LOST

Drivers license, TV remote, watch, keys, debit card, minds... these are all the things we have lost in the past couple weeks. The drivers license has been replaced, TV remote has been found, watch and keys are still missing, debit card has been recovered... our minds are still lost.

Our weekend was too short...

But it was a good one. Friday night Taylor, Sage and I went on a date. We couldn't find anyone to watch her so we brought her with us. We went to this new Itialian place down the street from us called the Pizzaria Limone. It was tasty. We also got some raspberry gelato. Afterwards we walked around and looked in some of the shops near us. It was fun to get out of the house and Sage just sat in her stroller and enjoyed looking all around. Saturday we relaxed at home in the morning, made it to the last half of our nephew Dylan's soccer game and Sage and I hung out with her cousins and grandma and grandpa while Taylor helped his brother move into their new home. In the evening I went to dinner and the Relief Society Broadcast. Loved President Uchdorfs message. Today we went to church, came home, had lunch and took naps. I love Sundays. This evening Taylor and I took Sage outside and tried to get a good picture of our Sage girl and her beautiful smile, but of course when you want her to smile she looks everywhere but the camera, makes pouty faces, spits and blows her bubbles, and rubs her eyes. So, although I did not get any pictures of her to die for smile, I got pictures of some of our favorite faces of her just being her -curious and funny self. We love this girl!

Rejoice and be glad!

I recently came across a blog in which a mother described all the million mundane things that she did for her kids, day in and day out... She said she found herself "wishing the time away" by constantly saying things like, "I wish she learned to walk already!", "I sure wish she slept through the night", "All I do is chase her around all day!", "It will be nice when she can talk and tell me what she wants", etc. You get the point. She shares a revelation she received... "IT WILL PASS SO FAST.... DON'T WISH IT AWAY!"

This is the day which the LORD hath made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.
~ Psalm 118:24

In sharing her experience of being a mother she says, "The process may be hard and some details are more challenging than others, but we can rejoice in them, and even enjoy them if we choose the right perspective. GOD'S PERSPECTIVE. GOD'S CALLING. AND A WATCHING WORLD...WATCHING HOW WE WILL LIVE THE DETAILS OF OUR CALLING."

I love that! I think I sometimes find myself "wishing the time away" like she describes. Especially the past few days as we have been trying to get back on a schedule and my girl has been extra cranky. However, what a beautiful reminder that Motherhood is a calling from God. With that perspective I can rejoice and be glad!

I guess she can't be perfect ALL the time!

This cute girl has been a monster! I know her Grandpa Tony and many others won't believe it, but it is true. Monster with a capital M! Since being home she has not taken naps and has been sleeping awful at night. We usually can put her down with her binkie and she will fall asleep relatively quickly, but not these past couple days. She screams and screams. When we go to her room she kicks her legs and throws her arms up and down. During the day she has been so clingy and whiny, which is just not her personality. We started to think that maybe she had an ear infection, especially with all the swimming we had been doing and having been on the airplane. We took her to the instacare to get her checked tonight and they said her ears are clear, lungs sound good, doesn't look like she is teething, and vitals are great! You know the saying that goes something like, " Now that I know there isn't anything wrong I can sleep better." Well, we are glad to know she is healthy, but not so sure we will be sleeping any better. Let's hope so though!

California Part II

I had posted all about the first part of our trip, however there really isn't much to write about for there to be a "California Part II" nor are there many pictures besides the hundreds we took of Sage with her new friend Kailee. Of course it is impossible to get both babies looking at the camera, smiling at the same time! After our wonderful 4 days of fun in Orange County and San Diego we headed up to Los Angeles for the week. Taylor attended the University of Farmers from 7-5 every day and then by the time we got something for dinner it was time to put Sage to bed. It was a long week for all of us. Sage and I hung out at the pool a lot and went on several walks around the area every day. On one of our walks we found this yummy looking Mexican hole-in-the-wall restraunt called, "The Sea Casa". Taylor and I ate there one night and it was delicious! After a long week we headed back to OC for another fun weekend. Friday we hung out with Donna for a little while and ate some delish enchiladas. Afterwards we met Jessica and Mitzie at Yogurtland. It was nice to visit with them, even if it was just for a short time. Saturday we were able to spend some time with some of my favorite women in the world! Delora invited everyone over to her home to enjoy some food and visit. We visited with her and her kids-Melanie, Adam, Marina and Kacie (that are all grown up! I remember when I use to babysit them!), Tiffany and Makayla, Cheryl, Pauline, Harsha and Jean. It was so nice to visit them and for Sage to meet them. They were all so sweet and brought Sage a gift. Saturday night we hung out with Donny, Donna and Kailee. We ate dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, which is one of my favorites. We wish the 3 Sands lived closer so we could spend more time with them. Sunday we went to Sacrament (a spanish branch) and then hung out at Miriam's, had lunch and waited for my dad to pick us up and bring us to the airport. The flight back was not as smooth as the ride there, but Sage did pretty good. Michael Karren picked us up from the airport. We got home around 8 and were all in bed by 9. Overall, it was a nice trip. We really enjoyed spending time with family and friends, but we were ready to be home.

Back to Reality!

We are home, sweet home and happy to be back! Taylor is back at work and busy and Sage and I are trying to get back into a routine and are busy at home unpacking, cleaning, doing laundry, grocery shopping... We had a great time in California, which I will post about once we are all settled back in... We now need a vacation to recover from our vacation! For now here is a picture of our little bug on the swing for the first time. She loved it! She laughed and laughed!

Our little girl...

has crazy hair and loves her daddy!

Our trip so far...

Getting to California was a breeze! Garrett picked us up and dropped us off at the Salt Lake Airport. We got our bags checked in and through security with time to spare. Sage enjoyed watching all the people rushing around. She was an angel on the plane. She fell asleep before take off swaddled in my lap. When she woke up during the second half of our flight she quietly played. When people around us saw her they were surprised and asked where she came from. They commented that they didn't even know there was a baby on the plane. Everyone gooed and gawed over her and called themselves her fan club. When we got to LA we got our car rental, got a bite to eat and headed to Orange County. We stopped by the preschool and then by Donna & Donny's. We got to meet baby Kailee and she is darling. It's fun to think that her and our Sage girl will be good friends. When Donny got home from work we went to Salt Creek Beach. We put our feet in the water and visited. Sage was not a huge fan of the cold water. We took some cute pictures of her on the lifeguard tower. It says, "keep off", but the lifeguard gave us permission to quickly take a picture and then quickly get down. As you can see in the pictures Sage is sitting up so well. Afterwards we planned to get pizza from Costco quickly because then we were headed for San Diego, but it was closed. Plan B was fish and chips in Dana Point, which was also closed with a note saying they were closed due to the power outage. Plan C was a taco place in San Clemente. They were actually open but could only take cash since the power was out. Of course none of us carry cash. Plan D was... somewhere else. I forget we were following the D's. Closed also. Plan E was Islands at the Kaleidoscope. We were headed away from the beach so thought it would be open, but they were also affected by the power outage. Plan F was Buffalo Wild Wings in Lake Forest. They were open but there was a 45 minute wait and we had already been driving around for an hour. Plan G... The Hat! We got yummy pastrami dipped sandwiches and chili cheese fries. After calling my Uncle Timmy to let him know we would be later than we expected we learned the power was out all over the grid. It was out in parts of Arizona, South Orange County all of San Diego and some of Mexico. We arrived in San Diego late Thursday night and stayed with Uncle Timmy and Aunt Mum through Sunday morning. We got to meet Nathan. He is so tiny. He is 2 weeks old and as cute as can be. My dad and the twins came down on Saturday. We barbecued, swam, played Sequence, the guys played horse shoes, and we made the most delicious pizzas... It was fun to be together. Sage loved the pool. Sunday we stopped by Miriam's before going to church and heading to LA. It was fun for her to meet Sage. We had a nice visit with her. Once in LA We returned our rental car and Farmer's had someone pick us up and bring us to the hotel. We are staying at the Hyatt in Thousand Oaks. Taylor takes the shuttle to the Farmer's University every day and Sage and I are stuck at the hotel. She is napping now, but we have been going on lots of walks and to the pool. The pool has been fun. I take her in the water for a few minutes and she sits on the steps and splashes and then we both get out and she sits on her own chase lounge next to me with her toys. I love being in the sun, but put her in the shade. When we start to dry off we go back in the pool, cool off, play and then go and sit out. We do that over and over again. She seems to enjoy it. It is the cutest thing to see her just relax on her chair and play. We're having fun, but hopefully Friday comes quickly so we can go back to Orange County and visit more with family and friends.

California Bound

This time tomorrow we will be in San Diego! Our bags are packed and we are ready to go! Taylor and Sage are sound asleep... I should be too, but I want to write a couple things about our little bug before I forget. This week she tried mango and seemed to enjoy it. She also seemed to enjoy a bite or two of paper. Gross I know, but by the time I noticed she must had already swallowed it. She is sitting up really well. She also has started sucking her thumb! I quickly pull it out every time. She doesn't seem to be sucking it for comfort and doesn't mind when I pull it out. Taylor reminded me that she was sucking her thumb during an ultrasound. I guess it just took her 6 months to find it out here in the world. She is so much fun and is so funny. We are excited for her to meet some new friends and for family to see her this next week. We are excited to get away!

Ever wondered what to do with a crumbled cake?

You have a cake fight of course!

The night before Sage's half-birthday Taylor and I made her cake. As you can see in other pictures it turned out pretty good considering I am no baker. That was take 2. Take 1 did not turn out as good. I had let it cool for a little while, but Taylor says not long enough. Maybe he was right because when I tried to take it out of the pan it crumbled. At first I was kinda sad and Taylor was giving me a hard time about not waiting for it to cool long enough. I threatened to throw the cake in his face and he dared me, so I did. Next thing we knew we were both covered with crumbled cake. It was down our clothes, all over the floor and all over the counters. The pictures do not to justice to the mess. Cleaning up was awful especially since our kitchen sink clogged up and was full of cake crumbled water. I put carrot peelings down the disposal the evening before despite Taylor's warnings not to. I guess once again he was right! Don't tell him I said so though!

A half-birthday celebration!

Yesterday we had a half-birthday celebration for our little bug. It was kind of a last minute thing so not everyone was able to join us, but it was a lot of fun. Grandma Jeanne was down in Salt Lake so was able to join us along with Jill & Lacie, Jodie and her girls Kenzie, Emmie and Kaylee, and our friend Caitlin with her little boy Cole. Taylor was able to come home from work to join us too. We got a half dozen balloons and made half a cake. We put together a banner which displayed a bunch of her pictures. We made party favor treats- Cheerio treats with M & Ms. On the basket we had a sign that read, "Thanks for coming to my "half" birthday! Hope you had a "whole" lot of fun! Please take a treat!" We sang to happy half birthday to her and ate cake and ice-cream. (She loves that song by the way. I think I sang it to her a least a hundred times yesterday. She would laugh and flap her little arms with excitement)Unfortunately she did not get to eat any cake, but she enjoyed watching her older cousins play and also played with her cousin Kaylee who is just 6 weeks older and her lil friend Cole who about 6 weeks younger. Sage is so blessed to have so many people who love her in her life. Taylor and I have decided half-birthdays will become a tradition for our family. Every day is a day to celebrate, but half-birthdays require a little extra celebration!

Happy half-birthday Sage!

I cannot believe our baby girl is 6 months old! We had a fun half-birthday party for her this afternoon,which I will write about and post pictures of later. For now here is her 6 month letter and pictures!

Dear Sage,

Happy Half Birthday! You are ½ a year old! We can’t believe you are already 6 months! Where did the time go? You are so special to us and we absolutely adore everything about you. You are so much fun and are so smart. You are our beautiful girl. This month we moved for the second time in your short life. We moved from Aunt Jodie and Uncle McKay’s house in American Fork to Salt Lake City. You went swimming for the first time. You love the water, but were not happy with the temperature. It was a little too cold for you. After you adjusted you did pretty good, but kept trying to drink the chlorine water. You have recently started playing with your hair as we feed you a bottle and you drift off to sleep. It is the cutest thing. You also have been crossing your feet at your ankles, which is so adorable. While on your tummy playing you stomp you right foot. You know when we are putting you down for a nap or bed and as soon as we walk in your room you start crying. When we lay you down you stomp both your feet up and down. You get so mad. Most of the time you will then turn your head into your blanket and close your eyes; although you are beginning to be a little stubborn and try to fight it. We have had to let you cry a little. You don’t usually cry too long before giving up and going to sleep. You have cried for up to an hour on several occasions. It is sad, but you are exhausted and if we try to comfort you think it is time to play. You still use your binkie and naptimes and bedtime. If it falls out you can pick it up, but have a hard time putting it in your mouth. Your cute little finger gets in the way! You often reach out and play with our face or with mommy’s hair when we are feeding you. You rub your eyes when you are tired. You like to play on your tummy. You try to put everything in your mouth. You like pears, banana and sweet potato. You do not like avocado. You like when we sing “The Wheels on the Bus” (Grandma Jeanne taught you that) and also love the “Itsy Bitsy Spider”. You do not get as excited when you look at yourself in the mirror anymore. You still smile and laugh, but usually get bored and are distracted by everything else around you. You usually fight getting put in your car seat so we try to distract you. You very rarely ever cry in the car anymore. You are wearing size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes, although you still fit in and wear size 3. You are so petite with just a little bit of chub on your legs. You are so healthy. At your 6 month check up you weighed 14 lbs 4 oz and were 26 inches long. You have not once been sick. You love to coo and visit. You always have something to say. You are learning how to scream. You get frustrated when you can’t reach a toy you want. You roll from back to front and from front to back, but never roll over and over to move any distance. When you get excited you flap your arms up and down. With a little help and with someone close by you are starting to sit up for short periods of time. Your great grandma and papa recently moved to Utah from Flagstaff, Arizona and you love getting to know them. We have started doing baby signs with you. You have lots of admirers and are so very loved by everyone who knows you. We love you little bug!

Love,
Mom and Dad

There's no reasoning with an almost 6 month old!

It's 3am and I am wide awake with a snoozing husband by my side and a crazy baby finially back to sleep... Sage must be growing because this is the second night in a row that she has woken up at 1:30 in the morning to eat. And I might add that she had 7 ounces before going to bed. Last night she went right back to sleep after eating. She always does... except for tonight. I couldn't fall back to sleep with all her chatting in the next room so I made the mistake of going and getting her. She was on her tummy looking all around. I brought her to our bed and she would not be quiet. The more I told her to "shhhhh" the more she had to say. Telling an almost 6 month old to "shhhh" isn't very effective. We tried to ignore her and she would scream. Not a crying scream but a scream like she just discovered her little voice could get loud and she loved it! The more she screamed the more excited she would get and the louder it got. Taylor told her it wasnt time to sing. Maybe she'll be an opera singer. I sat her up to have a little chat with her... a little heart to heart. I tried to reason with her but she just bounced around, did her little excited flapping her arm thing that she does and continued to shreak. Taylor told her she was defiant. At least she's happy right? I wish I could say the same. I brought her back to her room expecting her to put up a fight but she took her binkie and went back to sleep. I wish I could say the same about me. Instead I lay here tossing and turning, wide awake but exhausted...