The Browning Bunch

Sweet Tooth

2012-02-14T15:23:00.000-08:00

My mom sent us a package for Valentine's Day that had a cute little dog for Candon, some candy for Kyle and me and some beautiful cards made by my brothers and parents. As I finished pulling everything out of the box I looked over and saw that Candon had something in his mouth. I reached in and pulled out a hug that he had snatched and quickly shoved the whole thing in his mouth before I had even seen that he had it. With his gums and jaw he had squished down on it as hard as he could and got his first taste of chocolate! Needless to say, he was not happy with me when I took it away!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Seven Months Old

2012-02-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

My sweet little boy,
You are becoming more fun to play with every day! Lately you have been exploring different things you can do with your face - currently you are doing funny things with your tongue and making funny faces! For a couple days you were pretending to yawn and it was so funny when it made you actually yawn! It is fun to watch you play with your toys! Sometimes you concentrate very hard and we wonder what your little imagination is stirring up! It is very obvious that you are a boy in your choice of toys - you prefer your cars and balls most.

You still always prefer people over your toys and will drop whatever you are doing to come across the room and play with us. You are extremely fascinated in anything that has to do with feet and shoes (and love playing with socks whether they are on or off someone's feet).

Currently you are working on crawling - you can do it, and usually start off by crawling, but then go back to scooting as you can scoot faster than you know how to crawl. Recently you discovered how to get from laying to sitting using the help of a toy and every once in awhile can do it without the help of anything. You are also a little climber and love to climb over pillows, toys and especially mom and dad.

Naps are becoming better, and every once in awhile you will even let mommy put you down in your bed and you will play for a couple minutes and fall asleep on your own without any crying. You still wake up to eat a couple times during the night, but sometimes you will surprise us and only wake up once!
You absolutely love singing, especially when mommy will sing and dance around the room with you. The piano and guitar are also favorites of your and it is funny to watch you be a one man band as you play a few notes on the keyboard, turn around to strum a couple notes on the guitar and continue to go back and forth between the two.

You have also been working on your babbling and know that certain sounds mean certain things, and so you make certain sounds when you want specific things. You have also started saying "mama" when you want me and it melts my heart every time. (I think daddy is jealous, so we will have to start working on "dada") Your understanding is also increasing, and you have started coming to us when we say "come here Candon" without us having to make any gestures, as well as understanding many other things we say (our favorite is still when we ask for kisses!!).

We love you so very much!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Date Nights

2012-02-05T21:31:00.000-08:00

Date nights have changed since Candon joined us, so we have just had to get a little more creative! Last week Candon and I built a blanket fort in our front room for when Kyle got home and we ate dinner in our fort (we made delicious homemade brisket in homemade barbecue sauce on homemade buns with homemade sweet potato fries - the only thing we didn't make was the carrots!) and afterwards watched The Big Bang Theory in our fort (I never thought I would have a "guilty pleasure show," but I can't help but love this show, it is so funny).

This past Friday we got a babysitter for an hour and Kyle and I bundled up and went and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows in the cool fire pits/features at Riverwoods Mall!

The love of a baby

2012-01-25T10:49:00.000-08:00

As much as I miss having a little baby, Candon becomes more fun every day and I love his sweet little personality.

Yesterday I was sitting by him on the floor while he was playing and he wanted me to pick him up. As he wasn't crying I thought I would try to interest him in one of his toys so that he would continue playing. I picked up his rings and started to rattle them, and what was Candon's reaction? He looked up at me as if to say "I don't think so mom" and proceeded to take the rings out of my hands and without even looking at them set them on the ground and grabbed my hand to continued to try to get me to pick him up!

We also love that he knows what kisses are now, and will slightly open his lips and bring his face to ours when we ask him for a kiss! A couple days ago as I was sitting down with Candon in my lap I didn't even realize that I was making a noise with my lips that resembled a "kissing noise" until Candon interpreted it as such and turned around to give me a kiss! Of course I couldn't just let it go at that, so I then purposely repeated the sound and he turned in for a kiss again. I think our favorite though is when he, as his own idea, grabs our faces and comes in to give us a kiss! I love that my little boy loves kisses and will be really sad when the day comes that he is embarrassed to give his mother a kiss!

Homemade Baby Food!!

2012-01-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

After Candon turned six months old we decided we should probably make solids more than an "every-once-in-awhile" thing as at this age breastfeeding no longer provides all of the nutrients he needs. Since he has worked his way up to eating about two jars of baby food a day, I thought I would try to make it healthier and cheaper by making some of my own!

So far we have been feeding him only vegetables (other than a tiny bit of prunes mixed in with his cereal to prevent constipation) as to get him to like vegetables before introducing him to the sugars of fruits. I made up a batch of carrots first and Candon liked them even better than the store bought ones, so I was hopeful.

We finally found a food Candon does not like however when I made green beans (which is funny as he loved the green beans from the store). Luckily baby food freezes really well, so I will have to try mixing it with other vegetables once he enough accustomed to solids to try mixes!
My next two adventures are to try making the yams and avocados I bought on sale into food for him!

Reflections

2012-01-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to not really set New Year's resolutions - and not because I decided to not try to be ambitious, but I already have a lot of goals that I recently set in my 100 Things To Do Before Candon Turns 1. I decided to try to set anything on top of this would not only be repetitious and burn me out, but it would undermine these goals that I have set. With that thought, my New Year's "resolution" is a re-determination to continue on with this list of goals that I set.

Now that I am a little over a fourth of the way through the time period set for this list, it is also a time to see how I am doing with it. The numbers show that I have only completed 17 items, which is less than the fourth of the way point that I should be hitting. However, I do have 19 others in progress, and am still as determined as ever! I think most importantly though has been the change in me. While I have always been a person to set goals, my ambition and life in general was slowly veering away from where it should be before I made this list - that reflection upon what I needed to do to improve and setting very measurable goals has helped me more than a list can reflect. I am setting my priorities better, I have spiritually and mentally felt better and every aspect of my life (even those things that I didn't set goals for) I have unconsciously been trying to improve.

A few things that I have learned:

making the bed every day is a lot harder than I thought - I have had to restart that goal over many times
while not being online for three days was a little more difficult than I thought, it was for little things like looking up a phone number, finding a recipe and looking up information when I run into something I don't know
after coming back to the social world after three days, I really didn't miss anything...there wasn't anything to catch up on
I am also not very good at taking a picture everyday
I probably should have Kyle read my list - he is only slowing being informed of why I have been doing some things and being told all the time to remind me to do things (I am probably starting to confuse him and he feels like he has a mental list of things to remind me of that he can never remember)

In other news, Candon is moving everywhere now. I can't believe how big my baby is getting, and while it is so very fun to play with him now, it is sad how quickly time has gone by!

Six Months Old

2012-01-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

Dear Little Candon,
I know I say it all the time, but I can't believe how quickly time goes by. You are becoming so smart and independent, you definitely aren't a little baby anymore. Every day you amaze me with the new things you learn: you know that if a toy is on a blanket, you can just pull the blanket to get it, you reach your arms out now when you want to be picked up, and even know to reach your arms out toward the specific person you want, you know when you are sad to go to mom and when you want to get out of doing something to go to dad and you know if you want extra attention all you have to do is snuggle into my shoulder or look into my eyes and babble (it gets my attention away from whatever I am doing every time).

(who can resist that sad little face you make?)

Knowing you have so much of my attention, you don't seem to have much desire to move, so it will probably be awhile before you are crawling. You roll from your stomach to back and back to stomach. Because you still don't like being on your stomach, you hardly do the latter though, instead rolling almost all the way to your tummy to get what you want and quickly rolling to your back without actually having to put your tummy to the ground. You know you can move around though, and knowingly will turn around on your tummy on those rare occasions where you stay on your tummy for more than two seconds. We have a feeling you are going to be a little climber though as you love climbing on us - you can pull yourself from sitting to standing while holding on to daddy and me, and from your knees to standing on everything else, you also squirm your way around whether it is off of our laps or to get over an obstacles and are good at getting out of the funny places/positions that daddy puts you.
You absolutely love your ability to sit up and have become really good at reaching and moving around while sitting; only falling over on rare occasions when trying to get something behind you, or trying to look up at the ceiling behind you.
Your fine motor skills are also improving a lot, you can pick up items as small as cheerios, but have yet to figure out how to maneuver them into your mouth. It is fun to watch you lately as you carefully watch your hands as you try movements with your wrists and fingers.
You also love all of the new flavors of food! You haven't even once made a face or tried to spit anything out. We started first with rice cereal and oatmeal and then moved on to vegetables letting you try squash, peas and carrots. Your favorite seems to be the peas, but it isn't mine and daddy's favorite as it gives you really stinky gas!
Your sippy cup is also a favorite - you love to rub your gums on the rubber top and enjoy being able to hold it up and drink out of it all by yourself!

We love playing with you and trying to make you laugh. We blow raspberries and tickle you at every chance you get (and recently you have learned to blow raspberries on us too!) It is fun to watch you make yourself laugh too - you think you are so funny.

You are definitely 100% boy; you love roughhousing, cars and hearing and making silly sounds. You are quickly learning the physics of balls and love it when we roll a ball into your lap.

We love that you continue to be such a smiley, social little boy. Lately you play a game where you look at someone and smile, then pretend to be shy and duck into my shoulder, then look up and start smiling and playing again. These last couple of days I have seen you actually be shy a couple of times as you turn and hold out your hands to me to get away from others. It makes me feel special that you want me, but I hope you go through much stranger anxiety!

You are continuing to set a better sleep pattern, and if today is an indication as to what six months hold, I am so excited! I woke up by myself this morning as you slept in and you have taken two naps that are almost two hours (instead of only 30 minutes), which have made you an even happier baby than you already are!

We love you so very much and love the little personality that you are developing! Happy half birthday Candon!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

The many faces of Candon

(for all those that say you never see him cry, he does cry sometimes, especially when I won't let him eat the camera :)

Doesn't he look like he is modeling with these faces and the piercing blue eyes?

Candon's first Christmas

2011-12-31T20:10:00.000-08:00

Christmas is much more exciting with Candon, even if he didn't understand most of it! Santa Claus brought him the stackable rings, as well as magnetic letters, a toothbrush, a hot wheels car and baby food! The toothbrush is his favorite, he loves chewing on the bristles and then turning it around and chewing on the rubber handle!

We let Candon open his own gifts, which took a long time and he was more interested in the wrapping paper than what was on the inside, but he opened them none the less!

All three of us had been sick for the few days previously (especially Candon who had high fevers, a cold and an ear infection), so we were grateful that we were feeling much better on Christmas!

That morning Kyle made red and green crepes and we had fruit and whipped cream to put inside!

We wanted to make the day memorable for Candon as well, so decided to try squash! While we thought he would question it since it is a lot different from baby cereal, he didn't even pause and wanted more!

We were also blessed to be able to attend church and hear wonderful speakers!

He makes such funny faces lately when we take out the camera! (and stops smiling and doing cute things to just look at the camera!) The cute hat is from his Aunt Shannon and the rocking chair from his Great-Grandparents Cook!

A Browning 2011

2011-12-25T17:43:00.000-08:00

(hum the tune of 12 days of Christmas is your head :)

Weeks in Everett

Goals (from this post) completed before Christmas

10AM
Storytime at the library

Months Pregnant

Months of school

Strands of lights

6th

grade teaching

Months with Candon

4:11 PM
Birth

Browning members

Zebra Finches

Christ our Savior

We testify that Christ is our Savior; that he was born to set the example for us and to provide an Atonement by which we may return to live with our Father in Heaven. We are so very thankful for this season dedicated to celebrating him. Our little family is so very blessed to have each other and for all of the adventures we have together. We want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Stoddard Family Annual Christmas Party

2011-12-20T22:01:00.000-08:00

Every year my mom's brothers who live in Utah and my grandparents from Idaho get together for the Stoddard Christmas party! Kyle and I have been lucky and been able to go to a couple of them!

After lasagna and delicious desserts made by my aunts, there was a wonderful talent show.

Guessing which Christmas list belongs to which person.

White elephant gifts for the children.

The traditional singing of Twelve Days of Christmas with pictures made by my grandma.

The reading of the Christmas story from Luke by my grandpa while my grandma plays "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plane."

And of course spending time with family (and the cutest little kids in the world)!

Spoiled for my birthday

2011-12-19T23:19:00.000-08:00

Kyle got exactly 22 white daisies and one red gerbera daisy to celebrate turning 23!

Candon and I took Kyle lunch at work and he surprised me by getting off early! At home he made me a red velvet cake (which I had never had before, but might be my new favorite).

He dripped vanilla frosting and caramel over it!

He had gotten a babysitter for that night and we went out to Cafe Zupas for dinner and went and saw Sherlock Holmes in the theater! (I hadn't been to the movie theater in almost a year between being pregnant and not able to sit for very long and having a baby that can't sit through a movie, which is what made going to the movie special, plus I got to cuddle in the back with Kyle!!)

Five Months Old

2011-12-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

My little cutie-pa-tootie,
I can't believe it has been another month already! It is true that time only continues to speed up, so remember to never miss the present by trying to hurry the future!
As you lay here in my arms, drifting off to sleep, I can't help but stare in amazement as you are so perfect. We are told all of the time what beautiful big blue eyes; dark, long eyelashes; and big, warming smiles you have, and we couldn't agree more. You have the cutest chubby cheeks, a forehead that expresses all of your emotions, and the cutest little round nose.
While you still prefer human interaction more than anything else, you now love to play with your feet, which is not only extremely cute, but allows us a few minutes to get things done!

You still love to go outside, and no matter how fussy you are we can bundle you up and take you out and you are immediately happy. You have even learned to not care about going over bumps in the stroller because being outside is more important to you.
Right after you turned four months you started rolling over, but became frustrated with yourself, so wouldn't even try for awhile. Now you are a rolling pro and it is hard to even get a picture of you on your tummy because you now know that you can immediately roll over to get out of tummy time. For the rare occasions when you stay on your tummy, you can now move around so much - you can turn in circles to the right and left and have even started pushing your bum in the air which causes you to scoot yourself backwards.
You are continuing to get so strong and are even beginning to sit up. With a little help or something to motivate you, you can sit with hardly any forward lean!

Your favorite things right now are pushing the keys on the keyboard, carrying the keys to get the mail, the feet on you very hungry caterpillar, your beanie baby dog, the blue gloves that your Grandma Hanson sent you and paper. Any paper that you can see you demand to have.

The number I typically make to celebrate each month describes you very well right now: eat everything in your path, and sneakily take any paper out of mom's hands.

One of your daddy's favorite things right now is all of your sounds - you are very much a little boy who laughs at funny sounds and makes your own. It is fun to hear you growl, especially when we growl and you growl back at us.
Mommy's favorite thing is how cuddly you are. We are sleep training you, but sometimes she just can't put you down in bed because she can't resist snuggling with you. It is so endearing how you put your hand on her face while you fall asleep and if it falls you immediately try to find it again even with your eyes closed to make sure that she is there.

We love you so very much and are so grateful that you are our son!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Rice Cereal

2011-12-07T21:51:00.000-08:00

At Candon's four month appointment his doctor said that I didn't have to start feeding him solids yet, but that I needed to before his six month appointment and gave me the following signs to look for to know when he was ready:

sits up with only a little bit of support

holds his head up really well (which he has been doing for a long time)

opens his mouth when a spoon is brought to it

shows interest in our food

starts wanting to eat more often

At four months Candon showed absolutely no interest in our food, so my plan was to wait until one to two weeks before he turned six months. This past week however he watches ever single bite we take from the plate to our mouths and always reaches for it, plus he shows all of the other signs, so we decided it was time to try baby cereal. Last night we made a tablespoon that was fairly diluted (to see how he would handle it first before making it thicker). From the very first bite he loved it - never gagging, trying to spit it out or making weird faces even once. He is a boy who loves his food, and just wanted more. About halfway through the tablespoon we thickened it up a little bit and he had no problem with it - just ate a few more bites and was full, so simply just didn't open his mouth for more.

Here is his reaction - sorry it is blurry!

Setting up the Christmas tree

2011-12-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

Dressed in our pajamas and listening to Christmas music, the three of us set up our Christmas tree! Having Candon with us seems to make all of our traditions so much more wonderful!

Candon is very proud of himself for being able to reach the lowest branches, but is continually frustrated with the fact that he can't quite get them into his mouth to chew on them.

I know I shouldn't put feelings into materialistic items, but every year I can't help but express my love for my beautiful Christmas tree! Living in a different apartment this year it was a little bit trickier finding a place to put it, and as usual it looks really big for a small apartment, but it is so much fun to turn on the lights at night and sit on the couch drinking hot chocolate! I have a feeling it will be awhile before I can put decorations on the lower branches again!

The Perfect Candidate for Black Friday Shopper: Candon

2011-11-26T11:51:00.000-08:00

Has a constant supply of warm milk to keep him warm and full while waiting in line.
If he drinks too much of that milk and needs to use the restroom, he doesn't even have to leave the line to do so (and no one will judge him badly because of it).
And mainly: of his free will and choice (and even without an alarm clock) started his day happy at 4:30 am.

Too bad I decided not to join the black Friday crowds this year, so he didn't get to use his skills. Other than there not being anything we really needed, I decided against waiting in line so I could sleep, but my potential Black Friday shopper thought otherwise.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2011-11-20T19:30:00.000-08:00

My second favorite thing about the Christmas season is all of the lights!

On Friday night we went to the lighting of the Shops at Riverwood - Jon Schmidt was there playing the piano, they were handing out glowsticks to everybody and we walked around looking at all of the beautiful lights!

And of course I had to take Candon to see Santa Claus!

Celebrating every moment

2011-11-19T21:56:00.000-08:00

Nothing is too insignificant to celebrate! I am so very blessed to be with Kyle and love it when he spoils me! Happy 32 month anniversary sweetheart!

Always Learning and Growing

2011-11-18T13:03:00.000-08:00

It seems Candon is learning something new every day lately. Yesterday it was putting his foot in his mouth, today, it is fake coughing! I probably encourage the latter a little too much by mimicking his fake coughs :)

My favorite as of late: going to bed at 8 without crying for more than a couple minutes!!

11-11-11

2011-11-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

~My Thoughts~

Today Candon rolled over for Kyle! I am really sad I missed it (although grateful that Kyle was watching him so I could get a little more sleep). The poor baby received shots at the doctor's today, so I am just going to have to wait to put him on his tummy and see him roll until tomorrow when his legs are healed

Candon's head is slightly elevated on one side, so as a precaution we need to take him to a cranial specialist (he is actually a plastic surgeon who specializes in cranial surgery...). It breaks my heart that I have an appointment set up at Primary Children's hospital for my little son. Hopefully it will fix itself and at the most he will only have to wear a helmet and not have to have surgery. Keep him in your prayers!

Lately I have decided many people don't try to watch out for others - from things as simple as not waiting your turn at a stop sign to charging me $112 dollars to take a few rocks out of my car...

I understand the purpose of word verification online (I am glad they try to protect us from malware), but they really belittle me sometimes. I have run across many of them that I have no idea what the letters are! The other day I ran across one that had a square root sign and subscript - I thought I knew the computer, but how in the world am I supposed to get those symbols for a word verification? (my preference is ones that actually have real words or that ask you to solve a simple math problem - those are the things they teach you in school, not how to decipher letters and numbers that are blurry and intertwined...)

I walked in to the store today to the smell of cinnamon - I love Christmas time!!

Four Months Old

2011-11-09T16:11:00.000-08:00

My Dear Candon,

I can't believe I am the mother of a four month old! You are no longer my little newborn - you are very smart and have your own little personality(you always know exactly what you want). Whenever you see older children you kick off, trying desperately to get to them because you want so badly to go and play with them. You are still very social and prefer human interaction over doing anything else.

Physically you are getting so strong! You can sit up with very little support and while you are lying down you can bring your head up with your abs to look around you. You would much rather sit up than lay down as you love to watch everything that is going on around you.

You can support your entire body with your legs and if we stand you up to the coffee table or the couch you can keep yourself standing.

You still don't like tummy time, but we have learned a few tricks to get you to tolerate it for five minutes. When you first wake up in the morning we give you naked tummy time before getting you ready for the day.

When you wake up from your first nap we give you tummy time on your pile of ads - you love to crinkle the paper!

Then at night during your bath we lay you mermaid style in your bath chair for a few minutes so you can strengthen your back as you crane your neck to see the shiny faucet.

You hand control has improved a lot - it is easy for you to grasp and hold your toys. One of your favorite toys right now is your cow rattle.

And they all end up at your mouth!

You also still suck on your hands all the time - your dad and I have given up trying to take them out of your mouth and hope that it is just a long phase you are going through.

You love your daddy so much and whether he is paying attention to you or not, you sit and smile at him! It is funny sometimes how much you are like him even at four months old! He found another show that you like to watch - his current favorite: Top Shot.

While you still don't really like being in the car, when it is light outside and I move the carseat cover, you are now tall enough to look out the window which entertains you for a little while and means less screaming!

You still love being cuddled, and you really love your blankets. After a few really bad nights of sleep (one of which you were up almost every 15 minutes), we decided to try sleep training. It was hard for me to listen to crying, but you were really good and never cried for more than an hour. We have seen a lot of improvement as you sleep so much better now!

It is amazing to me how much you understand, and we are beginning to understand you a little as you are really good at changing your tone and volume of voice according to what you want and how you are feeling. It is fun to hear you discover the different things your voice can do and recently you have even begun to explore a couple of your consonant sounds (you think the hard "g" is so funny!).
About three weeks ago you also began giving high 5's! Whenever any body puts up their hand and says "high five," you put your hand to theirs!

You are such a happy, fun little boy! We love you so much!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

100 Things To Do Before Candon Turns 1

2011-11-08T16:46:00.000-08:00

(Thanks to Emily at One Lovely Life for all of her inspiration for this!)

I decided to make a goal list that is a spin on the "101 Things to Do in 1001 Days" project. It took me a lot longer to make the list than I thought it would, but I have put a lot of thought into it and should be able to finish it!

November 7th, 2011 - July 9th, 2012

Family

1. ~~Send out family Christmas Cards (complete with family picture)~~ completed 12/20/2011

2. Finish reading the Book of Mormon as a Family - in progress

3. Go on a hike together

4. ~~Build a blanket fort~~ completed 1/27/2012

5. Go camping

6. Visit some place new

7. Go ice skating

8. Build a snowman

9. ~~See a movie in the theater~~ completed 12/19/2011

10. Float in the Great Salt Lake

11. Have 5 new couples over for Family Home Evening - in progress

12. Create a new family tradition

13. ~~Complete some type of 12 days of Christmas activity~~ completed 12/25/2011

Personal

14. Write on our blog every day for a month

15. Read through entire camera manual

16. Practice piano atleast 3 times a week for a month - in progress

17. Read atleast 25 books - in progress (8/25)

18. Begin a 365 day photo challenge at stick to it religiously for atleast two months - in progress

19. ~~Do not go online for 3 consecutive days~~ completed 1/10/2012-1/12/2012

20. Write a poem

21. ~~Attend a lecture or seminar~~ completed 1/19/2012

22. Give a sincere compliment every day for a week

23. ~~COMPLETE a crossword puzzle~~ completed 1/6/2012

24. ~~Buy a pair of boots~~ completed 11/12/2011

25. Relearn guitar basics

26. Make a new close friend

27. Get a Utah Driver’s License (this is long overdue…[I promise my license isn’t expired though])

28. Make a bucket list - in progress

Spiritual

29. Finish reading the biography of President Monson - in progress

30. ~~Read~~ ~~Daughters in My Kingdom~~ completed 12/15/2011

31. Memorize the Relief Society Theme

32. Visit 3 temples I have never been to

33. Read the Doctrine and Covenants Start to Finish - in progress

34. ~~Have family prayer and scripture study ever day for a month~~ completed Jan.2012

35. Index 1,000 names - in progress (740/1000)

36. Read the entire October General Conference Ensign - in progress

37. Read the entire April General Conference Ensign

38. Finish ordinances for the family names we printed - in progress

Health and Fitness

39. Exercise atleast four days a week for a month - in progress

40. Lose the rest of my baby weight

41. Get to a healthier state than I was when I got pregnant

42. Go an entire week without eating any junk food

43. Go on a walk every day for a week

44. ~~Get new medical insurance~~ completed 12/1/2011

45. Go to bed before 10 ever weekday for two weeks

46. Double the number of times I have used our Wii Fit - in progress

Kyle

47. ~~Make Disc Golf Towel with his name~~ completed 12/9/2011

48. A small surprise for him every day for two weeks

49. Have atleast 25 pages of our story written down

50. Make a meaningful birthday gift for him

51. Plan and take him on thoroughly planned date to commemorate our first date

52. Let him teach me how to shoot

53. Convince him to do my “one week without junk food” goal with me

54. Spend an entire day centered around Kyle

55. Practice Mario Kart a little so I can actually be a fun person to play against - in progress

Candon

56. ~~Sacrament time book~~ completed 12/22/2011

57. Quiet book

58. Have photos of Candon printed - in progress

59. ~~Take a day to give Candon 100% of my attention~~ completed 1/10/2012

60. ~~Homemade baby food~~ completed 1/17/2012

61. Baby-proof the house - in progress - phase 1 (ground level) completed

62. Make a wall decoration for the nursery

63. Finish atleast 5 pages of his scrapbook

64. Sew a vest onesie for church

65. Take him to atleast one museum

66. Sign us up for a mommy and me swim class

67. Plan a cute party for his 1^st birthday

Food and Cooking

68. ~~Learn how to cook with quinoa~~ completed - 4 recipes made (1 even made for guests)

69. Don’t eat out for a month - in progress

70. Make homemade bread

71. Make 5 freezer meals to have on hand for busy nights

72. ~~Christmas treat plates to give to people~~ completed 12/16/2011

73. ~~Try a new restaurant~~ completed 12/17/2011

74. Use a new spice

75. Make a cake using fondant

76. Make noodles from scratch

77. Learn how to make sticky rice - in progress (made a sweet sticky rice, now to make just a normal sticky rice)

Emergency Preparedness

78. Create list of what needs to be in our 72-hour kits - in progress

79. Finish 72-hour kit

80. Create a 3 month supply of food

81. Create a 2 month supply of water - in progress

82. Update car emergency kit

Crafts and Sewing and Projects

83. ~~Make stockings~~ completed 12/24/2011

84. Sew an apron

85. Make 50 homemade cards (to have on hand for use for a variety of occasions)

86. Fix holes in couch cushion

87. Make couch cover

88. Make a baby shower gift

89. Buy or make some type of art for the bathroom wall

90. ~~Better organize important papers~~ completed 12/15/2011

91. Host a successful mother’s group

Home and Cleaning

92. ~~Establish a schedule of weekly chores~~ completed 1/2012 (now to stick to it....)

93. Vacuum the car

94. Deep clean the kitchen

95. ~~Deep clean the bathroom~~ completed 1/19/2012 (I even cleaned out the drains!)

96. Deep clean and organize the linen closet

97. ~~Organize mine and Kyle’s closet~~ completed 1/2/2012

98. Make the bed every morning for 21 consecutive days (hope to develop a habit…) - in progress (10/21)

99. Clean the windows (including the window sills and blinds)

100. Complete everything on the list and be good at updating it!!!!

last updated 2/07/2012

The sound of laughter

2011-11-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

Candon's laughter never ceases to make me smile!

Candon's 1st Halloween

2011-10-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

While we decided not to take Candon trick-or-treating this year (it will be a long time before he is eating candy, and we definitely don't need it), we have been enjoying the holiday and adding Candon to our developing traditions.

Kyle's mom sent us a deer outfit for Candon, so we went as a family of deer to our ward Halloween party. (Kyle even learned to sew for this - he made our tails and his mittens - we had forgotten to put our mittens on for the pictures, but they had cute hoof prints)

Last night we carved pumpkins, Candon mainly just watched.

What is this?

I think I will eat it...

Every year I am amazed by Kyle's creativeness and skill with carving pumpkins (he just picks it up, goes to work and is done in just a few minutes). I couldn't think of what to do and while Kyle suggested I just do a normal pumpkin face, I didn't feel like I could just do a face after Kyle's masterpiece. It might not be much, but I am proud of my witch's hat and bats.

Today I put Candon in an orange shirt and overalls - it was too cute to not take pictures!

One Year Ago Today...

2011-10-31T10:54:00.000-07:00

Candon,

One year ago today your father and I found out we were pregnant with you! It was early on a Sunday morning, your dad was still asleep and I was trying not to get my hopes too high as we had been wanting you to join our family for a little while. I paced outside of the bathroom waiting for the pregnancy test to register - scared that merely by looking I would cause it to be negative. It was hard for me to believe that it was positive (and later that week I went and bought a different type of pregnancy test just to make sure). I thought about coming up with a cute way to tell your father, but was too excited and quickly went in to tell him the wonderful news! Our lives have been centered around you ever since, and we wouldn't have it any other way. We love you so very much and can't believe how blessed we have been for the miracle that our Heavenly Father has given to us.

Bountiful Baskets

2011-10-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

This past week I decided to do a few new things:

1. I joined Google+ - verdict: I think I have only been on it the one time I signed up, so it must not have been that exciting

2. I joined Pinterest - verdict: I am not sure that this was a good idea as it is very addicting, but I am getting great ideas and am now more motivated to be crafty and creative (although I am afraid my craftiness will turn out to be like everyone else's as we are all liking the same ideas...)

3. I made homemade Butterfingers (this ties in with #2 as this was where I got the idea) - verdict: they were amazing! I think the trick is to let the inside layer sit for over 24 hours to make them flaky and taste like the real thing

4. I got a Bountiful Basket (it is a community pitch in to get a basket of fresh fruits and vegetables) - verdict: I was so excited to see all of the beautiful fruits and vegetables! From my estimate it is cheaper than buying the same produce at the store and it makes me feel healthy having all the variety in my refrigerator!

Isn't it a beautiful sight?

(now if I could only cut out more of the unhealthy parts of my diet...)

Around the world in under 80 days

2011-10-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I made Paraguayan food to surprise Kyle (he went on his mission to Paraguay). I made milanesa, arroz con queso and that night Kyle showed me how to make tortillas the way they do in Paraguay (they are more like a mix between pancakes and scones, and we Americanized them a little by putting chunks of cheddar cheese in them - they were so good!). The next night I made French Onion soup, and then made orange chicken and fried rice the night after that (I thought it looked so beautiful as I packed leftovers for Kyle's lunch that I just had to take a picture)

The next day I went to Sunflower market to buy apples and saw that their couscous wasn't a bad price, so decided I would try my hand at a new ingredient. I looked up some recipes and thought it would be fun to make it "authentic" (as well as me and my lack of a few ingredients could) so made a Moroccan couscous salad and pastilla.

Kyle made a comment on how we were going around the world in less than 80 days, and so I have taken it as a challenge to try to make a dish from as many different countries as I can come up with!

Since then I have made stuffed Manicotti for Italy and a Pierogi casserole for Canada.

Tonight we had leftovers because our fridge was starting to get filled with all the delicious food I have been making, but I have to come up with what I am going to do for the next couple of days!

What are your favorite dishes from other countries?

What We Have Been Up To

2011-10-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

Kyle is continuing to go to school and do research. He also recently took a hunter's education class with a couple of other guys from our ward and wishes he had time to actually go hunting before elk season ends in a couple of days.

He also has been working on his wood working skills by making shelves for our closet and making a toolbox for Candon [he couldn't have a girly basket holding his son's diapers :) ].

Candon enjoys playing with toys now, although he would much rather interact with people, so the toys only entertain for so long. He also really likes eating his hands lately - sometimes to the point that I have to keep his hands away from his mouth for him to talk to me. It also makes it hard for him to sleep as he wants his hands, so gets mad when he is swaddled, so won't fall asleep, but if we give him his hands, his hands keep him awake - luckily he gets tired enough and eventually either falls asleep with his hands out or lets us swaddle him. Since he now knows how to use his hands, it isn't just his fists he puts in his mouth, and he will shove his fingers so far back that he gags himself. We are working on getting him to keep his fingers away and hope that this phase is short lived.

Here you can see both the playing with toys (although it doesn't show how he can grab them and try as hard as he can to bring them to his mouth) and the love of eating his hands!

Me? Well other than trying to get Candon to prefer his pacifier over his hands, I have been reading The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (it is really good), experimenting with new recipes, and today I rediscovered a love of my childhood: apple with peanut butter!

I love all the beautiful apples for amazing prices that one can get in the fall!

Aren't they just adorable?

2011-10-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Three Months Old

2011-10-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

Mister Mister,

I can't believe that you are three months old - a quarter of a year!! Every day you continue to grow and learn. Just yesterday it seemed like over night you grew too big for all of the clothes I had out for you and you learned how to use your hands - all in one day! (It was so neat to see you playing with toys and even grabbing for daddy's dinner!)

You have learned to roll over from your back to your side, but you have no desire to roll and still don't like tummy time, so probably won't be rolling over more than that for a little while. You can hold your head up higher while on your stomach though!

It is really fun to watch you concentrate really hard - whether watching and concentrating on moving your feet, or just watching your toys. Just this past week we got a pack n play (so we can still keep you in the same room as us) and you love the animal mobile on it!

You love being sung to and now look at the pictures in books. You don't like the computer, and only like the TV on when it is a football game (that with your size make us think we are raising a future football player!).

Daddy loves the startled face you make and will even turn on the vibration on your bouncy chair just to see it.

You are getting so tall and you love that you can stand on our laps and look at our faces. People comment all the time on how social you are - you babble at everyone (and everything) and when you don't get a response back you get louder until they pay attention to you.

A few weeks ago you also started laughing really hard when you think something is funny! We love it and try to make faces and do whatever we can to earn your beautiful laughter. We are so grateful that you are such a smiley, happy baby and love to come to your bedside when you wake up to see your smile beam up at us.

We love you so very much and are excited to see what this next month brings!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

The Most Important Meal of the Day

2011-09-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

After sleeping really well last night, Candon woke up happy and smiley this morning. I went to go get him thinking how wonderful it would be that I could go get him out of bed and put him in his swing while I ate breakfast. One whiff told me a diaper change would have to happen en route, but as they have become second nature, I didn't think it would get in the way of my plans.

Now there are two things that every parent (especially of a boy) know have to be done: you always have a diaper underneath their bottom and you have some type of shield to protect from the squirting of pee. I used a wipe shield and faithfully kept the old diaper folded underneath. When he was all cleaned up I used the last wipe to double check that everything was clean and pulled out the old diaper to place the new. In that split second between diapers, he spewed forth both poop and pee. In a split second decision I decided there was no use trying to put the diaper underneath and that it was most important to put a block in his line of fire, and so was able to keep the pee from going no farther than the changing mat and his belly. Once he finished, I began to clean up, but didn't think about replacing the wipe shield and was almost finished when he again began to pee and got it all in his face and in his hair. At that point I decided it was time for a bath.

I put a little bit of water in his tub, placed him in it and turned the water back on so that I could wash his hair. I leaned over a little bit to feel the temperature of the water before I began washing his hair when I felt myself getting wet and turned my head to find him peeing all over me and the outside of the bath tub. ( I didn't know he could hold so much!) I reached for the nearest thing to catch some of wetness dripping down the side of the tub when he again began to pee- right in his face.

Luckily he had slept so well and I was in a great mood; I just laughed, let out the water in his tub and was finally able to clean him up. After he was dried off and had a clean diaper on he wasn't so happy, so I let him sit in his robe and cuddled him. A couple minutes later he decided he was hungry, so I fed him and he fell asleep for his morning nap.

Finally an hour and a half to two hours later, I went to eat breakfast. Now I know that one is supposed to eat within thirty minutes of waking up to help your metabolism and the longer you wait the worse your metabolism will be for the day, but I have decided with a newborn it is rare that I get to eat within a half hour of waking up (maybe that it is part of the reason it is so difficult for a new mother to lose all the baby weight). How can one mind though with someone as cute as this (especially in his little bath robe!)

Spiritually Uplifted

2011-09-24T23:45:00.000-07:00

I am very grateful for modern revelation and leaders that bring us the messages from the Lord. I was blessed to be able to listen to the General Relief Society broadcast tonight and have never been more thankful for the opportunity that I have to be a woman in this day and the stewardship I have been given as a mother and wife. I know that each of us has a unique purpose and that as women we have been blessed with a great ability of compassion.

I am thankful for President Uchtdorf's talk and his reminder to:

1. Forget not to be patient with yourself

2.Forget not that some sacrifices are more important than others

3.Forget not to be happy now

4.Forget not the "why" of the gospel

5.Forget not that the Lord loves you

It has helped me realize where my goals and time need to lie and I look forward to becoming closer to my Savior through following their counsel. I think I am going to get some Forget-Me-Nots as a beautiful, visual reminder :)

Yep, He is Ours

2011-09-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

It seems to be that people that know me or my family better say that Candon looks like me and people that know Kyle or his family better say that Candon looks like Kyle. Comparing baby pictures, what do you think?

Kyle:

Janae:

Candon:

While we think he has my nose and eyes and Kyle's mouth and chin, I think the final verdict is that he is definitely our child :)

Two Months Old

2011-09-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

My dearest baby boy,
Every day I am more amazed by the incredible little person you are! It seems that the more we sit and stare in wonder and awe the cuter you become and the faster time goes.

Your likes:

You LOVE to look out of windows (even if it is dark out and there are lights on inside, you prefer looking outside) and love being outside
You love your pacifier and your dog, so they go everywhere with us
You love water
You love being spoken to in Spanish
You love laying on the floor while mommy talks to you (and she loves when you babble in response!)
You love when mommy dances silly - you smile and laugh like you already know how goofy your mommy is
You love being cuddled and being burped
You love being in your swing
You love hearing the sound of your name

Your dislikes:

You don't like being in the car, especially if no one is in the back with you
You don't like waking up in your car seat
You don't like having your hair washed
You don't like having your diaper or your clothes changed
You don;t like going over bumps in the stroller

You wake yourself up with your arms, so if we are going to put you in your bed you have to be swaddled into a "baby burrito."

Your most popular nicknames right now are "Candon-cito" and "Mister Mister." You are now up to the 94th percentile for weight! You have never had any problems with eating, for which mommy is very grateful. You are just beginning to grab on to things, but don't have control of where your arms go. You laugh and make noises in your sleep - we think you are going to be a sleep talker! We are loving that you become more and more responsive and smile at us all the time. Your daddy and I love you more and more each day and can't imagine our lives without you.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

(Don't you just love how fuzzy his hair is after he has had a bath?)

Here are his battle wounds after his two month shots he got Monday.

How can I resist taking lots of pictures when he is so cute?

Ratatouille

2011-09-08T16:12:00.000-07:00

Kyle has always told me that he doesn't like squash, so when both of our grandparents gave us zucchini and yellow squash this past week, I was afraid I would be eating it all by myself. Yesterday I decided I was going to try to make Ratatouille for the first time, hoping I could get Kyle to eat some.

I decided to make it confit byaldi style (the way it was made on the Pixar film). I didn't have any eggplant, so it is just the summer squash and zucchini for the base (summer squash can be a substitute for eggplant).

This isn't the finished product, but doesn't it look beautiful?

I decided to put it over noodles to make it a main dish instead of just a side.

It was sooo delicious! Kyle even said he could become a vegetarian if he ate food like this (he then said, "well maybe just a week night vegetarian" - for those of you who really know Kyle, you know that even this is huge as he really likes his meat). Afterwards Kyle asked me to make it again - since I have known him he has never asked this, and I know he has liked many of the things I have made.

I call it beyond just a success!!

Baby Talk!

2011-09-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

I always look forward to the "conversations" that Candon and I have every morning! I love all of his babbles and coos!

My seven year old little brother claims that he knows baby talk as he is the youngest - some of his translations can be quite funny!

Candon goes to Provo

2011-08-31T15:14:00.000-07:00

Just like when Mr. Smith went to Washington, it started out as a new cool thing, but skepticism quickly crept in.

It began with the long ride from Washington, which required hours in his least favorite place in the world: his car seat (especially when paired with being in the car). Kyle and I were very nervous for the trip as he would scream even for a two minute trip to the grocery store. We were afraid it would take all day just to get to the state border. Luckily he was the best he ever was, and with the help of a few longer stops to let him be outside and having my sister, Tiana, there to help, we only added a few extra hours.

Don't let the cute, sleeping face deceive you, he really doesn't like his carseat and seems to like it less and less each day.

Once we arrived he enjoyed having so much light and that our apartment has so many more windows for him to look out of (he loves looking outside), but the poor little guy is having a very hard time adjusting to the heat. Luckily the Havicans let us use their air conditioner for his room and his has quickly learned to love being in front of a blowing fan.

To escape the heat we have gone to the splash pad and the pool, and Candon has loved playing in the water!

His other complaint has come because he doesn't get held as much while mom and dad are unpacking. Luckily his new best friend his swing came to the rescue!

Two of his favorite things at the same time: swinging and looking out the window.

Candon's blessing day

2011-08-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Candon was given a beautiful baby blessing by Kyle . We were very blessed to have so many people come from all over to spend the special day with our little family.

I thought he looked so adorable in the little suit!

All three of my little brothers wore this suit on their blessing day which made it even more special!

My mom made the beautiful blanket for him.

Four generations of Brownings!

Grandma and Grandpa Hanson

Grandma and Grandpa Browning

Candon's uncles and aunts

Great Grandma and Grandpa Stoddard (my mom's parents)

Great Grandma and Grandpa Hanson

Great Grandma and Grandpa Cook (Kyle's mom's parents)

My handsome little man!!

More of Seattle

2011-08-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

Friday (the 12th) our little family went to do some more exploring of Seattle. We went mainly to see the space needle and were pleasantly surprised by all we found to see!

On our walk up to the space needle we ran into the Olympic Sculpture Park - I don't know what it is about sculptures that I love, but I was excited to run in to this little gem!

(I was excited that there was one I recognized: Oldenburg's Typewriter Eraser!)

We then walked around the space needle looking at the architecture and enjoying the water show of the international fountain (I can't wait until I have children old enough to go play in it)!

Afterwards we walked around the pier and went to Ivar's (I had scallops for the first time and loved them!)

One Month Old

2011-08-09T23:14:00.000-07:00

I took a bunch of one month photos of Candon today and can't decide which of these I like best, so you get a few!

(he looks a lot like Kyle did as a baby in this one)

Exploring Downtown Seattle

2011-08-06T22:44:00.001-07:00

We decided to venture out and explore Pike Place Market today. (our hope was that with the Seafair going on that it wouldn't be as crowded as a normal summer Saturday)
We stopped first at the infamous gum wall. (I learned that originally the actors of the theater that the wall is a part of would place a piece of chewed gum and a coin on the wall. The wall was cleaned up twice before they realized that it was bringing business, so now it is a major tourist attraction. It is also in the top five most unsanitary tourist attractions, topped only by Ireland's Blarney Stone.)

We then went on to explore the market. There were many booths selling fresh produce, fish and flowers, as well as many selling handicrafts and collectibles! We even got to see the fish throwing - it was funny to see them toss around the wide, flat halibut! We also go to see Rachel the life-sized piggy bank, the very first Starbucks, and a lot of street performers (including human statues!)

We then decided to walk to Seattle's International District. I don't know if we were there too late in the day (since it was after 5), or if it is only exciting when they have big events going on, but it was basically just a couple blocks of shops that sold international merchandise.

On our walk back we stopped at a really neat park where there was latin dancing, a large chess set and some neat artwork built in to the park. Many of the trees had stripped, knitted scarves!

It was fun to have a family outing discovering Seattle! Candon didn't mind at all being in the carrier - he slept pretty much the entire time! I can't believe it is almost the end of the summer and in only a couple of weeks we will be leaving!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game...

2011-08-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was an LDS night at the Mariners, so we went with some of my family and took Candon to his first baseball game! They played the Oakland A's and they actually won (breaking their long losing streak)!

I think Ichiro's batting stance is so funny!

We were told that we had to try their famous garlic fries - as long as we liked garlic. There are even two slices of apple given with them to make your breath tolerable! They were delicious!!

And of course, pictures of my cute baby in his Mariners outfit!

Motherhood

2011-07-31T23:19:00.000-07:00

Ending words in the letter "y"
Speaking in a sing-song voice
Planning outings around feeding times
Doing everything one-handed
Spending hours just looking at a tiny face
Pacing to soothe crying
Creating a conversation for every little coo
Learning the necessity of a wipe shield ;)
Loving even gassy smiles
Encouraging burping (only from Candon, of course)
Using a myriad of nicknames
Discovering the hour of three in the morning
Thinking that learning control of neck muscles is the greatest accomplishment
Practicing constant multitasking
Snuggling with my precious little baby

And nothing I would rather do than be a mommy!

Diaper Dilemma

2011-07-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

Newborn diapers are too small (in fact when he was born and the nurse put him in a newborn diaper, she said it was too small and got size ones for us). However, size one diapers are too big. I don't want to squeeze my poor little son into something too small, but at the same time the legs of the ones leave too much room. In my opinion 4-5 blow outs a day multiple days in a row is a little extreme. (yes, we are trying multiple different brands of diapers in the hunt for one that works better)

It reminds me of jeans: on size is a little too snug for comfort and going up one size needs a belt, is slightly longer than you would prefer and is a bit saggy in the hind quarters (which every fashion expert and husband says is a "no-no"). So what do you do?

Enough people buy both diapers and jeans, they should make half sizes!

My boys

2011-07-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love them!

First time going to church!

2011-07-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

We took Candon to church today for the first time! (We went to my parents' ward for sacrament meeting)

Aren't they handsome?

Two Weeks

2011-07-23T16:11:00.001-07:00

My dearest little one,
I can't believe you are two weeks old already! It seems like we waited forever to hold you in our arms and now these past couple of weeks have flown by all too quickly.
You are growing up so fast - it is amazing how quickly you learn and develop. Your daddy and I could sit and stare at you forever, watching you learn how to move your arms and legs and turning your head to the sounds of our voices. We love staring into your beautiful eyes, amazed that someone so trusting could be put in our care. We love all the many different faces you make and that you smile and giggle in your sleep. We love seeing your fluffy hair after a bath and watching you get your hands out of any swaddling in order to sleep with them by your face the way I do. We love seeing your little personality develop and are excited to see the amazing young man you will become. I hope that we will cherish each moment along the way. Your dad and I cannot believe how attached we have grown to you already - we couldn't imagine our lives without you in it. Our Heavenly Father has blessed us more than we ever could have imagined by sending you into our little family.
We love you so very much and pray that we can learn how to be the best parents that we can be.
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Tummy Time!

2011-07-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

Every day we put Candon on his tummy to give him time to work his muscles. We love watching him turn his head towards the sound of our voices and pull himself up on his elbows and knees.

After the first few minutes he doesn't enjoy it anymore though!

Candon's birth story

2011-07-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

When I went in for my weekly doctor's appointment on Thursday July 7th, my doctor decided that since I was overdue and my blood pressure was high and continuing to get higher, it was best for both the baby and I that I was induced. Kyle and I looked at each other, excited and not quite believing it was finally going to happen.
We went home to gather our stuff and headed back to the hospital.

They began with pills that evening to help the cervix soften and with the hopes it would start contractions more naturally. After two pills I was having small contractions every other minute. They stopped the pills, but the contractions were coming too frequently to start pitocin. Kyle and I walked the halls and hoped that my body would naturally progress by itself. By about a quarter to noon the contractions had intensified slightly, I was dilated to a 3 and the contractions had spaced out a little more so they started a low dose of pitocin (VERY low, only .5ml/hour). About every hour they gradually increased the dosage. At 6:30pm (I was 4.5cm dilated at this point) my doctor came down from the office and gave me a choice - I could stop the pitocin, sleep for the night and start it again the next day, or he could break my water and speed things up. Without hesitating I told him he could break my water, glad that things would finally be sped up.

Contractions quickly began to intensify. I was very fortunate to have Kyle there to help me through each one. At one in the morning I decided I couldn't handle them on my own anymore and got an epidural. (props to those who do it all without pain medicine) Unfortunately the endurance through the contractions had only gotten me to 5.5cm. The medicine allowed me to sleep for a couple hours. When they checked me again I was only at a 6, so they greatly increased the level of pitocin. When they checked me again about 10:00 I had jumped to 9cm, so they began to get the room ready for delivery. A couple hours later when they checked me again I was still at a 9 and had about an inch of swelling from his head hitting the cervix. They upped the pitocin and began to move me every half hour in hopes to quickly get me to a ten. A couple hours later nothing had changed. The doctor told me that they would increase the pitocin, but if I had not made any change within the next hour, my body wasn't changing for a reason and along with how long my water had been broken, we would need to go in for a c-section. After the hour still no change had been made so they began to prepare for a c-section. Another couple had to be rushed in to a c-section, so we waited about an hour and then went in(so grateful that our baby was healthy and had kept a strong, constant heart rate throughout the entire ordeal) . While they prepped me, Kyle had to be out of the room, but they let him back in so that he could sit at my head.

At 4:11pm on Saturday July 9th our little Candon was born. Kyle got to go over to see him and cut the umbilical chord while they sewed me up and took care of a bit of excessive bleeding. My epidural wore off quickly after the c-section, and the hour that followed was one of the most painful I have ever experienced - it was heightened by my emotional pain of not being able to enjoy my baby right after he was born. Holding him for the first time was the best pain reliever I could have possibly received! The hospital we were at doesn't have a nursery, so we spent the next few days just fawning over him and probably not getting all the sleep we should have been :) We went home Tuesday evening and are loving being parents!

He Is Finally Here

2011-07-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

Well my two loves are finally asleep and I’m not out cold. I imagine, being that my wife is recovering, that is my duty to introduce the newest member of the Browning family.

World, meet Candon! Candon, meet world!

This little guy came out at 9lbs 2oz and 21in long. Most notable are his almost 4in feet. I don’t know from which side of the family flippers come.

Janae was scheduled for induction Thursday night at about 41 weeks. Despite the best efforts of both mother and baby for 48 hours, at 9 cm the doctor called it and Janae went in for a c-section Saturday evening. This little guy said “hi” with a scream at 4:11pm. I had the honor of cutting the umbilical cord (for those that know what mondongo is, it feels like cutting through some undercooked mondongo with safety cut scissors). Since then he has been poked, prodded, cut, and tested. He has made through it all and yet finds time to eat, sleep, and poop. I have some great diapers stories, ask me sometime.

Janae has been a trooper through the whole thing. She has had more catheters than I ever knew existed. She’s been through 48 hours of labor (18+ of which were with a broken water), gone through surgery, and had the epidural ware off just in time for some kind of post delivery drug that contracts her insides back to size. Beyond that she been trying to stand, walk, and perform other tasks without abs (it’s not easy. I’ve tried going to the bathroom without abs and failed miserably). While it takes her several minutes to get to the edge of the bed and she stands and walks like an old woman, she is doing very well. I can say nothing but how impressed I am with her progress and determination.

In summary, Janae and Candon are doing well and loving one another. I’m doing well also. And as can be seen from our family photo, I’m needing to seriously lose the sympathy weight.

41 weeks

2011-07-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

Some of the hardest weeks of pregnancy are the last ones - there is building anxiety, growing discomfort and a wanting to see the little one you have waited so long for. Everyone says you look like you are going to pop and friends who were due after you begin to have their babies. Many give advice as to what "put them into labor" - and the funny part is that even though you know they are all myths, you begin to try them all. It doesn't matter how many times you are told your day will come, it doesn't make things better.

At about 40 weeks I was dilated to a one and while my blood pressure was high, there were no other symptoms of preeclampsia, so we just set up an appointment for the next week. I faced the fact that I was going to have to make plans for the 4th of July. We spent time with my family and watched fireworks while my little one jumped inside of me as the noise of the fireworks startled him every time.

Thursday July 7th I went in for my next doctors appointment and had only progressed to 1 1/2 cm dilated. My blood pressure however was extremely high. As it had been continually increasing and I was overdue, the doctor decided it was dangerous for the baby and for me to continue the pregnancy and that I needed to be induced. Kyle and I went home to pack the hospital bags and headed back to the hospital at 6:30pm knowing we would soon see our little one.

Here I am at about 41 weeks, with my huge belly in its full glory!!

39 weeks

2011-06-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

I think the picture speaks for itself.......

Looking at the watermelons I had said that they were still bigger than me- then my brother picked up one of the large ones.

We are all just playing the waiting game and every contraction we get our hopes up. Hopefully it won't be long now until the real thing.

37 1/2 weeks

2011-06-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

This is the overlook from the parking garage at the hospital. We went and took a tour, I have preregistered and the bags are packed, now all we have to do is get the baby on the same page! Last week the doctor told me I already had a seven pounder, so who knows how big he is this week!

I really have no room to complain - other than a careful check on my swelling each week (I don't know if you can tell in the picture, but my wedding ring fits on my pinky now....), we are healthy. Kyle is getting into the swing of things with Boeing (he even got to fly one of their simulators), and we are settled in to our apartment.

31 weeks

2011-05-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

We are down to single-digit weeks left!! It has been fun these past couple of weeks as he has started interacting with us; without fail as soon as Kyle or I touch my tummy he will kick where our hand is! I can definitely tell that baby boy is gaining weight as I am feeling it in my back and this week have started becoming uncomfortable driving. Not only am I excited for July so that I will be able to hold my little boy, but I am excited to have my body back that can move, isn't swollen and can bend over! (it was quite hilarious when Kyle and I decided to throw a Frisbee around and I would try to pick it up when it fell:)
It is finally becoming more of a reality as we have gotten a carseat and are having to make final decisions!

29 weeks

2011-04-17T19:13:00.000-07:00

I know lots of people want to see these pictures, but they aren't very flattering. Don't get me wrong - I love being pregnant and being able to feel the baby move- it is just that I wasn't in shape before getting pregnant, so add the weight gain and the more recent swelling and I look like a "jet puff marshmallow man," as Kyle terms the look of my swollen fingers. Besides the swelling, I really don't have much to complain about. Baby boy is continuing to grow and is healthy. We are so excited to see him in about two months!! We love that he is active and are surprised at how much he is already a part of our family!

To a wonderful two years!

2011-03-19T23:16:00.001-07:00

We were going to buy sheets for our "cotton anniversary"........

but ended up buying this:

The sheets are just going to have to wait...

After Kyle finished at school on Friday (the 18th), he gave me the most beautiful arrangement of spring flowers and then took me up to Park City. We stayed in a hotel that had a pool that was half indoors and half outdoors. (I was so excited that I could fit my pregnant belly in my swimsuit!) It was still really cold, but the pool was heated enough that you could still swim outside. Since we went swimming at night we got to see the steam coming off of the water in the lights around the pool outside. As not many people ever ventured to the outside half, we pretty much had it to ourselves. The jacuzzi was about the same temperature as the pool, so being pregnant I could still use it, so we ventured the quick run over to it. It was the coldest few seconds of my life!

When we woke up we decided to go shopping around Park City and then head back. The car apparently didn't want to leave, so starting acting up. It didn't accelerate on any uphill, which was a problem considering that is basically all the drive home from Park City is. We had made so many repairs on our Ford Focus, that we had pretty much spent the same amount on repairs as had been payed to purchase the car. If we would have taken it in, it would have been a couple thousand dollars and I wouldn't have a car to drive to work on Monday, so we began thinking about looking at a new car. We went over to the Toyota Dealership and ended up driving away with an '09 Toyota Corolla SE! We new this purchase was coming, so had been saving up, but it still feels extreme as it is the biggest purchase I have ever made. Signing all the paperwork, I had never felt so grown up in my life (and it was kinda scary!).

Happy 2 Year Anniversary my love! I have been so blessed to be able to spend these years with my best friend and look forward to spending eternity with you!

Cute Story

2011-02-26T11:37:00.000-08:00

My mom sent me this story in an e-mail and I though it was too cute to not share!

"RETARDED" GRANDPARENTS
Written by a third grader, on what his grandparents do.

After Christmas, a teacher asked her young pupils how they spent their holiday away from school. One child, wrote the following:

"We always used to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa. They used to live in a big brick house, but Grandpa got retarded and they moved to Arizona. Now they live in a tin box and have rocks painted green to look like grass. They ride around on their bicycles, and wear name tags, because they don't know who they are anymore. They go to a building called a wreck center, but they must have got it fixed because it is all okay now, they do exercises there , but they don't do them very well. There is a swimming pool too, but they all jump up and down in it with hats on. At their gate, there is a doll house with a little old man sitting in it. He watches all day so nobody can escape. Sometimes they sneak out , and go cruising in their golf carts. Nobody there cooks , they just eat out. And, they eat the same thing every night - early birds. Some of the people can't get out past the man in the doll house. The ones who do get out , bring food back to the wrecked center for pot luck. My Grandma says that Grandpa worked all his life to earn his retardment and, says I should work hard so I can be retarded someday too. When I earn my retardment, I want to be the man in the doll house. Then I will let people out, so they can visit their grandchildren."

It's a.........

2011-02-15T16:03:00.000-08:00

We went and had our ultrasound today and almost had to leave without finding out the gender. He turned perfectly when she wanted to measure his head and back and take measurements to find out he was healthy, but he sure didn't want us checking the other end. She only got a split second look, but enough to tell what he was hiding. I am not sure whether we have a singer or a chatty one on our hands, but he sure liked to open his mouth (the technician said most babies have their mouths closed most of the time she looks at them). More than anything else we are thankful that he is healthy and growing correctly. (and I am just going to have to do more searching and be more creative to find cute things to sew for a boy over my break)
After the appointment we went to Costa Vida to celebrate, and I think Kyle is more excited than he expresses as I found the magnets above organized by him:)

This picture is a little hard to distinguish, but his head is the circle on the left (facing upward) and then his shoulder is in the middle and his arm is bent at the elbow so that his hand comes up almost to his chin.

20 weeks

2011-02-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

I always love looking at others' pictures of their growing baby bumps, so I find it funny that I haven't put one up yet! This picture isn't very good, so I promise a better one later! We are at the half way point and are really excited that we will get to find out on Tuesday whether we are having a boy or a girl!

14 days of Valentines

2011-02-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

On the first day of Valentine's my sweetheart gave to me,
A lovely rose of white.

On the second day of Valentine's my sweetheart gave to me,
Yum-my Ca-an-dy!

On the third day of Valentine's my sweetheart gave to me,
Animals in a fam-ly.

On the fourth day of Valentine's my sweetheart gave to me,
Cou-pons to-o redeem.

Kyle has been giving me a little gift every night saying, "Happy ___ of February." I thought it was really creative and can't wait to see all of his creativity throughout the next few days! Now what in the world am I going to do for him for Valentine's day?

It is the little things that make life wonderful

2011-01-31T19:50:00.000-08:00

Today I realized how blessed I am by the little things that Kyle does. He gets up every morning to help me make my lunch and get me breakfast so that I can sleep in a few extra minutes (even though he doesn't have to be up yet). Today it was evident just how much he does for me. He had an extremely busy day ahead of him and had to get up to campus by 6:00am. I got out of bed just enough to say prayers and give him a kiss goodbye. When I woke up in my usual hurry to get out the door, I found that he had packed my bag, packed me lunch and had cleaned all of the snow off the car so that I didn't have to. It meant so much for me that he would use his valuable time to help me get ready for the day. I was then determined that it was going to be a good day and realized that every day would be so much better if I just took the time to realize how many of these little things I am blessed with!

Life is made of the big and small

2011-01-02T16:49:00.000-08:00

The big one

2010-12-14T14:16:00.001-08:00

Yes, it is the big post: Kyle and I are expecting a little one on July 4th!
Last week we were able to listen to the heartbeat and are now beginning the second trimester with the hope that morning sickness will continue to decrease.

Christmas Challenge

2010-12-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

So I saw this 25 day Christmas challenge on another blog and couldn't pass it up (I guess I will have to do 2 on some days to make up for the few days I have missed!)

go out of your way-- befriend someone today that needs a friend and follow through to christmas
tell someone you love them
make a tree decoration that will remind you of Christ
in your prayers today, give thanks for every blessing without asking for anything
try to be as kind as possible to others today
try not to quarrel with family members today
do a good deed anonymously
make goals for yourself-- seal a copy in an envelope to be opened in a year
visit someone sick or lonely or sad
do volunteer work for some worthy cause
do something fun for a child or younger sibling
try to forgive someone who has wronged you, be reconciled
make a "give list" instead of a list of gifts you'd like
improve yourself in some way to please the Savior
quietly reflect and choose uplifting activities vs shopping
phone or send a card to an old friend or family member
listen to Handel's Messiah
make a christmas treat for someone else
be a calming influence today and control your temper
accept the gift of forgiveness-- pray for some weakness and ask for help in repenting of it
look at christmas lights... where does all light come from?
sing carols
do something nice for someone without their knowing it was you
be the first to say hello to people all day
ask someone to tell you about a past christmas

Feel free to join in on the challenge to do one each day if you would like!!

Gratitude Tree

2010-11-14T13:49:00.000-08:00

With my class I decided to create a tree where each day every student writes down one thing they were grateful for down on a leaf and adds it to the tree. At first they were mostly the same, but I have been impressed with how creative they have gotten lately and how it has truly changed the environment of our classroom. The tree is quickly filling up and I am excited to see all of the different things they come up with!

Fall Recess Weekend

2010-10-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was fall recess, so I decided to celebrate the short break with a little bit of season spirit!

I made a wreath for our door (thanks to Abby for the idea!) - I think my favorite part is the ribbon!
I also made a centerpiece for my coffee table. It was so easy and I love how it turned out!
And of course, pumpkin cookies!!

Mount Olympus

2010-10-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

How well do you know your Greek gods and goddesses? Can you name them?

We just finished studying Greece in my class and my students were assigned different gods to read about and make a paper doll to represent them.

The Drive

2010-09-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

Each day I commute up to school an hour each way, and as I do not enjoy driving, some days are really tough. I have come to rely on books on CD to keep me sane. On Friday however I was subbing for another teacher, (being at a year round school, my students were off track, so I was substituting for another sixth grade teacher at my school who was on track), and did not have a book on CD. Amidst my grumbling, I looked up to see a truck full of pumpkins driving in front of me. Bright, orange, nostalgic pumpkins. It was enough to cheer up the ride to school.

[yes, I made sure to protect the drivers privacy and made the license plate unreadable ;) ]
On the way home a Christmas song came on the radio in commemoration of 100 days before Christmas. I arrived home cheered by the reminders of the coming holidays and of course the fact that it was Friday.

Oriental Salad

2010-09-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

This is a favorite at our place. We just call it cabbage salad, and even if you think that you don't like cabbage, you will like this. Everyone is skeptical at first, but I haven't met a single person who has not gone back for atleast seconds (and yes, we have made this dish for many people).

Salad:
2 heads of cabbage
2 packages of roman noodles
1 bunch of green onions
cooked chicken (this is optional, and the salad is great with and without it)

Dressing:
2 flavoring packets from the 2 pckgs of roman noodles
3 Tbls soy sauce
3 Tbls vinegar
1 tsp pepper
1 Cup oil
1/4 Cup Sugar
*If you choose larger heads of cabbage you may want to make more dressing.

You can pour the dressing over it and eat it right then, or as Kyle prefers it, let it sit in the dressing in the refrigerator for a few hours before eating.
Enjoy!

From the Kitchen

2010-09-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

This may seem like a weird combination but it sure was yummy and healthy. Last night for dinner I decided to experiment with a couple of things I had never made before: potato skins and a Mexican Three-Bean salad. Kyle has mentioned a couple of times that he likes potato skins, so I attempted and found a more nutritional way to make them. They were wonderful (good even without bacon or frying them!). I have made a three-bean marinated salad many times, but decided to try a new recipe that had a different mix of beans and a lime zest! Kyle loved both, so they may become more frequented sides at our house!

Labor Day Weekend!!

2010-09-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Kyle, I and his little sister Shannon headed up to Idaho to my grandparents to see my family that was down from Washington! They were bringing my sister Shaelyn down to BYU-Idaho (I can't believe my little sister is in college!!!). It was a fun filled weekend full of tackling with my brothers, staying up late laughing, and of course we couldn't miss the Blackfoot Fair!

This may look cute, but don't let it deceive you. These emu were evil - they would glare at you and then quickly jab at the food as if they were going to put a hole through your hand. Kyle decided to make it into a joke and as different members of my family would walk by he would have them feed the emu, leading to many rounds of screaming. My brother Braydon and my sister Shaelyn quickly picked out their favorite goats to feed.

And of course you can't forget - fair food!

My time

2010-08-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

What am I actually doing with each moment of my time? Do I do everything that I can, or am I wasting too much of it away? Lately I have been thinking about what makes me happy - truly happy - and I have come to the conclusion that it is when I am immersed in "doing" - when I am accomplishing, especially when my doing directly helps others. I think this is why I became a teacher - I can do what I love (learning new things) and it directly benefits others. I love the excitement on their faces when I tell them something so interesting they can't help but want to know more and I love the light in their eyes when they finally understand a concept they have been struggling so hard with. This is why I spend so much of my time here; a place where I have quickly opened my heart to twenty young minds.
While I am far from perfect when it comes to how I spend my time, I am learning, and these young children have been some of the best teachers.

The quiet within the city

2010-08-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening Kyle picked me up from school, brought me flowers (my favorite - white gerbera daisies) and took me up to Salt Lake on a date. He had been told by a co-worker about a middle eastern restaurant and was hoping to take me to get something like carne el arabe - a middle eastern lamb and beef pita that he had eaten in Paraguay on his mission. As we were less than a minute away we were confused as our GPS had led us to the middle of a neighborhood and said we were arriving. All of a sudden we came to a cute little block in the middle of the neighborhood that had a few small shops and restaurants. As we waited to be seated we went to the bookshop next door to find the most amazing book store I have ever been to in my life. There were thousands of books, and from what I could see, they were only the best titles and the two ladies that worked there could tell you about each and every book. I wanted to just sit, read and soak up the environment. It was such a cute, out of the way place in such a beautiful little neighborhood. There were blocks of cute little houses and such friendly, inviting people. Kyle and I both decided then and there that we could deal with living in Utah for the rest of our lives if we lived in a place like that one. We saw one house for sale that had a yard grown over in sunflowers. We began talking about how we would fix up the yard and could make that our little corner of paradise. Maybe one day we will be able to make that dream a reality and build the Sunflower House into our own little quiet heaven within the city.

Here is the beautiful little restaurant we ate at that had amazing food and wonderful service.

Walk-a-bout

2010-07-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

This week Kyle became a man - he bought his first power tools!

My husband the genius

2010-07-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

I am continuously amazed by what Kyle can do - electrical engineering is definitely the right career for him. Whenever I go to take him lunch or pick him up he always is working on a new project and he is always coming up with new ideas. Just this past month our light up frisbee began having problems and when he determined that the circuit board in it was very cheaply made (too bad that is the verdict for most massly produced items), he just decided to make a new one for it.

He decided to do it completely different from the old one and viola, a brand new, reliable circuit board. (He tried to explain to me his idea, but it all goes over my head.......)

Carpet

2010-07-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

Our management company finally put new carpet on the stairs outside of our apartment! Before it was a green carpet that had lots of holes, looked terrible and was a major safety hazard. Then when I came home one day they were randomly replacing the carpet - I have never in my life been so excited for new carpet. The guy seemed shocked that I was thanking him so enthusiastically for putting in the new carpet. I know this sounds weird, but I love the smell of new carpet!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

Family Reunion

2010-06-29T21:24:00.001-07:00

This past weekend Kyle's dad flew out and the three of us drove up to Victor, Idaho for the Browning family reunion!

On the way up we took the scenic road and stopped at some of the places Kyle's family would stop at when Kyle was little. We couldn't find the cheese factory, so we stopped at the Pepperidge Farm factory in Richmond, UT and got Milano cookies and Goldfish!

We also stopped at a gas station in Swan Lake

And got square ice cream!

It was neat to see family and meet relatives I had never seen before! While we were there we went up to a hot spring to go swimming, went hiking and played a lot of games!

Janae's new toy

2010-06-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend I got a sewing machine since there were some pretty awesome sales. I have been wanting one for awhile, and now I finally have it. It is a very basic version, but it is a Baby Lock, so it is durable which is what I need!

It has allowed me to busy myself with mending and projects. One of my favorites is the embellishing I did to my Relief Society bag!

Kyle's New Toy and an adventure

2010-06-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

This week Kyle and I set out on a short vacation. For us this typically means camping. With a giftcard we had gotten for Christmas we purchased a camp stove - a toy Kyle has been wanting for awhile.

For one night we stayed at our favorite campground out in Mapleton and then it was on to an adventure of backpacking!

I had never gone backpacking before, so it was a new thing to me trying to pack everything you would need and carrying it on your back! While looking at Kyle whose backpack was packed perfectly and has an internal frame might fool you into thinking that is doesn't look that bad -don't be deceived! My bag towered over my head and only with help from Kyle did it not make me fall over. As the hike began I was still extremely excited for the new adventure and full of stamina with my love of hiking. I love that even here in a desert one only has to drive and hike a little ways to see some of the most beautiful places in the world.

The first half mile was wonderful and then we were in for some extreme uphills (and only then did Kyle mention that the description of the hike was "strenuous" - and strenuous it was).

We went through desert.

We braved water crossings.

And we even hiked through snow that at some points was up to my knees and was still a steep incline.

And finally we reached the lake, which was frozen.

After an exhausting six miles we stopped and camped for the night, and I have never slept so well on rocks before. The next morning I got to wake up and get ready for a hike back to the bottom. Luckily we didn't have as far to go and it was mostly down hill. Putting on my hiking boots has never been such a daunting task though.

All the difficulties set aside, it was a great adventure and an opportunity I am glad I didn't miss out on. I loved being able to spend time with Kyle and to enjoy nature being away from the city and without seeing anyone else for the entire trip. I loved being able to turn off all of the lights and look up and see the stars for miles around. Maybe once my feet have been healed for a long time and I have had lots of use of showers and toilets I will let Kyle convince me to go backpacking again.

Freebies 2 Deals

2010-06-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

If you haven't checked out Freebies2Deals.com yet, right now is a great time as they are doing a homemade giveaway extravaganza! A couple I highly recommend you check out:

http://onecuteprincess.blogspot.com/

and

http://www.whatagirlwantswhatagirlneedsboutique.blogspot.com/

and

http://hoggardjewelry.blogspot.com

and

Bandz by Liz: http://www.etsy.com/listing/46855084/headband-give-a-way

My Dad

2010-05-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was little I have thought my dad to be the smartest, most creative person I know. He was always the Mr.-Fix-It Man and problem solver around the house and I always wanted to marry someone just like him (probably part of the reason I married Kyle). I always loved hearing him tell stories about his childhood and tried to defend him when my cousins would tell negative stories they heard from their mom. He was always there to help with projects all growing up and as he would rotate each Sunday talking to one person in the family, I couldn't wait for my turn as the conversations were very special to me.

When I was young, back when it was just the three girls, my dad taught us the song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" and a dance routine with umbrellas so that we could surprise my mom with a performance. All growing up I thought my dad had made up the song and when I was 12 and on my way to my first year of girl's camp the song came on the radio and my immediate reactions was to blurt out that that was the song my dad had made up! A couple minutes and a few laughs from the adults in the car later I realized my innocent mistake. I wouldn't put it past him to make up a song for us to perform for my mom though! To this day the song holds good memories and a smile as it reminds me of my dad!

I love you dad and hope you had a wonderful birthday today! Thanks for all that you do!

Blocks!

2010-05-22T11:37:00.001-07:00

The other day while I was watching my friend's daughter we decided to play with her blocks. I decided to build a castle and was proud of the finished product.

Then I looked over at what she had made.

WALL-E

Eve

Yep, I got shown up by a three-year old.

Adventures in Couponing

2010-05-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

This week has been perfect for practicing my couponing skills! Smiths has had a three-day deal where are coupons less than a dollar were worth a dollar, which means I had many coupons that were only worth 25 cents before quadruple in worth! The one downfall to Utah is that there are so many coupon shoppers that many items (especially the ones that were free after coupons) went quickly. Luckily Smiths is only a couple of minutes away because I have been there three times over the last two days, but it was worth it as each trip I have saved over 60% (and that included things like produce that don't have coupons). Last night I went to Smiths and Buy Low with my friend Ila (who is much better at couponing than I am) and thanks to her help the total trip which would have originally cost over $30 ended up being a little less than $4!

If you are interested in couponing (even if you just want to do a little), I highly recommend checking out coupons.com (even though I can't use it because it doesn't support Windows 7, I always see good coupons come up on their site) and one of my personal favorites, freebies2deals.com!

Dear Body

2010-05-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Dear Body,

I know that I may not take care of you as well as I should, but I would appreciate it if you continued to stay young for a little while longer. You are barely in your 20's, so you have my full permission to continue healing quickly, having endless energy, allowing me to be flexible, and I beg you to stop slowing down my metabolism. We haven't been doing very well when we go do Yoga with Christen, we are getting tired way too early, it is really difficult to not gain weight and our knees don't appreciate all of the cuts and bruises after a game of ultimate frisbee.

I promise that I will continue to feed you (I know, that has never been an issue...) and I will try to exercise you atleast a couple times each week in return for more youth and vitality. Thanks for the many good years we have had, I look forward to many more.

-Janae

Planning

2010-05-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

I thought that being an elementary school teacher I would have most of the content down (content has typically been one of my strengths). That was until Kyle decided to quiz me on all of the geometrical formulas........I guess I have a bit of brushing up to do so that my students aren't limited to spheres and cubes!

A recipe for fun

2010-05-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

First you will need a frisbee:

Then a few glow sticks (atleast three for the frisbee, more if you want to wear some as well....):

And finally, some tape to make it all work:

Tape the glow sticks on to the frisbee (we prefer to create a circle of glow sticks near the edge of the under side of the frisbee). This is perfect for night frisbee as you can see exactly where the frisbee is, and admit it, it is so much more fun to play when there are glow sticks taped to it!!

And for those of you who are lazy, have gone through many glow sticks like we have, or just think Kyle and I are so cool and want to come play with us, we have invested in a light up frisbee and you should come play with us! (it even changes colors!)

Good News!

2010-05-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

I know my original post said was going to be teaching first grade next year, but then my principal told me that she wanted to make a change, and as they knew I would prefer an upper grade, were going to try to move me to a higher grade. I finally found out this morning that I am going to be teaching sixth grade! I am so excited! This means I get to teach world history, astronomy, microorganisms and soooo many other fun things!!

A Bad Case of the Teacher Pox

2010-04-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

This disease has been spreading through my body the last couple of years and has now reached unmeasurable heights. I have not even begun teaching, in fact, I now do not even know the grade I am going to teach, but I have it bad. The symptoms? Everything I think or do is related some how to my teaching. I will see a game and wonder how I can incorporate it into my classroom, I can't hear something new without wondering how I could teach it to my class, and everything is constantly being made into lesson plans - even in my sleep. I have always been a person to dream on occasion and after I got married I began to dream every night. As of the past couple of months, they have all been about teaching - in most of my dreams I simply sitting down planning lessons.

I am not saying that it is all bad, in fact it has made me very aware of how I act - if I sign my name to something, it is now not enough to simply fulfill it, I have to fulfill it as thoroughly as possible (as I know that I will be having my students sign a contract saying they agree to follow the rules and I want to be a good example); I can never not care for a second, as I know I will expect my students to always care (being an example is good motivation). This whole "always on my mind and has become my passion" does have its downfalls however. My husband is always worried when someone brings up a topic related to education as he knows I could possibly go on for hours and I really can't do ANYTHING without wondering about how it relates to teaching.

They say it only continues to get worse - I don't know how it could possibly get worse, I can't even type up a blog post without thinking how great it would be to get my students practicing their writing in a way that they enjoy - the way I enjoy writing through my blog. Who knows? Maybe I should start a class blog and allow my students to keep it up!

Crayon anyone?

Now.....

2010-04-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

What am I up to now?

Yep, summer vacation has officially begun!

Laughter - the best type of medicine

2010-04-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

If you need a good laugh for the day, this Japanese game show is super funny!

(I don't know Japanese, so I don't know what they are saying, but it is soooo funny to watch!)

Sprint to a Break

2010-04-16T14:08:00.001-07:00

Our lives have been pretty crazy around here. School and finals have been keeping us busy as well as many other things. We were able to enjoy a nice Easter and the ability to watch conference. It is amazing how we can listen to so many amazing talks and hear exactly what we need to know at that time. That day I also - for the very first time - cooked an official Easter dinner: ham, deviled eggs, homemade rolls and many other things! I was really nervous about cooking a ham on my own, but I made a honey-glaze for it and tried the best I cook to cook it for the right amount of time and it turned out really well!

Above is the picture of the decoupaged eggs I made to decorate our apartment for Easter (they aren't real eggs - I decided real emptied eggs wouldn't last long, especially if I ever want to have them out while children are around, so I used wooden eggs instead). I found the really cool candle holders at DI, and while I like the colors, I think I am going to sand them and repaint them so that they match better with the eggs and so that I will be able to keep them up for more than just Easter day. Any ideas as to what color I should paint them?

Kyle is now the Vice President of the BYU chapter of Eta Kappa Nu (the electrical engineering honor society) and is busy with all of his research classes as well.

One of the most exciting things that we have done lately is going to see a previewing of Toy Story 3 that comes out in theaters on June 18. While we only got to see the first 70 minutes of it (they haven't finished the ending yet), we LOVED it - we were laughing almost the entire time. Kyle and I agree that it was probably one of the best promotions they could have come up with, as pretty much everyone in the theater can not wait until it comes out to theaters!! (they will not actually let you watch the clip from my blog post, so click play and then it allows you to click to watch on youtube, and by the way, an ascot is the name of the necktie thing Ken is wearing, there is no cussing - what we saw of the movie, it is VERY clean!!)

Today began finals week for Kyle and I, so for the next few days we will be busy studying and taking tests! As of now I have 3.5 finals done and 3.5 more to go!

On this road called life

2010-04-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

I don't know about anyone else, but I am constantly reflecting upon where my life has led me, and for all the planning and lists I make, I would have never planned out most of this path I am on. I can distinctly remember lying in my bedroom my junior year of high school, staring up at the ceiling and pondering deeply about my life. I remember thinking that my life had not changed much - yeah I had grown older, but the only thing I knew was living with my family and going to school. I was perfectly satisfied with the static life. Looking back now since that time, all I have seen are changes. I moved away from home, lived in a couple different apartments of girls, have almost completed my bachelor's degree, been married, celebrated our first anniversary (which Kyle planned an amazing weekend for I might add), and most recently have been hired to teach first grade this coming year at Columbia Elementary (and these are only the big changes). So much has changed and I know there is so much more to come. I could never have planned such an amazing course of life. I am so thankful that I have a loving Heavenly Father who has planned my life out for me, to give me the learning experiences I need and allow me to feel so much joy throughout them.

Advice from someone who learned it the hard way....

2010-03-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a little tip: when are at the store and decide to purchase a brand name item because the "instant redeemable coupon" stuck to the front makes it cheaper than the off-brand, take the coupon off and put it in your hand or with other coupons that you plan on using that shopping trip. This way you will hand it to the grocer or scan it at the self-checkout (whatever your preference may be) and actually save that money. Otherwise, you will get to your car and realize that you spent more for the name brand item and end up with a coupon you will probably never use....

On a more upbeat note, I am beginning to work towards my couponing goal and have begun to get the newspaper and saved 30% on my grocery shopping trip tonight. That may not sound like a lot, but it is good considering most of my purchases were fresh produce which there aren't coupons for.

A contrast of a day

2010-03-05T13:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a stark contrast to my productive day earlier this week talked about in my previous post. I love teaching fourth graders, but sometimes they can be exhausting. It didn't help that they have had extra energy lately with practice for the fourth grade program and a long weekend ahead. When it was time to go home it was raining and the car of the girl I carpool with was not working correctly, so we had to wait for a tow truck and for a someone from Provo to come and pick us up. (although on a positive note, while waiting I was able to get a killer deal on some new books!) I was not able to make it back in time for the piano lessons I had to teach and back in Provo it was snowing. By the time I got home it was late, I had no idea how late Kyle would be home and instead of making dinner I decided to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies. After the were finished I sat down with warm cookies to write lesson plans and read Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It was such a different feeling from a few days previous, but brought an amazing evening. When there is nothing immediate to do, I love the feeling of being stuck inside while snow falls outside.

Yep, it was a blanket and cookies kind of day.

Now thats a day!

2010-03-02T20:16:00.000-08:00

I went to work in the wee hours of the morning, for classes did student math interviews at Wasatch Elementary and school, watched devotional, exercised, cleaned my house, ran a couple of errands, taught piano and trombone lessons, made a beautiful, healthy dinner (including homemade herb and cheese bubble loaf bread as a side) all ready and set for when Kyle got home, got some homework done and the dishes are done.

I think I can call it a day and go to bed happy with it. Too bad all days can't be like this.

Doesn't the bread look yummy even as dough?

To Life!

2010-02-27T15:44:00.000-08:00

Life, that is, in the sense of living it. While I do not consider myself living my life to its utmost fullest - my mind's view of the perfect life that I aspire to - Kyle and I certainly are living this journey called life and learning to love even the difficult, busy moments.

This past week we celebrated Kyle's 25th birthday, so in honor of his quarter of a century, here are a couple of the fun things he is up to.

Beginning about a month ago, he has had the opportunity to work on an RC car as part of a competition. Each team (of three engineers) was given an RC car that they had to make the circuit for so that it would be controlled by a laser pointer. (most teams made four different points on their cars to point the laser, each controlling one direction, if that makes any sense) It was an amazing feat from my point of view, but Kyle was able to do it, and since his team was not able to work with him for most of the time, he put in a lot of late nights doing such. Here he is the day of the competition.

The car worked great at first, but unfortunately part way through the competition one of the wires snapped, disabling their ability to put the car in reverse. It was disappointing for Kyle who had put in so much time, but I am still amazed by what he was able to do!!

Kyle has also been really busy as the undergrad member of a PHD research team and with homework and putting in for internships! I don't know how he manages to accomplish so much, but am proud and grateful that he does!!

Valentines!

2010-02-13T16:07:00.000-08:00

I have begun my quest for expanding my creativity! I put together these cute Valentines that are filled with Teddy Grahams and Hershey's Hugs. What do you think?