Memorial Day Weekend

Matt, Elizabeth and I had a great Memorial Day Weekend! On Friday night, my mom and dad had a sleepover with Elizabeth, so Matt and I had the night free. We decided that we would go to dinner and a movie. After eating at Spaghetti Mamas, we went to see Indiana Jones. Dinner was great, the movie....not so much. I thought that it was terrible! Even Matt hated the show, which was disappointing because he was looking forward to it. The movie had too much CGI and the story was so stupid. Oh well, it was still a great night because Matt and I were together!


Matt had to work on Saturday, so I went to Gardner Village to check out their Sidewalk Sale. I found a new purse and some bracelets. After shopping, I went to get Elizabeth from my parent's house. When I arrived, she was outside with Papa and Uncle Michael. When she saw me walking up to the house, she pointed and had a huge smile on her face. I absolutely love that girl! We hung out at my parent's house for a while, visiting with my brother, Michael. After lunch, my Mom, Elizabeth and I went shopping at the Fashion Place Mall.

Once Matt got off work, we all headed to Sizzler for dinner. Matt and I had not been there forever, so we were really surprised by the nice salad bar and the yummy food.


On Sunday, my parent's had a BBQ and game night at their house. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips...the works. The hamburgers were delicious! I had Elizabeth try a hot dog and she loved it. I could not get it into her mouth fast enough. She was constantly asking for more. She is definitely not my child...because I would not be caught dead eating a hot dog!






Here is a photo of Elizabeth, playing with her Uncle Bill. He was showing her how to spin a ball on the top of the table. She thought that it was so great!












Elizabeth is always following everyone around. My mom and dad were doing some dishes, so Elizabeth had to follow them into the kitchen to see what they were doing.

Once she was in the kitchen, there was no getting her out. She wanted to be a big-helper and do the dishes with us!





One thing that I know for sure, is that Elizabeth loves her Papa. She follows him around, wants him to hold her and wants to grab his hand and take him outside to play. If he leaves the room, she whines and then runs after him. The poor guy cannot even go to the bathroom without her standing outside the door, banging on it.






Elizabeth has brought so much joy to my little family. Before she was born, I was the youngest...so it has been exciting to have a little baby around. We love to just watch her run around. Many times, at our get-togethers, we have said, "what did we do for entertainment before Elizabeth arrived?" It seems that now-a-days, we are entertained by watching Elizabeth just be her cute self!


On Monday, Matt's family had a BBQ. It was so good to get together with everyone. We don't get to see Adam, Tifani, and the girls very often. It was nice to visit and catch up on everything that is going on. Adam and Tifani are currently looking for houses. It was interesting to hear about all of the places they have looked at. Hopefully, they will be able to find something soon. They are also looking at getting into a Minivan, since their third child is due in September.

I love that Elizabeth is a little older, and bigger now. She is able to interact with her cousins, Kena and Kate. I get so excited when the three of them play together. While we were at Karla and Kelly's house, we put on some music and the three girls were dancing together. If that wasn't cute enough, Elizabeth decided to walk around and give Kena and Kate some kissies. Once the girls received Elizabeth' s kissies, they decided to start kissing back. For a few minutes, the girls just walked around kissing each other. It just melted my heart! I didn't have any cousins around while I was growing up, so I love that Elizabeth has two...with another on the way!

A Visit to Primary Children's Hospital

As most of you know, if you read the post about our day at the park, Elizabeth had a nasty fall while climbing the stairs to the slide. I was worried that she may have a concussion, so I called her pediatrician to learn about any symptoms that I should be looking out for.


When the nurse heard that Elizabeth fell down the stairs and hit her head, she suggested that I take her the Emergency Room to get checked out. I thought that taking her to the hospital was a little drastic since she seemed to be fine. She did not have a bump on her head, she did not have a bruise, she was acting fine. I decided that I would just watch her to see if she started to act any differently. I did not want to drag Elizabeth all the way up to the hospital, spend a day sitting in the waiting room, and spend $75.00 for the co-pay...if she was fine.

We'll yesterday morning, her pediatrician's office called. They were checking with me because they did not see that Elizabeth was admitted to the Emergency Room, and they wanted to see if she was doing okay. When I explained that I thought she was fine, the nurse again suggested that I should take her to the hospital so that she could be checked. They mentioned that head injuries could result in a blood clot and that Elizabeth should have a scan of her brain. As soon as the nurse mentioned a blood clot, we were in the car on the way to the hospital.

When we got to the Emergency Room, they weighed Elizabeth (she is a little over 17 pounds now!) and checked us in to our own room. Within a few minutes, a nurse was in to check on us. After a few more minutes, a nurse practitioner came in to check Elizabeth out. She looked in her ears and mouth, felt her tummy, and looked for any bruising on her entire body. In addition, she felt her head to make sure that there were no soft spots or swelling. She thought that everything looked great but had the doctor come in to take another look.

The doctor was in a few moments later and did all of the same tests. Elizabeth passed with flying colors and we received the great news....Elizabeth was fine! I was so relieved.

Look what I made...

I signed up for a crochet class at Kamille's, which is a little store in Gardner Village. If you have never been there...you need to go. It is so fun, and the owner is an absolute doll. I was so excited to be able to get a night out, while my mom and dad watched Elizabeth.

I saw online that Kamille's was offering a crochet bag class...and I had to sign-up. Any of you that know me, know that I LOVE bags! I have every size and every color and I still buy more. I wasn't even able to see the sample, and I signed up because if it was a bag....I had to have it!

I think that it turned out pretty cute. Especially since it was my first attempt. What do you think?

A Day at the Park

Matt and I took Elizabeth to the park yesterday. This was her first time at the park, so we weren't sure how she was going to take it. We searched all over to find a park that had the child swings because I really wanted to get her on a swing. My mom mentioned that there were swings at the park near her work, so off to Draper we went. We arrived and it was perfect because there were only a couple of other kids in the whole park...and we had the swings all to ourselves.

At first, Elizabeth was not so sure about the swings. She never cried, but she sure was not having fun. She had this weird look on her face and just moaned. We let her just hang there for a moment before we started pushing her.

After a couple of minutes, she really started having fun. She still held on with both hands, but at least she was smiling.

Matt and I took turns pushing Elizabeth on the swings. Matt liked to push her higher and faster than I did, but she handled it great! I really think she had fun. We are going to have to take her to the park a lot more often. I am so happy that she is old enough and big enough to start doing some of these fun activities!

Matt thought it would be a great idea to send Elizabeth down the little kiddie slide. He wanted to see what she would do. When he was in place and had his camera set, I released her and held my breathe. Once she was down, I grabbed her, expecting her to be crying...but she was fine. I asked Matt if he got the photo he wanted, or if I needed to send Elizabeth down the slide again. Matt looked at the screen on his camera, zoomed in on her face and said, "Oh I couldn't do that to her again. She has a look of "Please, God...do not let me die!" on her face". Needless to say, the photo that he got was the only one he would be getting because I was not sending her down the slide again!

Once we were done torturing Elizabeth on the swings and the slide, we let her just run around and play. Matt got some really great photos of Elizabeth in the cute little outfit that Grandma and Papa gave her. They bought it for her to wear last summer and she finally fits in it! I was so excited when I realized that her little Crocs were a perfect match.


Elizabeth gives the best "kissies". If you ask her for a "kissies", she opens her mouth really wide, sticks out her tongue, and plants one on your lips or cheek. It is the best feeling to get one of her "kissies". Sometimes she gets really crazy and will give you five or six "kissies"...one right after the other.

Just before we left, we let Elizabeth just run around. She had so much fun just walking around on the bark. I think she did great. She could really keep her balance.


Not that I want to end this entry on a "downer" but Elizabeth scared me half -to-death while she was climbing on the stairs to the slide. She turned around and fell head-first down the metal steps. She did a forward summersault, hit the top of her head on a step, did another summersault before landing face-down in the bark. I ran and picked her up...but all she wanted was to get back down and play. I am going to keep my eyes on her, but for now she seems to be fine!

I Have Hair!

Last night, Elizabeth discovered that she has hair. It is just a little bit, but it is there...if you look real close. As I was cooking dinner, I noticed that Elizabeth was walking all over the house holding her head. Upon further inspection, I realized that she was pulling the few strands of hair that she has on the top of her head. I had Matt come and see what Elizabeth was up to. He grabbed his camera and got these great shots.

Mama & Me

I entered this photograph into the "Mama & Me" Contest on the TodaysMama.com website, and it is the winner. I just found out today and I am so excited. I thought it was such a great shot of Elizabeth and Me. Matt takes such wonderful photographs. I am so proud of him.

Aunt Marion Remembered...

Today my family sponsored a Catholic Mass in our Aunt Marion's name. Aunt Marion passed away a little while back and it is tradition in our family to have a mass said in their honor. Aunt Marion was a sweet woman. She was soft-spoken and was so kind. I remember going to family reunions at her house, in New York. Boy, did she know how to throw a party. Aunt Marion lived a great life and had a wonderful family. We are so excited to know that she is now with her sweetheart, Cliff. We will miss her greatly but know that she is in a better place.

After the mass, at my grandma's church, we went and fed the baby ducks at my uncle's condo. Then we went to my grandma's condo for dinner. It was nice to be together, and the food was delicious!

Here is another four generation photograph. Pictured is Susan (my mom), Ginamarie (me), Millie (my grandma), and Elizabeth (my daughter).


Now we just need to get some four generation photos with Matt's side of the family. Elizabeth has two great-grandmas and a great-grandpa to be photographed with!


I love this photograph of me with my mom and grandma. I use to pose like this with them, when I was little and say "My best friends!"



Elizabeth with her Papa.

I don't think that my dad could love Elizabeth more. It is so cute to see his eyes light up when she walks into the room. You can tell that he is so proud of her and all of the new things that she does.

That being said, I don't think that Elizabeth could love her Papa any more. She always gets so excited when she sees him. The first thing she does whenever he is around, is takes his hand and drags him on a walk. Papa and Elizabeth share a love for Honey Combs cereal.


This is Elizabeth and Uncle Bill. She loves to sit on Uncle Bill's lap and read stories. He is a wonderful Uncle who would do anything for her. He has taken her a couple of times to see the ducks at his condo community. She would get so excited as the ducks walked around. She loves to point and grunt at the ducks.




Elizabeth with her daddy.

Matt is such a great dad. You can tell that his family is what matters most to him. He is gentle and sweet with Elizabeth...most of the time. Each night he gets Elizabeth ready for bed, reads her a bedtime story, and rocks with her for a few moments in our rocking chair. I love that they have this time together.










Our latest family photograph. Aren't we so cute! I love my little family. I am so grateful to have an amazing husband and a beautiful little girl. I am the luckiest girl in the world to be blessed with such a wonderful life!

Happy Mother's Day

Today was a great day. Matt, Elizabeth and I started out the day by going to church. We decided that we would go to church with Matt's parents. It was great to visit their ward because Matt and I use to go to that ward before we got married, so we were able to see some old friends. Once church was over, we went back to Karla and Kelly's house (Matt's parents) so that we could visit with and give Karla her gift. It was great to spend time with the family. I love that Elizabeth is more mobile and social. She tries to play with Kena and Kate. It makes me so happy to see the three girls together. While the women relaxed, the men (ok...I should say Adam) made us some yummy muffins. I could have eaten all dozen! He did a great job. Thanks Adam!!!

Once breakfast was over, we went outside to get some photos of Elizabeth with her grandma. Karla always takes such good care of her garden. It is a great place to take photos.

I have to take a quick moment to mention what a great mom Karla is. She is so kind and really has treated me like one of her children. I love her so much and could not have asked for a better mother-in-law. One of the things that I will never forget about Karla is the way that she stepped in and took care of Elizabeth when I was hospitalized. Unfortunately, I was admitted to the hospital when Elizabeth was four days old. Matt took care of Elizabeth for the first couple of days all by himself, but when he needed some sleep, Karla took Elizabeth overnight and gave Matt a much needed break. The nights away from Elizabeth were some of the loneliest times of my life. I will be forever grateful to Karla for the kindness and love that she showed my baby girl, when I was not able to take care of her.

Later in the afternoon, we headed over to my parent's house. Matt BBQ'd hamburgers and hot dogs. It was so nice to sit down and enjoy a meal as a family. After the food, we went outside to get a four-generation photograph. I have wanted one for a while and we keep postponing it, so I put my foot down and dragged the group outside.

Elizabeth is so blessed to have so many wonderful grandmas. In my life, I have only met one of my great-grandmas and one of my grandmas. Elizabeth has three great-grandmas, one great-aunt, and two grandmas. Not to mention all of the grandpas and uncles. What a lucky girl!

We ended up taking more than just the four-generation photograph. What can I say, you get me near a camera and I go crazy! I had Matt take photos of Elizabeth with everyone individually, as well as the four-generation group shot. Matt always takes such great photos. I am grateful to have him in my life. He is so talented!



We had cookies and ice cream for dessert...no thanks to me! I was suppose to bring the dessert and totally forgot. Oh well, what you gonna do!! Sorry everyone.

All in all, it was a great day. I got to spend the whole day with my wonderful husband, sweet baby girl and my extended family. What could be better! I also received a Namaste Tote Bag, Namaste Knitting Needle Clutch, and a Namaste pouch from Matt and Elizabeth and a Willow Tree figurine from my parents. It is of a woman holding a little baby. I absolutely love it!

As I sit and reflect on the day, I am humbled to know that Heavenly Father has entrusted me with a beautiful daughter. I love Elizabeth so much. Words cannot describe how I feel. She is such a blessing in my life. She brings so much love and joy. I don't know how I ever survived without her. I love being a mom and I am so grateful that I have been given this opportunity.


I would be selfish, if I did not take a couple of moments to write about my own mom. My mom is so caring and selfless. She would do anything for you, even if it means that she has to go without. She has dedicated herself to her family. You can really tell that family is what matters most to her. While I was on bed rest, she helped me so much. Not only by cleaning and cooking, but by calling and coming to visit. She always wanted to make sure that I was okay. Her visits always brought a smile to my face. She is a great woman. If I can be a tenth of the mother that she is, I will know that I have succeeded. Thanks Mom... for just being you!

Scrapbooking Again!

So it has been a while since I have taken the time to scrapbook. I have missed it!

A couple of months back, I tore apart my scrapbook room so that I could re-organize. I bought plastic totes and decided that I would sort through and finally get control of the chaos that was my scrapbook space. I got rid of a ton of stuff and took inventory of what I own.

Needless to say, while I was concentrating on cleaning my space, I was not doing much to scrapbook. My room is still not done, but I decided that I wanted to create a page or two. I got a list of events together, planned the pages, got my favorite photos printed, and during nap time...this is what I did!.....do you like?


This page features pictures of my darling little girl, with her cousins...Kena and Kate. Matt took these photographs in his parent's backyard. I wanted some photos of Elizabeth with pumpkins (since she was wearing a "Daddy's Little Pumpkin" shirt) so we went to Wal-Mart and bought 12 pumpkins. Some of my favorite photos of Elizabeth were taken on this day.

Girl's Night Out

I have made it a goal this year to pick up on some of the hobbies that I have been interested in, in the past. Ever since Elizabeth was born, it seems that I have not been taking time to develop skills and hobbies that I once use to. I love spending time with Elizabeth (and Matt) and have done little to take time for myself. Every once in a while I will scrapbook, but other than that I have not been crocheting, beading, or doing any embroidery. Well, I came across my Punch Needle supplies the other day and decided to take a class to touch up on my skills.

I went to a Punch Needle Class at Pine Needles. If you have never been to Pine Needles, you need to go. It is a store at Gardner Village in Midvale, Utah. They specialize in quilting, embroidery, cross-stitch, and punch needle. Their website is www.pineneedlesonline.com

Thanks to my mother-in-law Karla, I got a break last night. There were three other people, besides me, in the class. It was so great because we got to really individual attention from the teacher. We made this cute little flower project.


I cannot wait to go back to Pine Needles. On May 13th, I am taking a crochet class. We will be learning a bunch of different borders to crochet on burp cloths and baby blankets.

Elizabeth is 13 Months Old

I cannot believe that it has already been a month since Elizabeth's birthday. I was just getting use to the idea that I have to say Elizabeth is one year old and now I have to say 13 months, when people ask.

Elizabeth is getting more independent and is able to do more things every day. She walks everywhere and even tries to run. She loves to climb on anything. She has figured out how to get on and off of the couch. She climbs up the stairs (has been doing that for a while). She loves to open drawers and cabinets. When she wants you to go somewhere, she will grab your hand and start to drag you. Every time we go to my parent's house, she grabs my dad's hand and tries to take him outside. She loves to watch the cars and walk around in the yard. She loves to play with balls and anything that lights up and plays music. She dances every time she hears music. Matt reads a book to her at bedtime every night and you can tell that she loves it. Her eyes light up and she has a smile on her face the whole time. She loves her bathtub and her favorite foods are sweet potato, chicken, and macaroni and cheese. When she needs a snack, she loves Cheerios and Teddy Grahams.


She currently wears 3-6 month outfits (and does not look like she will outgrow them anytime soon). Her shoes are a size 2 and she is still too small to sit in a forward-facing car seat. She may be small but her personality is huge. She is constantly talking, grunting, laughing, and most importantly smiling. She has not really had "stranger danger" and tries to get everyone to play with her everywhere we go. She will yell and then when the people look at her, she grins the cheesiest grin you have ever seen. She does not smile with just her mouth, she smiles with her entire face. It is the cutest!

As I sat and reflected for a couple of minutes today, I thought about how much joy Elizabeth has brought into my life. It is so crazy to think that someone that has been here for only 13 months can change everything. Matt and I are so happy that Elizabeth has joined our family. We could not image life without her. She is so fun and gives so much love.

A few days with an old friend...

I just spent a couple of days with a good family friend. Mr. Jim Berger was my uncle's co-worker, and became a good friend about fifteen years ago. He use to live here in Utah, but ten years ago he moved to Japan to teach English. He has taught many students, has written a book, and is currently working on having his second book finished. We are so proud of him, and are glad that he was able to visit for a few days.

One of Jim's students was graduating from the University of Utah, so he flew in for the ceremony. He arrived on April 30th and departed on May 4th. It was not a long visit but I got to spend a couple of afternoons with him. One of my most cherished memories from his visit, is watching him help Elizabeth feed the ducks at my uncle's condo. He had a huge smile on his face and you could tell he was really enjoying himself. Elizabeth loved it too! I thought that she would be afraid of the ducks, but she loved them. I think I was more afraid then she was.

Unfortunately, I never thought to bring my camera (Matt is the official photographer), so I will have to post a photo of his last visit, which was in December 2007.

***Jim, if you read this, know that we love you, miss you, and want you to come to Utah again soon...hopefully to stay!