The Talented Miss Gardner

I've been posting a lot lately, and I think it is because I have the sneaky suspicion that I'm about to disappear off the face of the earth for a few months...
Anyway, Anna was cracking me up today. First, while I was reading her a few books this morning, she randomly pointed at my belly and said, "Ball!". Yes, if it weren't for all the moving around taking place inside, I would think that's what it was, too. However, this is the first sign she has shown that she notices something, so I guess that's cool!
Later today, she was quiet for a while playing in her room and I stopped doing dishes to investigate. She was sitting quietly working with some of her "small toys". I have a separate tupperware in her toy box that is just for pretty small pieces of random things. She had pulled it out, and came out to show me after a while what she had been working on:

She put all five fake witch fingernails on by herself! I was impressed; those things aren't easy to get on! She seemed very proud of herself as well:

Anyway, just lovin' this little girl! Can't wait to have her meet her sister and vice verse!

And The Race Is On...

Which will it be???? Baby or house? Baby or house? Which one will win the race?

I can't believe how long it has been that I've been saying, "Yeah, we are supposed to close next week!" There are just too many individuals involved in purchasing a home - especially when it is a HUD home - this whole process is just taking forever! Of course, I'm sure I'm not being one bit impatient, considering that I'm not sure if I will or will not have a place for our baby to sleep when she comes! It is just frustrating; anything requested on our end has taken less than an hour to deliver to the right hands. We do everything right away, and then it takes "a week or so" to complete whatever stage our title company, or lender, or underwriter, or HUD agent is in. I also hate being in the dark so much. Why is it that the purchasers can't just call up the sellers and ask what stage they are in, or how much longer they expect things to take? Okay, I know the answer to that, but it is still frustrating that we can't talk to certain people without going through the proper channels. Blah Blah Blah - I just want to be home!!

P.S. Yes, that is our actual house, but not our actual baby. In case you were wondering...

A Time for Thanks

I am so glad that we got married during this season of Thanksgiving! It reminds me every time how thankful I am for such an amazing husband! Jared, you are everything to me, and I had no idea how many wonderful things would come from saying, "Yes" to you 7 years ago! You are the most kind, understanding and giving individual I've ever met, and each day I am surprised to find you still love me despite all my faults and shortcomings!

You have given our family such strength and character with all your determination and dedication to finishing school. You are an idealistic father to Anna, and already one to our little girl on the way - just by taking such good care of me! You have seen us through thick and thin, and I feel so blessed to have you in my life! I love you, sweetie and Happy Anniversary!

Little Angel

For anyone that knows me pretty well, the title of this post may come as a surprise. Not because Anna isn't a cute little angel or anything like that, but mainly because I'm not one for sissy pet names. However, I just wanted to share that I really did have a little angel on my hands today as I "caught" Anna saying prayer several times. I would walk into her room, and she'd have her chubby little arms folded as best they could be, her head sort of bowed, and she'd be whispering incoherent words for a second before abruptly stopping and clapping for herself! I'll have to admit that I clapped for her when we first learned prayers because she did so good, but now she claps after every one... it's cute enough that I'm not going to curb it. I wish I could get into her head to know what she is thinking, or what she is saying.
Also, as if to further solidify my opinion of my little angel, while writing this post, she came up to me wanting me to read her "I am a Child of God" book. She has all of her books fully accessible, and that is the one she picks, bringing it to me, pointing at the cover art and saying, "Shesus, Shesus."
She must be having a spiritual day...
Here is a recent picture that just makes me smile; I love my little girl. :)

Okay, Here You Go...

Ugh, for some reason I have really not wanted to post my pregnant picture this go-around. Last time, even though I gained about double the weight, I think I felt more excited about experiencing it all for the first time and thus didn't care what I looked like. This time, for some reason, I haven't been able to make myself post anything. But, Jared made me take a couple pictures just so we'd have a record, and I decided that I may as well indulge the curiosity of blog followers. It has also been fun creating this post because every time Anna runs behind me as she plays, she points and says, "Mama!"

Anyway, in this picture, I am at 33 weeks and explaining to PJ how the birds and the bees work... Of course, he's already had 7 kids, so I'm not really sure why he was asking. Sorry about the completely blank backdrop, we are still planning to close end of November, and thus have mostly everything packed already. Enjoy.

Cock-A-Doodle-BOO!

Happy Halloween everyone! Here are some pictures from our adventures! Jared was working so he missed out on the fun, but the girls had a great night. First, I briefly considered dressing her up as a mad scientist:


But then went with our original plan of a rooster...that plays piano...



Anna had lots of fun running around chasing balloons at the ward's trunk-or-treat. She wasn't very social, but liked the decorations, pumpkins and lights. I kept having to shed her layers underneath her costume as the night progressed - that thing was hot!



I just loved the yellow and orange striped legs!



By the time we made it to Grandma and Grandpa's roost, she was super pooped. We didn't stay for long, and she ended up going to bed before 7! Anyway, we had a great time, and can't wait until next year when she really will understand what is going on! :)

Anna's Moon

Anna was given a balloon the other day while Jared, she and I were walking the mall. She instantly fell in love with it and has played with it while the helium lasted. The only problem is that she is now confused about the difference between a balloon and a moon. She just officially learned 'moon' the other day, so introducing another round thing that floats in the sky, that happens to sound actually similar to 'moon' is very confusing. Every morning now, when she gets up for breakfast, she sees her 'moon' floating in the dining room and identifies it. I really don't know how to explain it to her. I guess she doesn't care anyway. :) See how much fun she has with it in this video.

Cravings

Since I have had two pregnancies quite close together, it has made for easy comparisons. For example, with Anna, I didn't ever get any crazy cravings. I only got strange sensations when brushing my teeth. I can't explain it, and I know it sounds weird, but I loved brushing everything in my mouth because it felt so nice! That went away immediately after Anna's birth, but don't worry, I continued brushing anyway...
With this one, I have had just a few cravings, the occasional cheeseburger or whatever, but it seems like I have basically gone through three nutritional phases; one for each trimester. The first trimester was avocados. I think I had one by itself at least once a week. They were delicious. There was even one night that I ate a whole one, but wanted another. It was pretty late, so the grocery stores were closed, but I knew of a Taco Bell that was open 24 hours. Well, to my great disappointment, they didn't actually carry avocados. I got some weird ranch-avocado sauce that was entirely unsatisfying instead. It was like experiencing Disneyland as an adult instead of a child - that kind of disappointment.
The second trimester was milk. MMMMMilk. I chugged milk like there was no tomorrow, and I usually am a 2% kind of gal, but 1% was completely satisfying and much more healthy, I'm sure. Anyway, I think I even made a couple of meals with the appetizer, entree and dessert being milk!
This trimester has been all about carrots. Ask me not if I want avocados or milk, they have had their day, but put some carrots in front of me now, and I will devour them! I finished off two bags of organic baby carrots last week, and am only writing this now because I am in the mood for some tonight, but don't have any! They are just so delicious and cold and crisp and refreshing; just irresistible! My favorite carrots are the type that have that slight mud taste to them, you know what I mean. The type that taste like you just plucked them from the ground, rinsed them off with a hose, and took a bite. Those are my favorite, which reminds me: Since the smell of rain and mud are some of my favorite smells, I've noticed that the monsoon season this year has been quite a let-down. Honestly, I think it has only rained really hard twice since we got pregnant - what the heck!?
With rain comes mud and faster growing grass which leads to my other favorite smell - freshly cut grass! I feel like I got robbed this summer of my favorite scents which could be so much more enjoyed with the intensified senses of pregnancy! :)
Oh well, I'm off to get some carrots...

Update

Well, a few updates for the Gardner family: Jared passed his NCLEX exam yesterday, so he is officially a licensed LPN - YAY! Anna is being the amazing toddler that she is, even dealing with two canine teeth coming in. She loves to have us read her books over and over again. Right now, her favorite is Jack and the Beanstalk. We have one from I think the 1970's, and it's art is horrible, but she loves it!
Little Sister, as she is called since we don't have a solid name yet, is very strong and growing fast. I don't have any pictures that make me look even remotely cute, so I'm not posting any! :) This pregnancy has gone really well, I'm just pretty tired. Anyway, we're not too tired to hit the splash pad for one last hoorah before the season ends. Here is Anna playing:

And here she is at our house that isn't ours yet. Although you can't tell, she is getting a little more hair every day.

That's it for now!!

Idaho Trip

I am ashamed to admit that it has been 2 weeks since we got home from Idaho, and I'm just now posting about it. I can't even say life has been too crazy; at least, it hasn't been more crazy than normal, I guess I was just too lazy! :) Anyway, we had tons of fun seeing family again and meeting our nephew for the first time! Here are some pics showing our great time:
Here are the girl cousins hanging out watching The Rescuers Down Under

Anna got to ride the lawn mower with Grandma; she waved at me every time they passed.

This is our makeshift icepack for when Anna took her first spill down the stairs. Not her "first spill" as if she did any more during the trip, just her first spill ever... I kind of wish that I would've taken a picture of the swelling. It went away pretty quickly, but she looked like a Klingon for a while.

Anna was able to spend tons of time outside in the grass and sun; she was in heaven. I can't wait until we get a backyard so she can continue the fun!

This is Jared with neice Emmy and Anna at his sister's new property and house. We are so excited for their new opportunity!

We also went to the zoo and spent a few nights at the family ranch, but for some reason, I don't have any pictures of the camping. At least this time Anna only walked away with one mosquito bite, not 30 on her face.
We had such a great time; thanks Grandma and Grandpa for letting us come up for a while! :)

P.S. We are in the process of closing on a property in Queen Creek, but don't want to jinx anything by posting pictures. We are very excited to say the least and should be moving in around the end of October!! YAY!

Wooohooo!!!

Jared is done with his LPN program - YAY!!! All he has left to do is take his license test (NCLEX) and he is finished! It has been a long road, but I am SO proud of his perseverance! He already has his career lined up with the hospital he is currently employed with, so the transition should go really smoothly! Then, within a few months, we will hopefully be residing again in the east valley. Anyway, just thought I'd throw out that little HOORAH to my hubby for all his hard work!!

Can't Wait

So, I don't have any pictures to post for this entry; it's mostly just a chance for me to vent and whine. We have been at our current residence (if you can call it that) for about six months. Granted, we moved here because it would save us a great deal of money while Jared finished up his LPN program, and it was somewhat closer to his school/work at the time. Well, now I have just about had it, and can't wait to buy our house in October. Everything is lining up great so we will be able to, but for the time being, I'm going a little crazy and I'll tell you why. Here is a list of the lovely ambiance-creators in my neighborhood:
*Car alarms - at least 30 times a day
*Yapping dogs - at least 3 times a day
*Ice cream trucks (3) - at least 3 times a day
*Walking, bell-ringing ice cream vendors (2) - at least twice a day
*Extremely loud garbage trucks (with the banging and the beeping) - at least 4 times a week (twice over because the garbage bins for the adjacent complex is less than 50 yards away from my window)
*Revving engines and peeling out - I can't tell you how many ghetto vehicles in this complex are modified to be excruciatingly annoying, but each one has to show it off right in front of my place at least twice a day
*Loud neighbors - I mean, I'm sure Jared and I have our moments of not being quiet little mice, but honestly, I think I have the loudest neighbor on earth. I can hear her talking (term loosely used) on her phone every night around 11pm from the parking lot all the way up the stairs and once she's inside her apartment, it's even louder
*Airplanes - I think some days that one is going to crash through our roof - at least 30 times a day
Y'know, other than that, we have a very lovely peaceful quiet residence for a really great price.
I can't wait to move.

I Sleep With Guns

Soooo, I was awake the other night, which happens to be a frequent occurrence, and I was thinking about having two girls - whether they would be girly or tom-boyish like I was. I then started thinking about the fact that I definitely have some traits that make me quite girlish, aside from actually being a girl... I mean, I do like to shop, I love pedicures (I've only had one manicure in my life given to me by Michelle Lambson when she was going through beauty school. It was nice, but the nails fell off within a few hours, so I didn't become real hooked.), and I can have pretty emotional days, or weeks, or... well, you get the point.

THEN, I thought about the way I was laying in bed and how nice it was that I had a perfect position to be in while I slept as my belly grew each day. Y'know, slightly on my stomach/side, leg bent, one arm tucked under my chin, the other extended under the pillow with my hand resting on the cold steel barrel of my Mossberg 12 gauge behind my bedstead... at that point I figured that I probably wasn't a normal girl.

First off, now everyone knows where I keep one of my guns, but I don't think that anyone about to rob me is going to check my blog first, and I'm not a paranoid internet person, so there you go. Secondly, I don't have my hand on my gun because I am a paranoid house person, either. It just happens to be there, and the cool touch feels nice at night.

To continue with the strange ramblings of my mind, I had to smile to myself when I realized that the other favorite position of mine to sleep in is exactly the same but on the flip side, this time with my hand on the other set of guns readily accessible to me:

K, so they aren't that big, and they don't usually tote a sledge hammer, but I found it interesting that on one side I'm holding my real gun, and on the other, I hold my hubby's guns. It is nice having such a protected night! :) So, I concluded that although I have many traits that make me a girly girl, I am still unique, and I'm sure that's how my girls will be as well.
P.S. For those who think my post contains a bit too much information, aka: TMI, too bad. It's my blog.

Little SISTER!!

After our ultrasound on Monday, it was determined that baby #2 is going to be a GIRL! Jared just loves it; he grew up with girls and just adores Anna, so he's definitely stoked. I am thrilled as well, a little wary of the idea that I so far am only raising girls, but I think I've done okay for my first year with my first one. The baby appeared extremely healthy and strong, which I could already attest to with the kicks she's dishing out! Jared has already felt her kicks which is always a neat thing for Daddies. As a big sister, Anna is already a favorite, for every time I hold her, the baby kicks against any part that is touching "her side". I can't wait, it's going to be one intense ride having two girls in the house that close in age.

As far as my pregnancy goes, everything is still really great, just pretty exhausting. I can't believe how frequently I just want to crash in my pillow and not move for hours. Kudos for women who have many children. I'm pooped. The doc did bump up my due date about a week, so now we have a Christmas baby instead of a New Year's. It didn't surprise me since Anna grew so fast as well. She is going to be a great big sister. Here is a sweet pic of her and Dada a few days after returning from Colorado. Her poor mosquito bites - at least they are healing fast; she looks much better now!!

Colorado Camping

The week began with a successful eight hour drive where there really were few issues despite having three toddlers in the back seat. We arrived at our camping spot in the afternoon with plenty of time to set up. It was a really beautiful area just outside Delores, Colorado with huge mountains all around and a river about fifty yards away. The first night was pretty cold, but Anna slept pretty well.

On Tuesday most of the family went hiking to the hot springs but Anna and I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa in camp (I just wasn't sure how far I could get carrying that sack of potatoes on my back...). It was probably good because I was able to help cover everything up when the hail started coming down. It was a pretty good storm that seemed to completely miss the hikers, thankfully. Then, once everyone got back into camp, the real storm hit. It rained so hard and had quarter-sized hail for about an hour! My tent, Grandma and Grandpa's old one, definitely had to be retired after the storm. You should have seen the way it sagged under the weight of the hail as it piled on top, just pouring water onto my bed and gear. I was able to salvage some of Anna's and my stuff during the storm so we only had to run into Delores with an Armada full of everyone's wet gear. Ugh, it was a challenge, especially not having Jared there to help me, but we survived. I moved into the trailer that we had hauled our gear up in (special thanks to the Lambsons for such a sturdy vehicle that perfectly fit a mattress and crib).

The rest of the week was mostly storm free aside from a few drops here and there, but the worst part was freezing at night. I was forced to create a "family bed" for most of the nights as I tried different tactics to keep Anna and I warm. There is a reason that she hasn't slept with me since she was a day old - I don't sleep. Anyway, we survived, and finally on the last night, Friday, we both had a VERY successful sleep. It just came down to the perfect arrangement of bedding and pajamas so that circulation was maintained and heat contained. She slept all night by herself and all I cared about was that I slept! But, despite the rough nights, we had glorious days. The food was terrific, the scenery breathtaking, the mosquitoes hungry. I think that Anna and I taste especially scrumptious to those evil hovering bugs because she now looks like she has chicken pox (despite the ample amounts of "OFF" I used on her). I will try to get more pictures later, but this is the only one I have - Grandma, Anna and I went for a hike that was mostly straight up the mountain next to camp. It was gorgeous and exhausting; I'm such a tired, out of shape, pregnant mom, it's not even funny! :)

Toy Box Time

I like to think that Anna really enjoys her toys. Most of them are homemade from fun items around the house (like the Fanta bottle with rice for a noisemaker...) and it seems that she explores them differently each time she comes across one. She certainly decided to do some exploring today as I found her in her toy box digging through her treasures.


I couldn't even get her attention long enough to get a cute picture of her until I started making monkey noises. This was the reaction I then received, I think its a smile...not sure:

Look at all those teeth, though! You can even see her upper molar in the back there! Anyway, it was such a cute face, I had to share it with everyone. I'm so lucky to have such an awesome kid. :)

Walkin' Tall

Well it's official! She is a walking pro now! She just decided this afternoon that she's known how to walk all along and thought it awfully silly that she was still on her hands and knees. Now, she's walking all over the place like it's no big thing. She bends over, picks up her books, waves her arms in the air like she's a blind woman walking, it's so funny. Anyway, we are sooo excited for her, she's such a champ! Yay! Sorry the video is blurry, short and all over the place; it was hard to catch a great video and your daughter at the same time! :)

Birthday Fun

I can't believe how quickly it's gone by, but Anna's first year has been amazing! I was thinking originally of doing a seperate post when her birthday actually arrived on Wednesday, but then I remembered that I haven't exactly been religious at posting, so I decided on a two birds with one stone kind of thing.
We had Anna's birthday party yesterday, and she was just such a cutie in her little outfit that Grandma Sue gave her! We stripped her down for the cake part though; I wasn't sure a bib would cut it. In this picture, Daddy is standing behind the fantastic photographer (Grandma Birch) making Anna look so incredibly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Then, she really got down to business when introduced to her slice of the cake. You don't want to mess with this hungry bear.

This was the cake I made for her. I got the box idea from a paper plate, but then pretty much came up with everything else on my own. Anna's all time favorite thing right now is animal noises, so I thought it was very appropriate!

At one year, here are Anna's top favorites in her little life (in no particular order):

1. Daddy wrestling. She actually tackles him and burrows her head into him as if trying to bull doze him over. She usually ends up with beard rash, but I know she thinks it's totally worth it!
2. Farm animals. As mentioned, she loves the animal noises that Meh (that's Mama's name) makes. We read her farm books every night. She also loves "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?", which has mostly farm animals, but a bear and some children, too. (Sounds like a bad combo...)
3. Peaches and Pears. Her favorite food right now - she will eat enough to make her sick.
4. Splash pad. She especially likes the Tempe Beach one; there are little whales there that she stands up to, plays with the water coming out of it's spout, and stands without holding on to anything! Ooooooh...
5. 5 Little Monkeys. This is her favorite song, usually because I substitute it with, "Anna is a monkey, jumpin' on the bed; she fell off and bonked her head!...and the doctor said, 'No more Annas jumpin' on the bed!'" I replaced the real lyrics when she did fall off the bed last week.
6. Outside. Anywhere, anytime. This girl is an outdoor addict just like her Mama, or "Meh".
7. Eyes. She will poke anyone's at any given moment. Poor PJ just doesn't think to walk away, plus his eyes are so round and bulging, it's hard to blame her.
8. Being upside-down. She has a little game where she sits on our laps facing us and holds our hands while bending backwards so she's upside-down. She particularly likes her exposed neck tickled and ending her game with a flip that she always lands!
9. Family. She loves her cousins, aunts and uncles, and especially her grandparents!
10. Taking us for walks. Although not walking on her own yet, she absolutely loves taking our fingers and walking us around to everywhere she wants to check out, which is EVERYWHERE!

That's our little Anna! Happy Birthday; we love you sweetie and can't wait to share this next year with your bright and shining self!

Baby Names - BabyNamey.com

Fun in the Sun

SORRY it's been sooooo long since I posted. I am actually not so excited about blogging anymore. I just have lots to do, and find that blogging is at the bottom of my list. BUT, since I feel so guilty for not keeping distant family up to date with our little one, here goes. We celebrated Evelyn's second birthday yesterday and Anna just loved the splash pad there. Although she's getting pretty tan, she still can burn, so she's wearing a hat and a surf shirt to cover as much up as possible. The pants are because of the flooring on a splash pad; although softer than lava rock, it still tends to rip up her knees. I don't know why I even bothered putting her in swimming attire at all, you can't even see it. :) Anyway, things are going great with us! Jared's working hard at both school and work, and I'm chasing this little one around all day. Hopefully I can post something in the near future out of excitement instead of guilt. Later!

Not For the Faint of Heart

I just want to give kudos to our amazing daughter who just made an attempt at eating a wasp, and was unsuccessful. We've had a couple of wasps hanging out around our balcony lately, and I kill them as soon as I see them, but apparently, one ducked into our house without me noticing. Anyway, at some point this morning it became "mostly dead" and was laying on our floor - ready for Anna's investigation. I guess it's reflexes kicked in when a chubby hand picked it up and put it in an open mouth. Lo and behold - unhappy wasp - unhappy baby. She only screamed for a second or two while we were trying to figure out where it had gotten her (the culprit was in plain sight at that point...). The swelling showed up a minute or two later.

Anyway, she is doing fine, and the picture actually depicts a very grumpy girl, but she's actually all smiles this morning as usual! KUDOS big girl!!

Children's Museum

Updated Pics

Here are just a few more pictures from outings, the Children's Museum, and one more Christmas one.

Life...

Well, it's happened again...life. I can't believe how the time gets away from me sometimes. Sorry there haven't been any posts as of late, and I don't really have any substantial excuses. Here is the latest: Jared continues to work hard at becoming the best nurse possible through schooling and work. He starts a new program in the summer that should prove exciting. He still works at the Arizona Heart Hospital full time and is a tremendous father. I am keeping busy with Anna and caring for our home and family (along with constant research for and slow development of my book). I love being a mother, more than I would have ever imagined. I attribute so much of my joy to having such a wonderful and enjoyable daughter. Anna will be seven months in a week or so, and I can't believe how big she is getting! She finally got her cranial band to help shape her head. It was just a little wide and slightly flat on the back, despite only spending her sleeping hours on her back. She'll wear the band for a few months, and so far, she doesn't seem to even notice it's there! She spends a great deal of her time these days trying to get her body to move the way she wants, and is quite successful at it! She pretty much can get to wherever she wants now, even though she's not officially crawling. She scoots, rolls, and army crawls around to reach her destination, which is usually one of the dog's tail or paw. Mary and PJ are forever loving toward her, and often curl up into a ball against her back as she plays with her touch and feel puppy book. I don't think that Anna will crawl for very long once she figures it all out. She's already pulling herself up on things in order to stand, but she doesn't know how to fall yet. She has a tendency to just lock her knees and tip over. Luckily, we have always been there to help. She continually makes verbal noises, but they aren't cute little coo's and ah's. It sounds like she is trying to mimic a wookie, vibrating the back of her throat. It's funny. Anyway, that's all we've been up to lately. Here are a couple of pictures: