Update on us...

Wow, alot can happen in a few months. We are doing great, anxiously awaiting real spring weather, so we can enjoy living on the coast! I won't bore you all with lengthy detail but here are a few highlights of what we have been up to.

We had our first experience at American Girls Doll Shop in NYC with our dear friends Catherine and Madelyn. They invited us in to celebrate Maddy's 2 birhtday, and wow what a treat. It really was an experience to remember. The place was huge complete with concierge desk, doll hair salon, cafe, photo studio, doll hospital, and on and on. Everything is adorable and Mauree was able to shoose a ballerina doll of course! We had lunch at the cafe and then headed down the street to Rockafeller Center. Mauree became sick while there, so it was a quick trip in to the city, but still fun. It is always exciting to spend some time there. I wish Mauree were feeling better so she could have enjoyed it more, but I know she will always remember it.

Easter was fun, but quiet and nice. We had one perfect day of weather wich happened to fall on the day of our friends BBQ and egg hunt. Mauree had a blast and got plenty of candy! Thankfully she loves to share with her chocolate craving mommy. My friend Catherine was the host and managed to fill about 300 eggs for just a few kids. She is so sweet and generous and always goes above and beyond. The food and the atmosphere were just as great. She is always spoiling us!

Matt had training for work and had to leave us for a total of 5 weeks...yes I said 5. We miss him the minute he leaves for work just for the day, so you can imagine how sad this emotional pregnant mommy was for that long. He was able to come home on a couple of the weekends, but it was still hard to be without him. Mauree was actually really sad this time. I don't think she ever got use to it, and now that he is home she is very obsessed with him and makes sure to let me know that, "Well, I love you a little bit and I love daddy more". At least now I have made it a bit closer, She says "I love you to the sun and daddy as high as the rocket ship goes", but she still reminds me that it is not as high as daddy! Anyway, we are so happy that traveling is done and we can focus on things to come.

I can't believe I only have 7 weeks left until this precious little one is here! We are so excited and can't wait for the wonderful day. My official due date is June 16th. I feel like my tummy sticks out a mile, but what can I do? I love being pregnant and find myself feeling abit anxious this time. It will have been 4 years since Mauree was born, so I feel like it is my first time again. I am so nervous about the labor and delivery part. Thank goodness Matt is the best in the world, so I know I will be fine but still......!! Mauree can't wait to be a big sister and mommy #2! My mom, sister, and niece are coming to help out. It has been almost a whole year since we have seen them, so we are exptremely excited for all of the above!

22 weeks

29 weeks

Look Mom, I did it myslef!

If any of you have ever wondered how to tie your shoes so that they will not come untied, you may sign up below and Mauree will teach you free of charge! The complex way of weaving in and out and wrapping around is very complicated to teach, but she is willing. No more annoying shoe laces to tie, guaranteed after just one lesson. Apparently, if you swap the shoe to the other foot, this also helps in strengthening the ties that bind!

Vacaton Over!

Wow! That was one long vacation I took from blogging wasn't it! I hope you will all find me again some day soon! I will spare you on all of the long details of all the fun and exciting things that have happened since April, and just fill you in on a few of the highlights. 1. We finally made it for a much needed visit home to Utah. We love it so much and all of you who we miss terribly. I will never get tired of seeing my cute little hidden valley home town, Paradise. We were able to go camping in "real Mountains" for the first time with Mauree. She loved it.

After a few weeks in cache valley, we met up with Matt's family and headed to Lake Tahoe for a family reunion. This is me and most of my sister-in-laws. It was my first time to Lake Tahoe and it was amazing. The fact that the whole family started dropping like flies with a flu bug and Matt going to the E.R. passing gahl stones (sp) , wasn't so fun but it sure made the trip even more memorable. It was so good to spend time with the Andersons, especially now that we are spread out over the country.

2. Mauree discovered her love for dance and ballet. She goes every Thursday and can't get enough of it. She is constantly begging to wear her "balleotard" and is practically the only thing she will wear. She wants to sleep in her ballet shoes and leotards, and we have many times we have to comprimise. On Sunday she refused to wear a dress, and finally we opted to wear it under her dress and cardigan, (which caused a huge pain when she had to go potty) and we also had to bring along her ballet slippers in her purse....What a silly girl. I have a feeling the comprimises are only going to become more frequent, I forget sometimes just who is in charge!

3. Matt and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary this August. He is still the sexiest, most wonderful man I have ever met, and he still gives me butterflies. I have never been so happy and I love every minute I spend with him and my little Mauree. He is so kind, patient, and loving and he he is the greatest example to both Mauree and I. Honey thanks for being our #one. We love you.

4. My mom was able to come visit is this fall for a whole week. We were soooo happy to have her all to ourself. Matt had one more training for work to do in D.C. so she met us there. It was fun to show her around and let her see the sights. We loved having grandma with us and can't wait to have her here again. 5. Finally, the greatest news of all...after over one year of fertility treatments, we are joyfully expecting baby #2 in June. I know, I know I look like I am at least 5 or 6 months along, but what can I do? Apparently this time around my belly wanted to "pop" alot sooner than it did with Mauree! Oh well, I don't mind. I am just so grateful to have that precious baby inside my tummy, I will welcome the roundness happily...of course as long as that roundness stays on my belly and not my bummy! Anyhow, we are overjoyed and thank Heavenly Father everyday for the countless blessings he gives us and especially for the wonderful miracle making my belly bigger!

Sweetest face in the world

I couldn't reisist posting these pictures of Mauree. I love being able to be a stay at home mommy. I wouldn't have it any other way. Today was a good, happy day for us both(I know you mommies know what I mean by that)! We were relaxing in the recliner eating fruit snacks and reading Dora books, nothing extravigant. I was looking at this sweet little face enjoying every second of her Diego snacks thinking, how much I was enjoying every second of knowing that this is where I am meant to be and that there is no job more rewarding than being a mommy! I love precious little moments like these. Thanks Mauree! I love you sweetie!

Fun with Friends

We finally had visitors,YaY!! Now that we live so far away, we really don't get friends or family able to visist as much as we would like. Thankfully, our best friends from Texas moved to D.C. and they came up for the weekend and then Candice and the grils stayed for part of the week while Aaron went to Utah. It was so much fun to have them here, and Mauree was in 7th Heavean with her two little girlfriends Maddy and Avery to play with. I was in Heaven holding 2 month old Elisabeth and having them all here! It was very cold and windy the whole time, but we still ventured to the beach. It was fun and actually wasn't too bad in the sun considering it was only 40 degrees. We made ice cream and just hung out. It was so fun to watch Mauree play and interact with her friends again. I honestly don't think I have seen her so happy and giggling so much. It was great. Thanks guys!!

One of Mauree's "funnies"

Things have been pretty uneventful the last little while. Mauree is pretty much back to normal, but now she tells me her tummy hurts a few times a day. At first I was concerned but Matt seems to think she learned when she said it before, she got held and extra attention so now she is just being dramatic. I guess this could be true! Mauree got her first official haircut and loves her new bob.She was very quiet and timid and was very good. She likes to say she got her haircut like daddy does. The other night I gave Matt a haircut after she had gone to sleep. Matt went in her room while brushing his teeth and she woke up and she said "dadda get your haircut" ?

Matt"yep"

Mauree"you brushing you teeth daddy"?

Matt "Uh-huh"

Mauree "daddy you look like a monkey"

When Matt told me I was laughing so hard. His hair was really long before, so I guess his newly exposed ears and full cheek threw her off! What a silly girl.

An Easter To Remember

So, Easter was not what it's cracked up to be for us this year. First of all it was so early, I never felt like Easter was here, and now it's gone. I really feel like we missed a whole holiday this time. Secondly, Mauree came down with a flu bug on Tuesday night. Because Mauree was sick, we weren't able to dye eggs or any of that fun stuff. She was so sick, I have never seen her so sad and miserable. It was pretty scary for her, she had never thrown up before and it kind of freaked her out. We explained it by saying she got germs from somewhere and now there was a yucky bug in her tummy making her sick, and her tummy was trying to get better by making the food come out. After she would throw up, she would ask for her tooth brush to get the "bugs" out. That is how Matt and I get her to brush her teeth saying, oh there's a chicken nugget bug, or juice bug, etc...Matt went to get her tooth brush and she says "mamma, I don't feel good, we brush my tummy and get the bugs out". It was so cute, but I felt so bad for her. By Thursday evening, I had my happy girl back...or so I thought. She got sick again that night and couldn't keep even water down. She was sleeping so much and was refusing everything. She didn't want to drink even. She didn't have a fever so I thought she was just drained from being sick and would be better soon. Matt and I felt something was wrong on Sat. afternoon when we realized she hadn't gone to the bathroom and all she wanted to do was sleep. She couldn't even stand up she was so weak. We were told by our Dr. to go to the E.R. quickly and he would call ahead to have someone meet us. So it was a traumatic event for all of us, especially my little Mauree. She had to stay over night to get her fluid levels back and to be monitored. Bless her little heart she was a trooper through it all. Maybe her new purple shoes that she would NOT take off until 4 a.m. brought her comfort that mommy couldn't? So that was our happy Easter. I am very grateful that she is better and I have my sweet happy girl back. Although I missed having Ham and Au grautin potatoes, dyeing eggs, and all the regular Easter activities, i think I gained a deeper love and appreciation for my Savior and what Easter is all about. I had a lot of time to think in the hospital that night and how hard it was for me to watch my baby suffer, feeling helpless. My thoughts turned to how Heavenly Father must have felt watching his son suffer for me and the love that they both have for us all. What a comfort and blessing knowing that He lives and that we can try to be like Him. I am grateful for the comfort I got that night as I pondered on what Easter is really about.

My little Mauree is such a good little helper! I am so grateful she loves to clean up and organize. She is also quite the perfectionist. This is something she gets from her daddy, which is one of the many manys I love about him. Things have to be put away in the right places and in order! We go to a mommy and me gym class on thursdays, and She loves it. She is very quiet and dainty as she interacts. It is pretty funny. Anyhow, each child has a colored rubber mat to sit on and they are layed out in a circle. The teacher was having us do the limbo and as each of the kids went around, the mats got kicked and were wrinkled and out of place. Bless her little heart but it was too much to handle, so we lost our place in line because she "Had" to make them each flat!! She wouldn't play the game until they were all perfect. It made me smile, I love watching her little personality in action.

Mauree loves to help me do chores, laundry, cooking, dusting, vacuuming, etc. I'm sure most of you moms know my feeling on praying for paitience andfinding teaching moments in these times...even if it takes an hour longer to get the house clean! I am just grateful for my little merry maid! Here is Mauree in action one day! I couldn't resist her in her high heels, undies, and necklaces. Don't you just want to pinch that little bum!!

P.S. ...and NO she didn't learn to clean in this outfit from watching her mommy clean! but should I be worried?!!