Crocheted sweater from heck

I've been working on a crocheted sweater for my sister-in-law Julie. It was supposed to be her Christmas gift from Brian and I last year but as you see it is still not done and it is January. At least I have the main body of the sweater done...now onto the sleeves. I hope that I'll have it all done and ready for her to wear by this Sunday. We'll see if that happens. It is a beautiful sweater and I know that she will love it. I'll post a picture of Julie wearing it as soon as it is done.

To Allie

Not many of my friends have children and its sometimes hard to remember to call them when the day to day stuff drags you down. I'm so glad that I have friends that don't fault me for not calling or writing. I honestly don't know where I would be if I wasn't able to call my snuggle buddy and rant to her about the stresses of parenthood and how I always seem to forget where I put my purse and wallet. And she will just laugh with me not at me. She is truly a bright spot in my day. I can call and tell her the cute and sweet things that Iain did on any given day. Or just rant and rave about the stupid crape that is happening in my life. She makes me see a different point of view and makes me feel better. She loves my husband for the goofy person that he is and just except him for him. She treats him like family even before he and I were engaged. She is the best 'Auntie' that junior snuggle buddy has that isn't related by blood or marriage.

Goals for 2010

My goals for the up coming year are...

• Losing the baby weight that I gained with Iain.
• Exercising for 30 plus minutes a day.
• Taking Iain out side to play and/or taking him for a walk every day.
• Eating healthier.
• Reading to Iain more each day and singing to him more.
• Take pictures each day so that I can make a picture journal for Iain.
• Make Iain a Alphabet book of pictures and phases that is just his.
• Getting into shape so that when we are ready for another baby I won't have to put off getting pregnant till I was.
• Letting what people say roll of my back instead of taking it to heart and getting hurt.
• Taking time each day to do something just for me.
• Taking time each day to spend with my husband without Iain there.
• Calling those people that mean the most to me once a week.
• Writing letters once a week and sending cards to people that I don't get to see all that often.
• Doing my visit teaching every month even if my companion is not able to.
• Trying and not complain about things to much.
• Post something to our blog and write in my journal every day.
• Work on my family history.
• Do my family temple work.
• Attend the temple with Brian at least once a month. (Maybe once a week, that would be great).
• Finish craft projects that I started in 2008 and 2009. And maybe start some new ones this year and finish them during the year.
• Spend more time as a family. Doing things with just Brian, Iain, and I.

I know this is a long list but these are things that I need to work on.

We have 1pm church

There are so many reasons why I love having late church...

• For one getting up early has always been hard but it is even harder when your 8th month old son still gets up every 2-3 hours at night.
• I have more time to get ready for church...meaning I can actually dry and style my hair and even put make-up on. Which means that I don't look like a mommy who can't get her act together.
• We are actually on time if not early for our meetings. Yeah for us.

Reasons why its the pits...

• The beginning of church is are when Iain goes down for his second nap of the day.
• Iain is not happy and when he's like that he gets into mischief.
• It's also when Brian and I take our naps with Iain.
• I don't get as much done during the day.

So, we'll see how long Brian and I enjoy having our meetings at 1pm. So far it has been good but today was only the first Sunday of it.

Our first Christmas 2009

This was a Christmas to remember...

• Iain turned 8 months old two days before Christmas.
• Leslie and Chris and their son Gabe came to visit from VA. So the boys could be together for their first Christmas together.
• Most of Brian's siblings were here for the holiday. It was so much fun having them here to celebrate the season.
• Brian got a job. And he started training for it on December 27th. (Only down side to this job is it is 5 weeks long. Who knows it may be longer).
• Our son has been trying so hard to learn to walk. He almost has it. (He will be walking sometime next month for sure).
• Iain is saying so much now...like Dada, Baba, Mama, Gaga, and the like. Though he doesn't know that Dada and Mama stand for Brian and I just yet.

I'm excited for the new year and what lays around the band for our growing family. 2010 is going to be more exciting and hopefully far less stressful than 2009. I'm looking forward to what is coming. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas (belatedly) and a very Happy New Year. May the new year bring much needed peace and happiness to us all. Pictures to come as soon as I get them loaded to the computer.

Thinking I might try Go-Lacta

So I'm thinking about trying this supplement to see if I can get my breast milk back. I've read that some women who have stopped nursing can get their milk back after taking Go-Lacta. I'm hoping that I'll be able to increase my milk supply. So we'll see if this works.

I'm hoping...and praying...

• That the new year brings Brian a fantastic job. That will give us some security and just maybe a bit more flexibility.
• That we will be able to get out of debt.
• That I will be able to become pregnant with our second child.
• That Brian will be able to go back to school.
• And maybe a little house that we can call ours.

My wish list isn't all that big. I'm hoping our Heavenly Father hears our prayers and will answer them favorable. My wish list for this coming year.

• That Brian and I will get to go to the temple more often
• That we will become pregnant sometime next year.
• That we can visit my family in VA more often.
• That Brian will get into either BYU or BYU-I.
• That Iain will sleep through the night sometime soon.
• That I get into either BYU or BYU-I.

I'm just hoping that all the bad stuff stops and that finally the next band in our journey together will through something good our way. I'm not saying that this past year has been all bad because it hasn't. I'm just saying that we have had our share for a little bit, we could use sure use some good right now. If anyone knows of any places that are hiring in the Denver area, please let us know.

Birthdays

Yesterday I turned 26, and it made me think about my many birthdays before this one, about how far I've come since my childhood, and how blessed I am. I didn't always have the best birthdays when I was a child. But looking back on them today I realize that they were the birthdays that I needed to have so that I could become the teenager that I would become. As a teenager, I was able to enjoy friends who were willing to throw birthday parties for me (with my help but I always thought that it was for someone else. Silly me). Those years showed me what kind of adult I wanted to become. Now that I've been an adult for a couple of years I'm glad that I have all these wonderful examples in my life. After I met the man that I was going to spend eternity with, birthdays took on a different feel, it was no longer all about me on my birthday I needed to think about my husband. I had responsibilities that I had to take care of everyday even on my birthday. Though Brian has always tried do everything, so that I was able to enjoy myself by being able to relax. I never wanted too. The year after we were married, we found out that I was pregnant and we were going to be parents. Birthdays were forever changed, they took on a new meaning. Because the year my son was born I knew I was going to be a mommy to a 7 month old and I was going to have to take care of his everyday needs. My birthday was not just about me this year and for all the years to came. I hope that as our son gets older that I can teach him what birthdays are really about. They aren't about what you get but the people that are around you to celebrate with you. I'm blessed to have my family, the family that I grew up with, and the family I married into; the gospel; a loving husband and a sweet son; and a loving Heavenly Father who sent me down to earth when He did and for all that he has given me and continues to give to my family and me. As we enter the Christmas season I hope to see past the gifts and all the worldly things, so that I can teach my son the true meaning of the season.

My baby is turning into a Toddler

This is a bit late but while we were still in VA, the Sunday, before Thanksgiving, Iain learned to pull himself to up. Iain had only been crawling for about 2 1/2 weeks, and now he is trying to clime on the furniture and go up the stairs. Did I forget to mention that the next day he turned 7months old. He pulls himself up on everything now, seriously nothing stops him (well except Grandma Marlene because she doesn't want to see him fall). My sweet baby is into everything all the time. Iain thinks its a game to find new ways to get to the DVDs and Wii games, which are his favorite. The Sunday, after Thanksgiving, Nov.29th, we went to visit Leslie and Chris at their house. Iain was standing between Leslie's legs, (you know when you're siting on the couch and you stick your legs out in front of you and let the baby stand up on their own without killing your arms from holding them up), Iain decided to walk down to her legs and when he got to her feet he looked back at us and than took 4 running steps pasted her feet, than fall on his butt. Iain was so very proud of himself, but Leslie, Chris, Brian, and I were all shocked that he did that. Yet another reason I say that we are in trouble. Iain is doing things so fast and so early. On the teething front...Iain is working on his third tooth but his first top one.