fussy from being in the car, so the best way to get her to smile was throwing her around, she loved it!

Our eternal family

2011-08-22T10:28:00.002-06:00

My best friend Macie's little baby Johnny passed away on Saturday. When I heard the news my heart sank and tears rushed to my eyes. This tiny little boy was just too perfect for this world, his work on earth was finished and our loving Heavenly Father needed him back.

I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of the Plan of Salvation. So grateful for the covenants I have made in the temple allowing me to live with my family not just here on this earth for however long we may be here, but for eternity. I know these things to be true, I know that we were all placed here on this earth by our Heavenly Father to learn and to grow. I love my husband and our darling daughter more than meager words can express and I know we'll be together forever. This brings me so much joy!

Demolition Derby

2011-08-04T09:23:00.006-06:00

I can't imagine a better way to celebrate our pioneer ancestors entering the Salt Lake Valley than with crushing metal and cotton candy. Oh, and spectacular fireworks.

Thank-you, Fairview, for letting us celebrate in style.

Thanksgiving Point Farm Country

2011-07-21T14:11:00.006-06:00

As I was going through my pictures, I came across these from a family excursion we took to Thanksgiving Point Farm Country. Jason and I were planning on taking Norah there, so we met up with my mom and her sisters and snapped a few shots before seeing the animals.

Argosy Harbor Cruise

2011-07-07T10:15:00.002-06:00

In order to get the most Seattle for our money, we purchased a City Pass which let us do most the main attractions at what ended up being about half the price. Included in this pass was the Argosy Harbor Tour, a boat ride around Seattle that we probably wouldn't have done other wise but ended up being a lot of fun.

Pikes Market

2011-07-07T10:02:00.004-06:00

Of all the places we visited in Seattle, I think Pike's Market was my favorite. Fresh produce and flowers (and fish, yuck) direct from the farmer to the buyer, all day, every day. We sampled the yummiest fruit I have ever had in my entire life. Ever. I still think about that delicious pear ... it tasted like heaven on earth.

As per one of my friend's suggestions, we ate at Le Panier for breakfast (an authentic French pastry shop) and it was so nice we went there twice!

Norah was a fan of Starbucks steamed milk, she was hitting the bottle pretty hard ...

Happy Birthday Norah!

2011-07-06T09:35:00.018-06:00

My baby turned one, and to celebrate we had a big party. I joked with one party-goer that the first birthday party was absolutely essential, not because Norah would ever remember the event, but because I needed to celebrate the fact that we made it a year and we're all still alive and well. In fact, we're more than just alive and well, we couldn't be better! Norah has brought an unimaginable amount of joy into our lives and despite the sleepless nights, the tears and the meltdowns (mine and hers) we wouldn't change a thing. Being a mom is the best thing I've ever done.

So, enough about me ... here are some party pictures!

Don't be deceived, this is the only bite she took. The rest, she destroyed. Lesson learned, an expensive and delicious cake from The Chocolate should be served to adults who will enjoy the goodness.

Norah was with me when I purchased this gift. When we got home from the store she kept pointing to the box and asking "please?" So at her party when she pulled the paper off and saw what it was, she was ecstatic!

Best. Day. Ever.

2011-06-27T10:13:00.003-06:00

A few days before Norah was born, I started to panic. This was it, these were the last few days Jason and I had to be just us, no kids. We decided that before our lives changed forever we needed to have one last child-free date night where we could go out and stay out all night and not have to worry about babysitters and the like. On June 26th, four days before I was due, we went out to dinner at our all-time favorite restaurant, Pizzeria 712. With Rylie in tow, (so we failed on the "just us" portion, but we wouldn't have it any other way :) ) we noshed on chimichurri fingerling potatoes, corn pizza and of course our favorite: panna cotta. We happened to sit two tables away from a couple we had lived by in Orem who joked that their last meal before their oldest child was born was pizza and we all laughed at the prospect of turning pizza into another mythical food that sends women into labor.

At 2:11 AM on June 27th, I woke up with mild back pain. I got up and used the restroom and walked around a bit. The last few weeks had been pretty sleepless due to various aches and pains, so I didn't give it a second thought as I crawled back into bed. I tossed. I turned. I turned. I tossed. At 3:00, I got back out of bed and heated up my heating pad I had sewn a few weeks earlier to help relieve these increasingly frequent pains. With the pack perfectly placed, I closed my eyes in hopes sleep would soon come. No luck. At 4:00 I took two Tylenol and by 4:15 I decided I should wake my sleeping husband. Gentle poking and prodding didn't do, so I gave him a good shake and he was up! Thinking this could be "it," I gingerly climbed into the shower at 5:00 with the hope I could make myself all pretty to meet my baby girl. The shower felt good, and helped calm my contractions which were now coming pretty frequently. I got out of the shower and attempted to do my hair but the pain was back in full force and becoming more than I could handle. Half-way through the process, crouched in the only position I could manage, I decided that beauty could wait, because this baby sure wasn't.

At 5:45, we loaded our pre-packed hospital bags into the car and headed down to Orem Community Hospital. As Jason was driving down 100 E in Pleasant Grove, a street pitted with potholes, I whimpered during a contraction, "don't hit the bumps!"

My contractions seemed to be slowing down, coming every five minutes instead of every two like they had been. As we pulled into the parking lot, I was worried I was going to be one of "those" moms. I start to climb out of the car and I'm hit with a crippling contraction, witnessed by the nurse who had also just arrived to start her shift in labor and delivery. She offers us a wheelchair, but the pain has passed and I decline. We walk in to the women's center where I giddily tell the nurse at the front desk that I was there because I was in labor. She looks at me doubtfully, but we're shown to our room anyway. Room 118, which I later hear a nurse refer to as the "check and send" room, is the smallest room but still very nice. The same nurse that witnessed my parking lot contraction is the nurse assigned to me, Anne Pennie, who also happens to be our neighbor. She checks me and I'm dilated to a 3, not much, but she can tell I'm progressing. She convinces Dr. Judd to let me be admitted and by 7:15 I'm feeling nice and comfortable with an epidural administered by the anesthesiologist Ben. At 8:23, Nurse Anne checks me and I've progressed to a 5 and 80 percent effaced. As she's checking me, my water breaks - no going back now!

At 9:45, Dr. Judd arrives and I'm now 7 cm and 90 percent effaced. Things are moving right along and we couldn't be happier. I'm the most comfortable I've been in weeks, so I decide to settle in for a nap while Jason watches "The Count of Monte Cristo" on my iPad. At 11:30, what feels like a flood of nurses and doctors come rushing in. Norah's heart rate has dropped and stayed down for far too long. Luckily, my epidural was just the right dosage so I could still move and feel pressure but no pain. Left side, right side, they have me turning every which way trying to find a position that suits Norah, while another medical team preps the c-section room just in case. On all fours with my bottom in the air and an oxygen mask on my face seems to be her preferred position (certainly not mine ...) and crisis averted.

By noon I was fully dilated and effaced - baby time! Because Norah's head was turned to one side, the "rest and descend" I was so looking forward to is useless, so Dr. Judd uses forceps and without even one push from me, the most precious baby was born. Weighing 6 lbs, 8 oz and 20 in long, this little being has brought more joy into my life than I ever thought possible. I've worn many hats in my life: cheerleader, journalist, wife, photographer, coach, etc. Of all the experiences I've been blessed to have, the most fulfilling experience I can imagine is to be the mother to this sweet baby girl.

I love you, Norah. Happy Birthday baby girl.

photo by Brittany Andersen Photography

Experience Music Project

2011-06-24T09:42:00.006-06:00

One of our favorite places in Seattle was the Experience Music Project, or EMP. It was so nice, we went twice! We enjoyed going behind the scenes in Avatar, rocking out to Nirvana and learning to play various instruments. To sum it all up, it rocked.

(how much do you love that little Elvis lip curl?)

Hello Seattle

2011-06-23T08:57:00.008-06:00

We love Seattle. Like, totally love. We arrived early in the morning and hit the ground running. We loaded our gear into our rental car, a sleek brand-spanking-new Jetta (thank you for the basically free upgrade, Alamo) and headed into the city. Jason flipped on the radio and the first station we found was playing one of his favorite songs by one of his favorite band, Built to Spill. We were off to a great start. We visited the EMP (twice!), the Space Needle (twice!), Pike's Market (twice!), Argosy Harbor Cruises, the science museum, the aquarium and a Starbucks every few hours for Norah's favorite -steamed milk. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but the bottom line is this: we love Seattle.

First up, our first trip to the Space Needle! We ate at the rotating restaurant at the top. Yummy. Like, wow yummy.

So ... enough pictures for now, right? I'll split this vacation up into a few different posts so it isn't such a picture overload.

Fun on the ship

2011-06-20T12:50:00.006-06:00

Oh my word, finally the last batch of cruise pictures! We had just as much fun on the ship as we did on the islands (maybe even more ...) Seriously, if you're considering a cruise you can't go wrong with Royal Caribbean's ships. So much fun!

Jason woke up early almost every morning to get in on the advance surfing on the Flow Rider. He got pretty good, and estimates he was the fourth best on the whole ship. I agree.

Magens Bay

2011-06-09T09:34:00.012-06:00

Yes, I'm still posting cruise pictures two months later, so sue me :) On of our most favorite things we did was hang out at Magens Bay in St. Thomas. It was beautiful, the sand was so smooth (and tasty, according to Norah) and the water was perfectly clear.

This is going to be a picture overload, enjoy! (oh, and the pictures are backwards, so if you want to see them in a more chronological order, go from bottom to top.)

Four Years

2011-06-01T19:51:00.000-06:00

Four years ago today we were married in the Manti temple. Since then it's been nothing short of perfect, I really couldn't be happier.

We've had many adventures together,

And I look forward to many, many more!

St. Maarten

2011-05-27T09:58:00.004-06:00

For the first part of our day in St Maarten, we visited Blackbeard's castle, which Blackbeard likely never visited, nor was it a castle. Rather, it was a tourist trap with nice views. So we climbed the tower, took some pictures, admired the pirate statues and walked through historic homes.

New Trick

2011-05-24T22:15:00.004-06:00

Norah's got a new trick up her sleeves, check her out!

She's pretty proud.

We had a mini photo shoot today in hopes I could get a good picture of her for the back of her birthday party invitation (be excited, I tell ya). She wasn't really having it, but we got some good stuff. Kind of.

But a few minutes into the shoot, she told me in no uncertain terms that she was done.

The Cruise: Dinners

2011-05-24T09:53:00.006-06:00

Yes. I know we went on the cruise two months ago. But these posts are better late than never, right? Right?

Anyway.

One of my favorite things about cruising is mealtime. Not only do I love food (yum!) but I love enjoying unlimited food (5 desserts? Yes please!) with good company. And let's face it, the company doesn't get much better than this!

Tulip Fest

2011-05-17T09:21:00.005-06:00

More pictures from the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival.

Why God Made Moms

2011-05-08T14:43:00.006-06:00

Happy Mother's Day! When I was growing up, my mom used to always say things like "mom's are amazing!" or, "mom's are magic!" And it's true, we are. Of course, it takes practice to become an amazing magical mom, but I'm lucky to have two amazing examples to look up to, my angel mother and sweet mother-in-law.

And of course, I have to give tribute to my beautiful daughter, the sweet princess that made me a mother.

Picture by my friend Brittany

WHY GOD MADE MOMS

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used
bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of ?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything
nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly
use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get
drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom . You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's
who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic
surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get
rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my brother who did it
and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back
of her head.

Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival

2011-05-06T21:06:00.003-06:00

This evening we went to the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival. It was beautiful, a perfect way to spend and evening with my two favorite people. The weather was ideal, and we strolled around and enjoyed the flora and fauna before sitting down to a picnic dinner. During dinner we were entertained by a family bluegrass band. Norah got really into the music and was dancing her little heart out. I'm sad it ends tomorrow and we didn't go sooner or more often, but we'll be there next year!

I took tons of photos, and I hope to post more eventually, but I've learned that if I don't post something I'll never end up posting anything.

Hey good looking ...

2011-04-26T09:51:00.003-06:00

One question we get asked ALL the time is, who does Norah look like? Anyone who knew me as a baby swears she's an "Elder baby" while those who are close to Jason's family say she's so Evans.

Take a look at the three of us, all around 8ish months, then let us know by voting on the poll on the side of the blog.

A vacation

2011-04-25T11:45:00.003-06:00

A week ago we came home from a cruise. A most wonderful and glorious cruise with my side of the family. We ate. We laughed. We basked in the warmness of the Caribbean. And now we're home and I'm going through vacation withdraws. Luckily, I've had three days of cheer coaching and three photo shoots (including a wedding) to snap me right back into reality. But no worries, I'm already planning the next cruise. (Europe, Spring 2012.)

She may hate me for this when she's older ...

2011-04-07T19:39:00.004-06:00

but how cute is that bum!!

Norah LOVES bath time. As soon as she hears the water running, she'll come speed crawling into the bathroom and pull herself to a stand on the edge of the tub, making joyful shouts the entire time. She get's really antsy when I don't put her in the water right away. Once in the tub, she loves to play around with her dunks.

But when she's ready to get out, we wrap her up in her duck towel to dry off.

New tooth for Norah

2011-03-31T10:47:00.005-06:00

Our sweet little girl just keeps getting bigger. Not really, actually, she's having trouble gaining weight. But her skill set is growing! She waves, gives kisses (nice big wet kisses), gives "loves," pulls herself to a stand, drinks from a straw and chases the kitty around making her kitty noises. And after many tears and sleepless nights (for both mommy and Norah) she finally sprouted her first tooth. If you look closely, you can totally see it in the third picture down - and consider yourself lucky because she likes to keep this beauty hidden. She'll either clamp her mouth shut or put her tongue over her tooth whenever anyone tries to get a glimpse.

Giveaway

2011-03-21T11:34:00.000-06:00

So my awesome cousin Bri wrote a book, and I'm giving away a signed copy on my photo blog!

Check it out.

Also, I started a new blog to document cute moments by Norah.

Check it out.

Moving pictures

2011-03-14T12:52:00.003-06:00

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, a moving picture ought to be worth much much more right? Especially when the subject is this cute. So this is me, sharing the cuteness with you:

Video one: Norah loves to sing along and headbang to the song her pony sings. She's so hard core.

Video two: Jason and I spent 4 hours on Saturday making Norah baby food. She very much approves of mango.

Video three: just being cute

Liahona Basketball Tournament

2011-03-09T21:07:00.006-07:00

Remember how in my last post I mentioned Norah was sick? Well, we ended up taking her to the emergency room that night ... let's just chalk that one up to "expensive mistakes first-time parents make" and move on, shall we?

With Norah all better, she and I joined my mom and sisters for a Richfield adventure! What's Richfield? Richfield is a teeny tiny town about two and a half hours from home. The Liahona basketball team made it to the state tournament, so I went to coach my cheerleaders. The games were so much fun, but the time in between was not so much. Liahona ended up taking second in state, pretty impressive if you ask me.

Thoughts for a Saturday

2011-02-19T17:10:00.003-07:00

It's been a rough week. My Norah is sick, and nothing makes me more sad than watching her be miserable. The doctor diagnosed her with croup on Monday, and she seemed to be getting better until last night when we realized she was burning up. A quick thermometer check revealed she was rockin' a fever of 103.1. Not cool. Long story short, no sleep for any of us last night. So forgive my ramblings, no sleep doesn't look good on me.

I want to be cuter in the clothing department. I have some cute clothes, but it just doesn't come naturally to me. While reading a blog on dressing cuter I read this quote:

"if we're not supposed to have midnight snacks, why is there a light in the fridge?"

Which started me thinking, Jason and I don't do midnight snacks. We do midnight meals. Almost daily (nightly?). One day our metabolism isn't going to be able to keep up with our eating habits and we'll look like this. And that just ain't pretty.

A dress for Norah

2011-02-17T22:23:00.003-07:00

How adorable is this dress my mom made for Norah? If we have said "adios" to her sickness by Sunday, this is what she'll be wearing to church!

One year ago today

2011-02-09T11:55:00.003-07:00

We ate cupcakes.

Oh, and found out we were having a girl!

Seven Month Stats

2011-02-03T09:27:00.004-07:00

I took Norah to her six month appointment on Monday, a month after she turned six months. Since we were in between insurance, this was the soonest we could get in. Anyway ... I was so excited to be able to come home and blog about how much she had grown and how big she was getting but that's not really the case. She's only in the 6th percentile for weight and 14th percentile for height. So basically, she's tiny. But that's okay, we still love our little bundle of joy :)

At seven months, Norah:

- Loves her feet, especially her right foot

- Claps constantly, I attribute it to her cheerleader training she gets every week

- Recently started combining her love of clapping and love of feet by grabbing her feet and clapping them together

- Is so close to crawling, we think it'll happen any day now ... but we've been saying that for a while

- Still has a toothless grin, but it's a grin she's more than willing to share

- Loves to play peek-a-boo

- Has just discovered the joy of splashing in the tub, and we can't wait for her to discover how much more fun it is to splash in a swimming pool

Norah Cuteness Overload

2011-01-29T20:18:00.005-07:00

Oh wait! That's not Norah!

...

OK, there we go ...

So, I read some where (and I can't find it right now) that studies say it takes 15-21 tries on a new food for a baby to determine if he or she is a fan. Based on Norah's first reaction to each food (bananas and peas) in these videos, I'm not so sure about those studies ...

Bath time!

2011-01-25T20:01:00.006-07:00

Tonight for dinner Norah had butternut squash. She ended up wearing just about as much as she ate, so before bedtime we put her in the bath. This was the first time we hadn't used her little baby bathtub and just put her straight into the tub, she loved it. Splashing around and trying to drink the bathwater - she was so cute! Naturally, Sonny wanted in on some of the bath action as well.

Flashback ... Thursday?

2011-01-20T14:38:00.003-07:00

Not sure where it came from, but this picture has been floating around my house the past couple weeks. This is back in 2005 when Jason had fuller hair ... and I had a fuller face. Cute.

Bigger and bigger

2011-01-13T11:09:00.002-07:00

My little girl is not so little anymore. Okay, I realize she's still a baby, but Tuesday I put her in a 6-12 month outfit that I was positive she'd be swimming in. Much to my surprise, it's only slightly big. But it was really cute, so I decided to take a couple pictures. Naturally, she was much more interested in everything BUT her crazy mom with the camera.

How much do I love her deep blue eyes and perfect pout? So much.

Cabin Christmas

2010-12-30T18:16:00.007-07:00

Christmas at the cabin is the best! There was TONS of snow, but it wasn't great snow ... and I had a black eye to prove it! So we did my favorite cabin activity: played games and ate food. Jason gave me The Hunger Games series for Christmas, and thanks to many hands to hold Norah, I was able to finish the whole series in three days. Best gift ever. Norah got a lot of books too, but she seems to think they're for eating, not reading. Silly girl. Jason got a pocket video camera to capture special moments, and if you're his facebook friend check out the video of him dancing he posted. You can thank me later :)

And now, in no particular order other than the one blogger chose to upload them, our pictures of Christmas 2010:

Toes, Ears, Nose ... mouth.

Norah's play station

Jason's main gift, a video camera

The gifts for all 9 of us probably took up Santa's whole sleigh

Norah was pretty upset to be left out of the matching pj crew

Luke 2

Norah loves her new Aunt Stacy!

Baby's first Christmas ...

A darling onesie from my friend Linne, that Norah promptly puked on hours after getting dressed

Our stockings hung by the chimney with care

So big!

2010-12-13T21:52:00.003-07:00

This is Norah

Norah can sit!
Sometimes she tumbles over ...

But she doesn't mind!

Just as long as Mommy picks her up quick!

Norah's first food

2010-12-11T10:50:00.003-07:00

For the longest time, Norah has been SO aware of food, mostly aware of the fact that she wasn't getting any. Jason and I weren't too keen on the idea of starting her on single grain white rice cereal, so we skipped right to the good stuff. The plan was to wait until Christmas and as the best gift ever feed Norah sweet potatoes (festive, eh?). But last night, she made it very clear that she was more than ready. My plan is to make her baby food, so I started up the oven and cooked her some sweet potatoes. Using this Web site as a guide, we fed Norah her first big people food!

She was in heaven :)

A really long post

2010-11-27T22:18:00.005-07:00

Like the title says, this is going to be long. If you stick with me until the end, there will be really cute pictures. There will also be really cute pictures if you skip all the writing and scroll to the bottom. And now, things on my mind I'd like to blog about:

1. Do you ever read Seriously So Blessed? Well, I do sometimes. And I admit, I'm not a huge fan. But her most recent post had a portion that made me laugh out loud because really, she hit on something that has been boggling my mind for quite some time. She writes,

Dear My Outfits,

Your hotness {lol, is that even a word?} is making me realize that every day should seriously post pics of you, with sassy poses and deets about each darling item bcIbeen thinking TONS about the true meaning of holidays and to be honest, this blog is not enough about ME anymore, ya know?

Oh my goodness. Have you heard of "What I'm Wearing Wednesday"? It's where people take pictures of their outfits every Wednesday and blog about it. Some people don't just do this on Wednesday, they do this EVERY DAY. If I did this, it would go something like this "Hi blog readers! Today I'm wearing pajamas. Again."

2. Christmas music, I need some recommendations. We just spent a few days up at my parents cabin listening to the same twangy country Christmas album we've been listening to for years and I'm ready to move on.

3. I was so excited for that huge blizzard of the century to hit last week. I'm glad I survived, but I hardly think a breeze and a dusting of snow counts as a blizzard.

4. Remember that video I posted of me teasing Norah with juice? Well in just one (ONE!) short month, we will be feeding her real food. Well, real baby food. That I'm making myself. Since it's Christmas she will be eating yams. Festive, eh?

5. Jason starts his new job next week. Yep, new job. He didn't even go hunting for it, they hunted him. We're excited.

6. I have been dying to get family pictures done. We set up a shoot with a really sweet photographer from CA who was in town doing mini sessions for $65. Thanks to the horrible weather forecasts, we were unable to get the pictures done while she was here, so we took our clothes up to the cabin for Thanksgiving where we had my dad take our pictures instead. I'm thrilled with what we got, but none of them scream "please blow me up to a 20 x 30 and hang me above your fireplace!" Which is really what I want. So now I'm on the hunt for a photographer in our price range.

Okay fine, cute picture time :) Thanks Daddy for taking this for us!

Arizona

2010-11-20T21:18:00.006-07:00

We drove to Arizona for Jason's step-brother's wedding on Nov. 13th. It was a short visit,but we had a lot of fun.

We went to lunch for Jason's birthday

Then on to the wedding festivities!

Our primary purpose in going to Arizona was for the yearly picture with Grandpa and Grandma Vance and their cute grandchildren. What do you get when you mix 12 children in one picture? Well, a whole lot of this:

Luckily we did get some of this too:

You'll have to forgive Norah, after 12 hours of driving and not sleeping in her own room, dressing her up and taking her out without a nap all day isn't exactly smile-inducing ...

You have to get her back in comfy clothes, feed her and let her sleep to get some of this smile action:

A cute cousin movie watching party

Nakey Norah

2010-11-16T11:08:00.004-07:00

I spent all day yesterday trying to upload the cutest video of Norah talking. It didn't work. So we're all just going to have to settle for cute pictures instead.

Norah loves to be nakey. Here she is just chillin' in her room with her stuffed elephant.

She can also feed herself a bottle. It's pretty cute.

In other news, we road tripped to Arizona this weekend. Norah had a blast with her cousins and I have a ton of cute pictures that I'll be posting soon.

Norah love Halloween

2010-10-30T18:50:00.003-06:00

Norah looked so cute dressed up for Halloween!

For being so happy while I took her picture, I rewarded her with candy:

Maybe next year I'll teach her how to take off the wrapper :)

Of course, Sonny wanted in on the picture action as well ...

Hope your Halloween was as cute as ours!

I'm a mean mom

2010-10-25T12:02:00.002-06:00

Norah has been very interested in food lately. Jason and I have taken this opportunity to tease her. We hope she forgives us :)

One year ago

2010-10-23T01:01:00.002-06:00

I wanted to post this on Thursday, but it was my sister's birthday and the day slipped away before I could get this posted.

A year ago on October 21, I got the best news of my life. After what felt like million months of negatives, I finally saw this:

My excitement could hardly be contained, and even though I spent the entire day researching cute ways to tell Jason he was going to be a daddy, I decided to let him find out how I found out. So when he got home from work, I told him that I wanted to take a pregnancy test. He gave me grief saying there was no use in setting ourselves up for disappointment a wasting a test until I had completely missed my period. I assured him that after this many months, I was getting pretty used to the disappointment so it wouldn't be that big of a deal. He reluctantly agreed and after 60 seconds of staring at the screen, the magic word appeared! We were so excited, but I don't think either of us imagined at that point just how much joy that little baby was going to bring into our lives.

We love you Norah!

Mini sessions

2010-10-19T12:20:00.002-06:00

I've been trying to keep my personal blog and my photo blog seperate. Because, let's face it, you don't come to this blog because you want to know what's going on in my business life, but because you want to know what's going on in my personal life. But, this may interest some of you

Click here for more info

The cutest pumpkin in the patch

2010-10-16T17:38:00.003-06:00

When I was younger, my mom would always take us to the Pumpkin Patch in October to pick our the perfect pumpkin. It's a tradition I decided I wanted to pass on to my kids, so here's Norah's first trip to the pumpkin patch!

She was by far the best looking pumpkin, so we brought her home.

Me!

2010-10-15T09:20:00.002-06:00

Not nearly as cute as Norah, but a guest at a wedding snapped this photo of me on Saturday and I totally stole it off facebook. As you can see, I bought a new camera. Finally. The Nikon D700. And I'm in love.

Norah laughs

2010-10-14T13:24:00.002-06:00

This is pretty much my favorite sound in the whole wide world.

Please forgive the lack of steadiness, holding a camera and playing with a baby isn't easy :)

Happy Birthday Geoff!

2010-10-11T12:53:00.004-06:00

Today is my brother's birthday. To celebrate, I'm going to post cute pictures of Norah. What? You want to see cute pictures of Geoff? Okay, visit my mom's blog then.

Evans Family Pictures

2010-09-29T23:58:00.005-06:00

When we were down in Arizona, we set up Stacey's camera on a tripod and took some family pictures. Which one is your favorite?

(pictures snagged from Stacey's blog)

A brief update

2010-09-25T19:19:00.006-06:00

Jason: Working hard at being a dad, provider and excellent husband. He doesn't even get mad at me when I wake him up in the middle of the night and ask him to cuddle me when I have a nightmare.

Jessie: Working hard at being a mom, photographer, cheer coach and wife. Dinner may come from the freezer more often than it used to, but I can assure you it's microwaved with love.

Norah: Hardly having to work at being the cutest baby ever (it just comes natural). Not only survived, but was a champ on her first airplane ride. Had so much fun visiting cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents in Arizona. A HUGE thank-you to Grandma Vance for playing with Norah while mommy shot a wedding.

At first, Norah was really afraid to fly on the airplane ...

But then her daddy calmed her down, and told her how much fun she was going to have ...

And since there were 70 empty seats on our flight, the flight crew let us carry on her car seat. So we buckled her up safe and sound ...

And we flew safely off into the sunset!

We were also able to see and spend some time with my grandpa who also happened to be visiting Arizona at the same time. It's always so nice to visit with him, and I loved being able to show off my beautiful baby!

Summer work party

2010-09-11T22:09:00.006-06:00

Jason's company does a company party in the summer and this year we went up to Snowbird to enjoy all their summer activities. Unfortunately, having a baby limits what you can do, but we had a good time anyway. The one activity we were all able to do was ride the tram to the top. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and while I used to think I was pretty fearless, we soon discovered I have inherited my dad's fear of heights (who knew?!) It wasn't being at the top that freaked me out, it was the tram ride to and from. Yikes. Anyway, lovely view = lovely pictures.

Oh and my husband? A total hottie.

Made over

2010-09-10T23:36:00.004-06:00

After reading this post, my mom went shopping with me and helped me pick out cute clothes. Really, I couldn't have done it without her. She and the sales lady had me trying on outfits I would have never considered in my wildest dreams. And I ended up buying a lot of them, sorry bank account. But ya know what? I'm really not that sorry ... because how cute is this shirt?!

Thank you Mom for all the fashion advice!! (and thank you Carlie for taking my picture)

Norah's Blessing

2010-09-07T10:27:00.004-06:00

This past Sunday, September 5th, we blessed our beautiful baby girl. I am absolutely heartbroken that this is the only picture we took on our camera.

Thanks to my mother-in-law for this picture:

And my mom for these:

I am also beyond heartbroken that I didn't get any pictures with Norah and my family, I can't believe I let that happen. But other than the depressing lack-of-picture with my family situation, the day was beautiful. Some of the things Jason blessed Norah with are:

* Gift of faith

blessing and strength to those around you believe

* Obedient to parents

close to

*Virtuous woman

* Example

* Draw close to those things that bring you closer to the Savior

* Overcome trials

* Have Lord with you at all times

* Hold fast the the gospel

* Marry in the temple to a worthy priesthood holder

Thank you so much to those who came and supported us! We love you all :)

Stewart Falls Hike

2010-09-07T10:09:00.004-06:00

Jason's family came into town for Labor Day Weekend and Norah's blessing. We were so excited to have them visit and had planned a fun hike to the Timp Cave on Saturday. By the time we got up to AF Canyon, all the cave tour tickets were sold out (whaaa? I didn't know this could happen) so we quickly came up with Plan B, hiking Stewart Falls. About half-way up, my niece Carys and I decided we were going to start a "we don't like this hike" club. But regardless, it was nice to do something different.

(the first two pictures I snagged off my mother-in-law's blog)

Girls Day

2010-09-07T09:59:00.005-06:00

Last week I had a fun day with my baby, mom and sisters. First, Rylie and I had our eyebrows waxed by Carlie who is going to hair school at Renaissance:

Then we went to my parents house and my mom and I made and canned salsa

While Rylie entertained Norah:

Make me over

2010-08-31T21:32:00.002-06:00

It was inevitable, but I never thought it'd happen so soon. My darling daughter is 9 weeks and I already feel like the frumpy mom. On Sunday we were all complimenting my mom on how cute her sweater was and I mentioned that my mom is more stylish than I am. "Always have been," was her response. And while it's true, this statement has been haunting me ever since. When I get dressed, I don't feel cute. I look at my closet and dread getting ready because I pretty much hate everything I have. I would love to add a few new pieces to my wardrobe, but I have no idea where to start. As in, I have no idea what's even in style. Now I know this post is sounding so shallow and worldly, but I am writing it as a plea to those reading to help a sister out. Where can I find cute clothes that aren't going to drain my bank account?

Norah's thoughts on bath time

2010-08-27T10:03:00.003-06:00

On being a parent:

2010-08-24T22:44:00.004-06:00

Tonight, after many failed attempts to get Norah to calm down and go to sleep, Jason and I decided to ignore the screaming and say family prayers with Norah. She hasn't quite grasped the concept of reverence (she's only 8 weeks ... she'll catch on eventually) and as Jason and I are kneeling on her bedroom floor while she screams in her crib, Jason thanks Heavenly Father for sending us such a sweet daughter who brings so much joy into our lives. The irony of the situation struck us both and laughter ensued. I guess it isn't just Norah who needs to work on reverence.

More Norah

2010-08-13T11:52:00.004-06:00

Photographing my daughter has given me a newfound respect for child photographers. Man, it is a lot of work!!

Could she BE any cuter?!

2010-08-11T12:21:00.003-06:00

Norah at six weeks:

More photos coming soon!

Norah's newborn photos

2010-08-08T11:20:00.006-06:00

So I took these a few days after Norah was born ... and now she's six weeks old. In those six weeks she's grown from a 6 1/2 pound 20 inch baby to a 9 pound 21 inch baby. This puts her in the 25 percentile for height and 25 percentile for weight.

My birthday

2010-08-06T17:31:00.002-06:00

I'm a quarter century old. Yikes. For my birthday my mom took me shopping. I'm still getting used to (an not loving) this post-pregnancy body ... so let's just say the shopping trip wasn't super successful, but at least my baby was (mostly) good and slept in her stroller.

Then we went to dinner with my family at La Jolla Groves in Riverwoods, it was yummy!

Norah's first day at church

2010-08-03T14:11:00.004-06:00

This past Sunday was Norah's first Sunday in our ward. We made sure she was dressed super cute in a dress from Grandma Vance. She did pretty well during the first meeting, but she didn't seem to care much for Gospel Doctrine or Relief Society. I told her not to worry, pretty soon she'll be able to go to fun classes like nursery where she can eat treats and play games.

Pioneer Day weekend

2010-08-01T11:31:00.007-06:00

We started out Pioneer Day weekend by attending the wedding events of one of Jason's former roommates and good friend Christian. It was so fun seeing all Jason's friends and Jason really enjoyed showing off his beautiful daughter.

The man of the hour with all his male buddies (yes, I know, horrible picture)

Then we headed down to Fairview for our annual festivities. This is where I decided I'm a pretty horrible mother taking my four week old daughter to such a rowdy event like the Demolition Derby, but she survived the noisy, dirty, smoke-filled environment.

But all the excitement must have wore her out, because she spent the rest of the weekend doing this:

One month!

2010-07-27T19:00:00.007-06:00

Norah was born a month ago today! It's crazy to think that she's been in our lives for that long. We're still getting used to life revolving around our baby girl, and I'm still wondering how people get anything done when they have babies. So since it's been a month, I figure I should probably get around to posting pictures of our hospital stay. Norah had a lot of visitors and unfortunately I didn't get pictures of everyone, but here's a few!

More nursery pictures

2010-07-26T16:40:00.002-06:00

Here's the rest of Norah's nursery:

Changing table: KSL Classifieds

Baskets: RH Baby & Child

Nightstand: Four Chairs

Lamp: Target (Jason and I did the lamp shade re-covering ourselves)

Print: Persimmon and Pink

Chair: Down East Home (originally Pottery Barn Kids)

Norah Alexis

2010-07-04T10:38:00.004-06:00

Our little princess joined our family on Sunday, June 27th at 1:05 pm. She weighed 6 lbs and 8 oz 20 inches long. When we left the hospital she was discharged at 6 lbs and 1 oz, but three days later at her pediatrician appointment she was back up to her birth weight. The nurse was telling use they like to see newborns back up to their birth weight in two weeks, so basically our little Norah is a champion eater and will probably be chubby like her mom was :)

I'm planning on writing her birth story today while it's still fresh and should be blogging it soon. In the meantime, here's a picture from the photoshoot Jason and I did with her yesterday:

She's here!

2010-06-30T08:59:00.005-06:00

And she's absolutely perfect. Not a minute goes by that I don't wonder what I did to deserve such an angel. Jason is the best father and husband ever. Even Carlie commented that she may never get married because she's afraid she won't find someone as sweet as Jason. In the craziness of having a baby, I haven't taken or uploaded many pictures, but luckily I have amazing photographer friends who took the best photos at the hospital. So, to see the most beautiful baby in the world visit:

http://www.brittanyandersenphotography.com/blog/portrait-photographers/babies/welcome-little-one/

http://alyloves.blogspot.com/2010/06/hello-world.html

The Nursery

2010-06-23T20:27:00.005-06:00

It's not quite done, I'm just waiting on one piece of furniture to arrive and if there is time, I might add some flair to the curtains. But really, we're ready to put a baby in here.

Crib: KSL Classifieds
Bedding: RH Baby and Child
Mirror: Blue Hazel
Rug: Posh Tots
Chandelier: Pottery Barn Kids

Counting down

2010-06-15T22:27:00.004-06:00

Today my doctor taught me how pregnant women count down to their pregnancy. Since you're already in a day, it doesn't count. And the due date doesn't count since it is the day. So while the rest of you logical folk may say I have 15 days left, my doctor and I agree it's only 13 until D-Day.

Except...

I am not dilated. I am not effaced. And chances are, I am not having a June baby.

Boo.

The name game

2010-06-13T10:03:00.002-06:00

I'm due in 17 days and we have yet to choose a name. Right now Jason's reading through his Personal Ancestral File to see if we can't find some names we like. So far, lots of Elizabeth's and nothing we're crazy about. We have a list of names we do like but I'd like to add more to our stash of possibilities. So, dear reader, I turn to you for suggestions.

About freakin' time

2010-06-04T21:11:00.003-06:00

More here

Life lately

2010-05-28T15:26:00.005-06:00

A little update on what's been happening lately:

First let's get the yucky stuff out of the way, this is what it looked like from our front porch on Monday morning. Yes, Monday, May 24th. It snowed. And stuck around for a while. In fact, as I was driving around yesterday I spotted two semi-melted snowmen in Orem.

Moving on.

We've had a lot of fun preparing for baby (no, she doesn't have a name yet). We got our car seat! We're so excited, and we love it. Of course, we had to try it out on our first baby. He wasn't the biggest fan, but he's a good sport.

And, with the help of my talented mother, I made a car seat cover! Cute hu? Super easy too.

So now, I figure as long as we have a car seat and some diapers, I'm no longer worried about her coming and not being ready. Oh, and just a little shameless plug, I got all our diapers and the car seat from Diapers.com. Seriously the best Web site ever. Their prices are just as low (or lower) than in stores like Costco and Walmart. And they deliver, for free, next day. AND if you use my code, JALE3166, you get $10 off your first order PLUS a $5 credit towards your next order. And they don't just sell diapers, they sell everything you'd need for a baby/child. Just sayin.

More maternity photos

2010-05-24T09:09:00.009-06:00

This is me at 32 weeks. Don't be fooled, I feel like the baby (and as a result, my tummy) has doubled in size since these were taken.

Maternity pictures

2010-05-21T20:47:00.003-06:00

Brittany took some maternity photos for me. I'll post more once I get the disk, but you can check out a few on her blog!

Carlie's Graduating

2010-05-12T13:09:00.006-06:00

My little Carlie (okay, so she's taller than me. By, like, a lot) is graduating from Liahona. She'll still cheer at Orem next year, but for the most part she's done with high school and on to hair school! We took some pictures for her graduation announcement the other day, isn't she gorgeous? And so grown up?

More on my photo blog

Utah Blaze

2010-05-02T11:53:00.006-06:00

On Friday night my parents invited us to join the family at the Utah Blaze game. I had a wedding in Logan the next day, so we decided to just head to Logan after the game and stay the night so I wouldn't have to do 4+ hours of driving by myself the next day. Our brilliant plan turned out to be not so brilliant when we got to our hotel at 12:30 am and realized our suitcase was still sitting on our bed at home. We made a late night run to Walmart to grab some hygiene essentials but unfortunately had to wear our same clothes the next day to the wedding. Awesome.

Meet Sonny

2010-04-26T11:31:00.001-06:00

Our spur-of-the-moment addition to our family

We're pretty smitten

Wedding Expo Fun

2010-04-18T09:48:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was the Thanksgiving Point Wedding Expo and we had a booth there for the photo biz. It was a lot of fun and good for business, but more on that later. We've been lucky enough to be next to Shutter Booth for the past two expos and they were so kind as to let us take a turn getting our pictures taken.

This was yesterday:

And this was at the January expo:

2010-04-12T05:59:00.003-06:00

Besides doing baby stuff, I've been busy in cheer getting the girls ready for a competition. This is one of Mollie's first attempts at a basket toss and the videos are two of their halftime routines.

I've also been busy with photography, both in shooting photo sessions and getting ready for the Thanksgiving Point Wedding Expo this coming Saturday!

Project: Nursery pt. 2

2010-04-10T20:36:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I called my mom and told her that I wanted to make a pillow for the nursery. But first I had to find the perfect fabric, and I needed her expert opinion. So together we went to Broadbent's in Lehi, wallpaper sample in hand, and found the perfect fabric. Last night I got out the shears and machine and made this pillow:

then Jason and I teamed up to re-cover the lampshade in the same fabric:

I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Project: Nursery pt 1

2010-04-08T12:46:00.006-06:00

I've been on the fence a little (okay, a lot) on how I want baby girl's nursery to look. I've explored every option from gender neutral to all-out-girl. Then my mom's neighbor just re-did her girls room with the most spectacular pink wallpaper and offered me her extras ... and the nursery "theme" was settled on.

The idea is this: the wall paper on one wall with the rest of the walls in a light/blush pink. The ceiling will stay the same grey color, so I want to make it sort of a grey and pink themed, girly but classy/elegant. Like this:
image from baby and child

One of the things I knew I wanted was a girly chandelier. I found the perfect one, and last night Jason and I (okay fine, Jason) installed it:

And yesterday I made my best find, an upholstered rocker/glider better than the one I'd been jonesing for from Pottery Barn Kids. At a price that I could not pass up (especially with the addition of the 20 percent off coupon I had!) Thank you DownEast Home!!

27 weeks

2010-04-01T00:02:00.002-06:00

This is the last week of my second trimester and I intend to enjoy it to the fullest before I become to large to function normally (my bump is already starting to hinder my movement)

What 27 weeks means for baby and me

Photo by Jason

Disneyland!

2010-03-30T23:33:00.004-06:00

I went to Disneyland last week. It was fantastic. I'll post more pictures once I download them off my camera. In the meantime, here's one I snagged off my mom's blog. If you're feeling bored, click on the picture to make it bigger and check out how cool our eyes are. We may not look like sisters at first glance, but the eyes tell all.

Baby bump: 25 weeks

2010-03-21T10:44:00.004-06:00

101 days

2 hair appointments

1 Disneyland trip

4 walls to paint

1 glucose screening test (yuck!)

14.5 weeks

2 pieces of furniture to finish/acquire

1 crib to be set up

21 more pounds to gain to reach my target weight

Until D-date.

Snow place like the cabin

2010-03-18T11:24:00.002-06:00

We were able to go to the cabin a few weeks ago and it was so much fun! We had a packed group in the Tucker, so I got to ride up front with Jason and my dad:

Jason's been dying to build a snowman and this trip was his chance. I guess the idea was go big or go home ...

A few days ago I was looking through some old pictures and found this one of Jason:

I guess his love for snow started at an early age :)