New Years Goals-RELATIONSHIPS

I am not one that is good at writing down goals, but this year is different. In light of evens from this past weekend, I have decided I need to set some goals involving the relationships in my life. My word for 2014 is relationships. I want to always be working to improve my relationship with my Father in Heaven, so I never hesitate to call on him. I want to cherish and spend more time with my hunka husband Shay (who I almost lost this weekend to the cold snowy mountain). I want to nurture my relationships with my children, so they never question how important they are to me. I want to be a better friend to the awesome people I am lucky enough to call friends. I want to serve others and build relationships from nothing but love and service. I don't want to take for granted the relationships I have. If for some reason I wasn't able to tell my loved ones tomorrow how much they mean to me, I don't want to have any regrets. Live everyday like it's your last tell your loved ones you love them, no regrets. RELATIONSHIPS is the goal for 2014.

Sweet Baby Milli will be three months old on the 14th. She is growing so fast and is such a sweet girl. She smiles all the time and loves being talked to. Last night we heard her first giggle too! She has been sleeping thru the night for a couple of weeks too!! Poor girl has had three colds already! Her brother Cray seems to be picking up every cold possible and bringing them home. MIlli has a cough now too which is just heartbreaking, but she is still so happy. Tough girl! We love our baby Milli.

Memorial Weekend

Memorial Weekend we went to Burley to see Aunt Amber who had just returned home from her mission in California. It was so great to have all the family together and see Amber! It was the first time the twins and Milli were together...the three new grandbabies. (Since then my other sister in law had a baby boy) There were babies everywhere and Lexi and Cray were running around and having fun. We miss the farm and love to go back and visit! Cray spends most of his time out on the farm with Papa or Kyle taking care of his calves. (He calls them cabbies) Another great weekend on the farm. Oh...and Cray is potty trained. Thank you Cray man!

Jump Creek

We had quite a fun weekend with my family. Cray and Shay went to my Dad's Father and sons. My brother's Jared and Buddy went too. All the boys camping...how fun! When they got back Sunday, we loaded up and went hiking at Jump Creek. Papa carried Cray on his shoulders the whole way. Cray would usually love this sort of thing, but he had bad shoes on and could hardly walk in them...oops. My fault. Milli was a trouper in the heat and didn't make a peep the whole way. I love the outdoors so much, and want to find every opportunity to show Cray and Milli why they are so great! After that we went to Coco's house and had homemade pizza and cheesecake for Jared's birthday. Yum! Three weeks ago, while all of us were at the cabin. We started whats called the Sugar Pact. We all decided to quit sugar, with one cheat a week, for three months. We are all sugar addicts and made punishments and rewards to make it easier. It has been going really well! We all saved our cheat this week for the Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake.

Baby Milli is 4 weeks old now and is an angel. Unfortunetly her and Cray were blessed with a cold last week and it's still going strong. That has complicated sleeping patterns and eating, but I am confident that she will get back to her awesome sleeping habits once she is better. Cray loves his baby sister and is always telling me how adorable, beautiful, and cute she is. Oh...and that she is a princess. We are so luck to have baby Milli and are excited to see her grow and her personality blossom!

Labor Story

Baby Girl is here! Milli Helen Heward was born 3-13-13 at 11:11 pm. She was 7.5 lbs and 20.5 inches. She has chunky cheeks and loves to sleep! The three nights before she came into the world, I was awake for hours with contractions that weren't going anywhere. So by the time Tuesday night came I was exhausted...and 10 pm the contractions started again. I went into the birthing center at about 5:30 am with contractions 5 minutes apart and lasting a minute. We got there and got all settled and waited. My contractions started spreading out to the point where they were 10 minutes apart by 1 pm. I was measuring 3 cm and 70% effaced. So we went home. I took a shower and went to bed. I was able to sleep for an hour and a half and woke up to some contractions that were a little more intense. Within half hour we left for the center again. I could tell this was it! Things still didn't move near as fast as I would have hoped. I thought with me having so many contractions the days before that things would move quickly. It wasn't meant to be. I labored in the bed, on the yoga ball, in the tub, on the squat bar...all over that room. The day was passing me buy and I was worried we wouldn't make the 3-13-13 birthday (who wouldn't want that birthday...so cool). By 10:30, my water still hadn't broken, and I had been awake for what felt like days. My contractions were 2 minutes apart and over a minute long, but I was falling asleep between each one. Ya...that's a short nap....and extreme exhaustion. At that point my water broke and that woke me right up. I then moved to the birthing stool and 6 or 7 contractions of pushing and baby Milli was here! 25 hours and labor and she finally made her appearance. She is perfect! It's amazing how from day one she is totally different than Cray was. Cray came out with his eyes open and alert and didn't sleep that much. Milli is over a week old and still is hardly awake. She loves to sleep! I am a ok with having a chill, sleepy baby this time around. We have had some complications with eating, but we are getting it all figured out and it's going much better now. Cray LOVES his baby sister Milli. He has told me she is beautiful and cute and he loves to pet her head and look at her while she sleeps. He will be a great big brother.

Sorry no pictures this post. I hardly ever do that...but I have just been a slacker lately I guess. I am 37 weeks along and getting more and more excited for this baby girl to get here. She is running out of room in there. My tummy measures 36 cm, she has been head down for months...so she should be fine as far as that goes. I finally am convinced that Cray knows he has a baby sister coming. He knows where her room is and what is hers and what is his. He does try to share his blanky and paci with her sometimes. He is going to be SUCH a great big bro once he gets over the jealous thing. He is so tender with babies, and has always loved girls. I am so glad she will have him in her life. Cray is such a talker. He has really come out of his shell the past few months (since moving to Nampa). We have been taking him to Carls Jr. play place to play. Since we started doing this, he is no longer shy with kids, adults...even in nursery. All of a sudden he went from hating nursery to begging to go. He will sit and tell you all about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or his Papa's farm or some random subject. He is such a smart kid and is counting, and getting pretty good at his shapes and colors. He also loves to sing. Cray has a great love for the game of basketball...go figure. He doesn't wanna just watch...or play on the stage with the kids...he wants to be on the court playing...and cheering for Daddy, or his Uncle Kyle. We are falling in love with South Nampa. We didn't move here planning on settling in this area...but the more people we get to know and drive around the area, the more we love it. We always knew Shay would have to commute to get the country lifestyle we want in the future...so another place to add to the list of possibilities.

This past weekend we went to the McCall Winter Carnival with my brother Buddy and his wife Noel. It was a quick trip, but didn't disappoint. The weather was beautiful, the little donuts were super yum and the sculptures were magic themed. This meant there were three mickey mouse sculptures...which made Cray happy. He liked the sculptures and seemed to soak up the excitement of the environment. Most of all...he just loved playing in the snow with his dad, buddy, noel, and the other kids. It was a great time with sunshine and smiles all around.

I am now 34 weeks and had some minor complications. I am just praying that baby girl stays in there for a few more weeks. I had 6 hours of non progressive contractions the other night which caused baby girl to drop. So say a prayer for baby girl that she can stay healthy and stay in my belly!

This picture was taken last Sunday and is me 33 weeks along.

I just had a check up this week as well and baby size is good, she is head down and everything is looking good. Minus my iron levels...but they are improving which is a good sign and I am working double time to get them up. It still feels unreal to me that I am having a girl. It's just so hard to imagine for some reason. I haven't really done a lot at this point to prepare, so i have a busy 7 weeks ahead of me. I have bought fabric to make all of her beading and have a few other projects I would really like to finish before she gets here. Motivation is just know where to be found! I don't know where it went...but I cannot find it! Cray man is so awesome. He blows my mind daily. He has started to sing a lot and will just walk around singing Twinkle Twinkle, or Enter Sandman (my ringtone). He is such a sweet yet ACTIVE boy. He is showing some serious athletic abilities. He already has some mad bball skills (we have already worked on his shooting form). He can run so fast and jump so high....and kicks the ball with his whole body like a pro soccer player. He also loves to fight (like the Mutant Turtles or Kung Fu Panda). Shay can't wait to get him into some sort of sporting activity. He loves giving my tummy (aka baby sister) zuberts and hugs. We will see how long that lasts once she is really here and taking mommy away all the time. I am excited for what is to come and for all of the upcoming changes in our lives. I love change and growth and opportunities for both. A picture of my little stud for you.

Snowy Sunday Morning

Ever since our all night drive back from Disneyland...we have all been SICK! It has been a week and a half and we are all feeling better for the most part and finally able to enjoy the sugar the Christmas season has to offer! Shay and Cray went and played in the snow this morning and had a great time (even though Cray is crying in the picture) Totally random...he just started crying and didn't wanna take a picture. Then we started decorating cookies and had a great time. Cray loved dumping whole bottles of sprinkles on the cookies. We have a lot of Christmas crafting and fun to pack into the next week, but are so excited! Merry Christmas!

The Happiest Place on Earth...

This last week, we went to DISNEYLAND. We went with my cousin Clarisa and her hubby Brian and their son Trevor who is 8 months older than Cray. We spent two days at Disneyland and two at California adventure. We found lots of way to make it a relatively inexpensive trip including finding convention tickets on Ebay, making our own breakfasts, lunches and snacks, and only eating out dinner. Of course we splurged on dinner, but it didn't ever disappoint. The first night we ate at the The Thunder BBQ Joint. WOW!!! Unlimited amounts of BBQ chicken, ribs, sausage, beans, yummy cornbread and coleslaw. The meal was SO good! We also ate at the RAinforest Cafe and my personal favorite the Blue Bayou. OK....I don't eat at fine dining places often...like hardly ever. But this place was amazing. You may know it as the restaurant inside Pirates of the Caribean. I have ALWAYS wanted to eat there and I am so glad I finally got the chance too. The Southern Style food was so yummy and my plate was huge! Part of the magic from the meal could be that both Cray and Trevor slept in their strollers the whole time! PEace and quiet with no wrestling thru the meal. Ha...you can tell what one of my favorite parts was...the food...well onto THE BEST PART! Cray at Disneyland! Cray loved everything, though he doesn't really show it until after. He gets this blank look on his face...then after talks about it for 10 minutes with screams and excitement. Kind of funny. He loved Toon Town, all the characters, Monsters Inc, The Pixar Parade, but of course Cars Land was his favorite. He was too small to ride the Radiator Riders ride, so the tractor ride was his favorite. On Wednesday we were standing in line for the Haunted Mansion and Cray was so happy and practicing his scary laugh (ask him to do it for you, he is quite talented) and he hurls all over. Not a little bit...like everything!! We cleaned up, took him home and kept an eye on him thru his fever spikes. Within 5 hours he was fine and played all day the next day. Not sure what happened...but I am so glad he was able to keep going the next day and keep playing! It was super pleasent weather, the crowds were minimal (especially for Disneyland) and it was so cool to see Disneyland decked out in Christmas decorations. It was magical and so fun.

While we were in Disneyland, Shay's Grandpa Heward who was 96 years old passed away. We knew it was a possibility it would happen while we were gone, but we were so happy the funeral was on Saturday so we could make it and be with the Hewards. The service was beautiful and it was great to see all the family. Grandpa was an awesome example. One thing that was said about him by a close friend was that the only negative thing he had ever heard him talk about, was when a family member didn't serve a mission. That's a lot of positivity if that's all he can find negative in the world. Thanks for the good times and memories and your big smile! Love you Grandpa!

Nampa Residents

So we have moved yet again. We got out of my parents basement and into a place in South Nampa. It is nice to have our own place again and give into my nesting urges, but Cray sure misses his Coco (my mom) and Papa. He asks for them almost daily and we have been moved out for three weeks. So with this move means that we are sticking around for a while. We have decided to put off the Air Force for now (if not forever) and stick with Aamco. We tried to get into the Air Force for a year now and after being put off yet again by recruiters that "really want good male nurses" we took it as an answer to prayers and put it in the back of our minds. So Shay is an Aamco man. It's so strange to have him not nursing, especially when he gets offered jobs almost weekly. Hospitals in Boise need nurses bad right now, and one is even specifically asking for male nurses. It's so frusterating, because two and a half years ago when he graduated...they all had hiring freezes. Tangent! haha...So yes...its strange to not have him nursing and I think he misses it, but Aamco looks to be where we are suppose to be. So we are here...I am now 21 weeks prego and feeling good. I actually the last couple of days have had an eczema break out that has not been fun. My whole body itches and my face gets puffy and blotchy if i even touch it. Other than that major itchy discomfort I am doing great. Cray has started noticing my belly and giving it loves and kisses. He will be such a sweet big brother. I just realized I never announced on my blog....ITS A GIRL! We had a great Halloween...I have more pictures of Shay and I on Halloween but will have to post them later. Cray had so much fun getting candy and being Buzz Lightyear. It just makes me so excited for Christmas this year with our little man.

I designed some Mickey Mouse Pumpkins and Cray loved them.

Cray with his Coco and papa

Update

Wow...haven't updated this thing in forever! Since I lived in Burley! Yes we now live in Kuna which is weird...still feels like we are just visiting. Shay is working at Aamco right now and we are still trying to get into the Air force. We just got some news yesterday that may push up back to next summer. Which means we wouldn't even find out if we were in till then...which sucks! It's been nearly a year since we started trying to get in and it is getting really annoying that they "still" want us, but stuff just keeps getting missed. Lame. So we are still in limbo. I can't wait till we know what we are going to be doing with our lives! I thought that day was finally around the corner...PSYCH...it's not. Oh well... Cray just loves living with his Coco (my mom) and Papa. He wakes up every morning and says "I see Coco" and runs into her room to wake her up. It has been nice to be with my parents thru the sick stage of my pregnancy. But I am feeling much better now which is so nice. I am now 14 weeks and just starting to get the pooch. Here it goes! Cray turned two last week! We had a party, but the pics are on my Dad's camera, so I will try and post those soon. THis kid breathes CARS! Obsessed! No joke. He always has a car in his hand and loved the big Mac truck and Big dump truck he got for his birthday. Cray is talking non stop. Full sentences and surprises me everyday with new words. I can't believe how smart he is and how fast he is growing up! Here's some pictures we had taken for Cray being two whole years old!

Swimming Cray Cray

So my Cray Cray is not a fan of the water. He has always struggled with it. When we were in vacation in St. George, he warmed up to it a bit after being in the pool every day...so i knew he had it in him to like it. So I signed up for a Mommy and me swim class. The first day he cried the whole 30 minutes saying OUT the whole time. After that things went up. He would whine for a few minutes and then get happier! he loved playing with the toy boat (showing mommy how fast it could go) and jumping in to mom from the side of the pool.

Into the second week of lessons, he started noticing the kids jumping off the diving board and became obsessed with it. He would say I JUMP. So on the last day of class...guess what my baby did!! He strapped on a lifejacket and after seeing mom jump off...walked all the way out the end of the diving board BY HIMSELF! His teacher helped him jump and that was that. He went off three times and didn't want to get out of the pool after that. Until we told him there were treats! In the last picture below, he is telling me all about his jumping adventures. What a kid.

To say I am terrified for this kids future is an understatement. He is such a dare devil, but I love that he loves the water now. Goal accomplished!

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