Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Future Mountain Climber?

I don't know if Eliza inherited her Grandpa White's love for Mountain Climbing - but she is sure practicing on every piece of furniture in our house.

It started out with trying to climb out of her crib (actually she did succeed at this) - so we lowered her crib and she still tries and comes pretty close to succeeding! Usually this is the result at the lowest setting of the crib (just imagine the screaming that comes with having a leg stuck up high - it usually happens really early in the morning):

Then we have the climbing up on the couch to look out the window. The couch is soft but not when you try and climb OVER the couch and hit the tile or small bit of carpet below. I've resorted to taking off all the cushions during the day and laying them on the floor for my little girl to jump on all day.

Next we have the kitchen table. Eliza has figured out she can climb up on the chair first and then reach the top of the table. Her favorite thing is to stand up on the table and do a little dance while I'm racing across the room to grab her before she falls off. Smart little girl even knows to push chairs over to the table so she can climb on them (I tried to move the chairs against a wall to prevent the climbing).

We went over to Nicole's to visit her and her darling new little boy Broc and Ellie was much more interested in climbing up the stairs in her house than touching the baby. She actually even managed to come down a few steps by holding onto the railing.

Honorable mentions for optimal climbing surfaces include the entertainment center, ottoman, and storage cubes.

Every time I work out at the gym - I remind myself that I'm just getting myself more prepared to do flying leaps across the house to save my child from whatever high perch she has managed to get onto!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Krispy Kreme is Back!


For all my fellow Arizona Krispy Kreme fans - they are finally opening up one in the valley again!! It's going to be in East Mesa (Superstition Springs) and opens May 13th. I was really excited to see the sign posted when I was driving by the other day. There is just something about those fresh hot glazed donuts. . . Love them!

Boston & Early Morning Workouts

I almost decided to ignore my alarm this morning when it went off before 6 but then I remembered that my dad was running the Boston Marathon this morning. If he can run 26 miles this morning - I should at least get myself out of bed and run 4!

The Boston Marathon is so well organized that we can actually track his progress all morning. If you go to the www.baa.org website - the upper right hand corner has a spot you can click on to track individual athletes and then type in the name or bib number (12936). My dad is running at an 8 minute mile pace right now. Which is awesome! If he keeps on track with that - he'll break his personal marathon record time. We'll be watching his progress and wishing him good luck this morning.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

2 Weeks of Toys

If you haven't checked out the 5minutesformom.com website - you need to! They are having huge toy giveaways right now. Check them out! I'm hoping I win any of the toys they are giving away.

Two Weeks of Toys - Giveaway Event

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Car Wash

What do you when it's 90+ degrees in April? Anything that involves water! Since we don't have a pool and the local splash parks aren't open yet - I had to get creative. Our truck hadn't been washed for a while so I stuck Ellie in her swimsuit (which is now too small on her) and we headed outside. She had fun running under the hose and around the front yard while I did the scrubbing. Too bad it only took 30 minutes. Any ideas on how you keep toddlers busy in this hot Arizona sun? Eliza certainly doesn't care that it's extremely hot outside - she just wants to be outside!


Monday, April 14, 2008

Working Out Again

I've basically been on a hiatus from working out ever since I got pregnant and was too sick to do it. I've been to the gym a few times a week here and there but not consistently since I had Ellie. Pretty crazy to me since I've always been a pretty avid exerciser! I ran cross country all through high school, continued running in college and for a while after and even ran a half-marathon a few years ago. Time is a little more scarce when you have a little one and since the weight came off from the pregnancy pretty fast (not to any of my credit but to the amazing genes I inherited from my parents) . .. I haven't really been too motivated. I'm trying to change that though! My dad signed me up for a 10k race next month when I go home to visit to run with him and my brother. Considering 3 miles is about as far as I go these days - I have a lot of work to do in the next month! I think it's just the motivation I need to get back in shape.

I weighed all the options and finally decided that as much as I hate getting up early - the only way I'm going to have a consistent workout schedule is if I get up an hour before Rob has to leave for work in the morning and get it taken care of them. It was actually great considering the sun was already up and it was in the high 60's here. The gym was very quiet at that time and I liked that I could be in my own zone! I enjoyed having some "me" time to start the day and I've already gotten a lot done today since I was so awake when I got home.

I am looking for some new workout songs to add to my ipod workout mix - any ideas? Also - I'm trying to figure out how use some resistance bands that I've owned for a few years. Does anyone know any good workouts to do with them?

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Little Helper

I was outside watering the plants and trees in our yard on Friday and Ellie couldn't resist helping me. She loves the hose and came in the house completely drenched but she had so much fun - that I just let her enjoy it. Next time I think I'll just put her swimsuit on before we even go out of the house!



Thursday, April 10, 2008

April Showers? Not in Arizona

I keep forgetting that I need to update my blog - although I'm reading everyone else's.

Monday afternoon Nicole invited us to go swimming with all of the Costley's at her parents home. Ellie is terrified of bathtubs but seems to love swimming pools (as long as I am nearby). So we're going to have to spend a lot of time near water this summer when the temps get above 100 in a few weeks!

Tuesday night was Nicole's baby shower which was a good excuse for me to leave Ellie with Rob and go and see some old friends and all the cute stuff that she got for the little guy. I think baby showers are so much fun - which is good since hers was the 3rd one in the last week and a half and I have one more on Saturday!

Ellie and I have been trying out some new parks around Mesa this week. Most of the time it involves me chasing her around while she tries to explore EVERYTHING that she possibly can. I figure that we have to visit the parks often right now before it's too hot to enjoy them. We keep going back to Dobson Ranch park though because they have the ducks to feed (even though they are a little crazy).

I'm also convinced that Ellie could be the stand in for the Energizer Bunny! The latest trick is climbing onto whatever she can think to climb on! She can now get on our couch (and promptly tries to climb over it - I have caught her by her legs numerous times while she is diving off the other side). I walked into the other room to put away laundry that I had just folded to come back to her standing on top of the laundry basket. She climbs up the oven, the entertainment center and onto our chairs in the kitchen. I really can't leave her alone for a second! These were all taken with the camera phone so excuse the poor quality.





And we're starting to make the transition to one nap a day. I was hoping it would make her one nap longer but so far - that hasn't really been the case. She's such a bundle of energy that she can now function on one hour of sleep during the day and be all over the place and be completely happy and content. I finally gave in and pinned a really dark blanket up in her room in combination with her black out curtains so I'm hoping it will encourage a longer nap! All I know is I think those naps were more for me than for her - because I'm a lot more tired with this new schedule.

As you can tell - the one nap a day doesn't always work



Thursday night once again became my favorite night with the return of the Office! Love that show and I'm so glad it's finally back!

Monday, April 07, 2008

My Mom

Today is the 3 Year Anniversary of my mom passing away. Spring Conference always reminds me that it is coming since it was the last weekend that I was able to spend time with my mom. I've come to an even greater appreciation of my mom each year but more especially now that I'm a mother myself and realize all that goes into it! I hope that I can someday be the kind of my mom that she was - because I remember all the fun things that she did with us growing up and how her kids always came first. In her last letter to me - she told me how much she loved being a mother and it was her greatest joy in life. I always think about that when I have hard days and it reminds me to not stress so much about the little things (like a clean house) and enjoy time with Ellie more. It goes hand in hand with Elder Ballard's talk yesterday! So today - Ellie and I are going to do some things that remind me of my mom and just have fun and create some happy memories. And I'm taking the day off from cleaning and cooking and probably answering my phone too. :)


I hate to even use this picture because this is not how I picture my mom. She was in her last stages of cancer at my wedding and very jaundice and retaining water from the disease. But my scanner isn't working right now so this picture will have to suffice for now.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Conference

I have a whole new appreciation for my parents dragging us to the Stake Center as kids to get us to watch General Conference (since it wasn't available on tv). It was a very different experience this year to try and keep Ellie entertained while watching and we were able to do that at home! I am amazed at how much I was still able to feel the spirit though and to hear the talks that I felt were directly to me. And I'm grateful that I was able to record the talks as well so I can go back and listen to them again.

It was wonderful to hear President Monson speak as our prophet of God and to feel that confirmation that he truly is just that - a Prophet! I've always had a great love for him and can vividly recall some of my encounters with him. One of them (that Shanna was able to experience with me) was when we were at BYU and Shanna's parents got us up to President's Box at the BYU Football Game (we really weren't supposed to be there). There were many of the General Authorities up there and somehow we ended up talking to President Monson in the back of the big room. I was surprised at how TALL he was and how friendly he was to us. He proceeded to tell us some stories that I can't even remember but I know he kept making us laugh. Then his cute wife Frances came over and called him "Tommy" and told him to stop talking to us so we could watch the football game. It was cute but we of course wanted him to keep talking to us! And his conclusion in conference today to love our spouse and children.

I had tears streaming down my face through Elder Ballard's talk that I'm sure touched all of the mothers out there. It hit me even stronger to realize that only 3 years ago - that sweet man was giving my own mom a blessing while she was in her last stages of cancer. I know Elder Ballard was inspired to give that talk to Mothers and remind us of so many things. I know I have a whole new perspective of my role and new goals for myself so I can enjoy the moments with my kids and not worry so much about things that aren't as important.

And Elder Bednar's reminder of the power of prayer and how we can make it more powerful and meaningful to us. Ellie was playing with one of her really loud toys and even with the chaos going on, I was still hit so strongly with the spirit and I know that is a talk I need to study more in depth in a more quiet hour.

Isn't it funny how fast Conference seems to go by now that we are older? I still remember as a kid that it seemed like each session was 6 hours long. Anyway - what were your favorite talks?

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Painted House

We finished painting the front of our house in between conference sessions today. Here are some before pictures of our house (taken two years ago when we had our landscaping done):








Rob picked out the trim color of Stealth Jet. It's a really dark contrast between the tan paint on the main part of the house but I think it'll grow on me! And it really didn't take too long or too much money to paint the trim so we could always change it at some point. I'm just glad that our peachish color that was on the main part of the house is gone! I always hated it and the old trim color was a nasty shade of brown.