2 YEARS OLD!

 Myla's room full of balloons!

Pretty sure this was her favorite birthday surprise...those 'baboons' :) 

 Jumping on the bed

 Yes...I did manage to get a teeny-tiny braid in that INSANELY FINE hair. Thank you for noticing.

 Playing in the leaves!

 Throwing leaves in Mommy's face...

 This girl is my world. I love you Myla Jean.

Myla Jean is two years old! We had the best time celebrating her birthday with friends and family. Myla went to Jungle Jim's with her cousins Joseph and Josh, and her good friend Mika! They played hard. We also spent time with lots of family and Mommy and Daddy filled her room with balloons! (or 'baboons' as Myla calls them) Myla Jean is so much fun and we cannot imagine what life would be like without her! Our little love has grown so much and is learning more and more everyday. Some little facts about Myla are:

-She loves rides in the truck with Daddy
-COLORING
-All things arts and crafts actually....
-Can count to seven
-Sleeps in her big girl bed like a champ.
-Knows all her colors
-Has become a BIG HELPER! She empties the silverware every morning, puts away all her clean clothes (and dirty clothes), is sometimes TOO helpful at meal times....and basically wants to help Mommy with every single thing she does throughout the day....
-She loves Elsa and Tinkerbell.
-Myla loves fish, and got one for her birthday! It's her favorite.
-Her favorite toys are her books and necklaces.
-She knows her shapes and is always begging people to draw them for her...then tries desperately to draw them herself.

Myla is so full of life and has a burning fire to continually learn and experience everything! Myla keeps reminding her Mommy and Daddy that it's the little things in life that bring the most happiness to our hearts...like being together...or eating Oreos. We are so grateful for this adventurous little two year old! Happy Birthday Myla Jean!!!!

Fall Festivities

This has been such a fun packed season with our little witch! Utah is seriously such a blast during the Fall. The colors are spectacular and the weather is perfect. Plus, I was totally unaware of all the adorable activities available for the wee ones! THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO! I feel like I hardly dented my list...

Some of the festivities we participated in:
-Going to the pumpkin patch to pick out FAR TOO MANY PUMPKINS.
-Hay rides
-Canyon drives to see the leaves
-Pumpkin baking of all sorts
-Witches Festival at Gardner Village
-Carving pumpkins
-Wheeler Farm petting zoo
-Apple picking at Grandma and Grandpa's house
-Trick-or-Treating for the first time with Myla. IT WAS SO CUTE.
-Corn maze
-And finally....we broke out the hot cocoa mugs! Brian and I have a tradition that every year, when it gets cold enough that we must turn the furnace on....we make delicious hot cocoa....with our goofy animal mugs...mallows and a dash of pumpkin spice atop the mound of whip cream...and we curl up under a blanket with our mugs of magical yumminess to watch a movie....mmmm....it's my favorite. I love that Brian is a winter lover like me...and we celebrate the beginning of winter with this tradition. He's kind of awesome. And that's all I have to say about that... :)

Daisy Love

Brian planted me a giant daisy patch to express his undying love for me...how cute is that?! I'M OBSESSED. White and yellow daisies are my very favorite :) I love seeing them every time I walk outside! So naturally I took 1,000 pictures of them...

 I spy....a little witch.... :)

Oh, and our mums out front are in bloom. It's GORGEOUS. Love this time of year :) always fresh flowers on the table.

Finger Painting

You guys. I FOUND THE FINGER PAINT. Which had been lost for approximately six months.

So. Random fact about me...when packing for trips...or while moving...I tend to use every spare inch of bags/boxes/suitcases/purses/whatever you can shove things into....because I HATE using plastic garbage bags or grocery bags. Dunno why. Wish I could say it's because I've gone green and care about the planet...but it's not...I JUST DO. So. When unpacking from the move, things occasionally get lost. Like...I guess I put all of my AWESOME finger paints into Myla's baby box. Why would I do that?! Because I am ME. That is what I have concluded. Deep thought, right?

So naturally I've been going finger paint crazy during this last week of warm weather...and Myla LOVES IT. Can't you tell? Look at the joy in her perfect little face! Few things are better than getting your hands all covered with colorful paint. It's a natural high.

We have created many little murals on the sidewalks...and littered our driveway with smudged finger painted papers. Oh, and our fridge is basically a plethora of finger painted paper scraps, that Myla loves to show anyone who will listen :) it's the best.

Bahamas

 Dancing before the crazy hurricane rain storm fully set in...

Oh, and I held an Iguana.

So this post is a wee bit late….but we went to the Bahamas! Thanks to my AMAZING parents for watching Myla, Brian and I were able to have a romantic get away together! I’m so grateful that I know I can count on them to love and care for Myla. BEST PARENTS EVER.

SO. Our trip. It was glorious….we flew into Ft. Lauderdale…and I finally understood Robert California…..Florida is truly Americas basement..... From there, we jumped on an overnight cruise ship, met some awesome new friends at a fancy dinner and were on the island by sunrise.

The resort we stayed at was BEAUTIFUL. We somehow scored the top floor suite because they had made a mistake on our original room. We were totally jazzed. It was unreal. The Grand Lacayan also had delicious food. Probably gained 10 pounds….absolutely worth it. My personal favorite was the China Beach restaurant. SOOOO GOOD. 

Brian and I spent lots of time chillin’ on  the beach with our virgin pina coladas, and playing the life size chess board whenever it was free. We loved the flea market that was near by, it was so colorful and fun, with music always playing. Oh, we also got a couples massage…why we don’t do this everyday of our life is beyond me.

My favorite part of the trip was when Brian and I rented a scooter for the day. We had a map of the Island, and NO IDEA where we were headed….oh, and they drove on the left side of the road, so we had several Cameron Diaz freak out moments...but we survived. We ended up in this deserted portion of the island and drove for a good 30 minutes without seeing anyone, any building, or any sign of civilization…we then decided to go off roading...Through the Bahaman Jungle….(in retrospect, I realize the dangers that could have befallen us…but hey! YOLO!) 

We ended up on this breath taking beach….maybe it was only so beautiful to us because you couldn’t see anyone or anything….ANYWHERE. There was something freeing in that. We were basically like kids. We ate our little picnic and ran up and down the beach yelling obserdities, swimming in the sea, digging up sand crabs and gathering sea shells. We had so much fun exploring together…it was kind of funny because we had all these touristy things marked on our map, but what we found was so much better. I'm so lucky to have a best friend who will go on crazy adventures with me. Love that man. All in all, the trip was a HUGE success.

Adventuring

How hot is my husand? But really.

She loved this rock.

But apparently not enough...

 Just having a Florine Maria moment.

 Flower pickin'

 Because I totes have Pocahontas hair in this picture.

Hello again,

Since it’s been raining, we’ve done lots of puddle splashing…watched the Bachelorette with my dearest Casey friend (FREAKING OUT HERE) Then I got to go to my darling future sister-in-law’s bachelorette party which was AWESOME….…oh, also...Brian and I stalked Art City Donuts multiple times this week. It’s a total obsession.

Anyways! Today was particularly enjoyable because my little family had an adventure up by Silver Lake. It was BEAUTIFUL. So green. We found this perfect meadow where Myla was overjoyed with all the pebbles and flowers she was finding. Brian and I were pretty entertained just sitting on a log watching her and basking in the sun. It was so beautiful and clear out. I love the mountains with all my heart. It’s always been a place where I can feel truly free. Have a great week everyone!

Motherhood

I had never been one of those girls that was excited to have children. I wanted children one day...but that day was suppose to be in the FAR OFF FUTURE. And all those people who insisted that they wanted to be a stay-at-home mom....yeah...I thought they were out of their mind crazy! Don't you want to do more with your life? Go see the world, get an impressive career, make something of yourself! This was my dream.

SO. When I found out I was pregnant…I would be lying if I said I was excited. I was horrified. Scared senseless. ANGRY. I wasn’t ready! I wasn’t done living! I had so much more I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to get a Masters! And I had an awesome job offer! Brian and I were planning a trip to Thailand! Why now?! Now I was going to be ‘just a mom’? That’s so not me. I felt like my life was over. I was sick, on bed rest and convinced that I would never be satisfied with my life again. I felt like the very essence of who I was had been striped away. I felt betrayed that my Heavenly Father could let this happen to me. I had made other plans. I wanted to be more than this.

Now, I know I can't blame anyone but myself for having these views or feeling the way I did.  But I do feel as though a part of who I believed I should be was shaped around what the world was telling me.…and it was the biggest lie I was ever convinced of.

I’m not going to say motherhood is easy or in anyway perfect, because it’s not. Motherhood is hard! (and I’m a new mom with only one little kiddling, so what do I really know?!) There is NO time off. It requires unimaginable patience and unattainable energy…all done in the name of love.  

BUT, being a mom is the most beautiful thing I have ever been blessed to experience. Myla has taught me to love in a way I never knew was possible. I can honestly say that I never knew you could feel this much joy…THIS is what living is! She is my best pal. This perfect little girl has helped me draw closer to my Savior, and brought more love and light to my life than I ever could have imagined. 

It’s interesting how Heavenly Father knew all along what would bring me the greatest happiness. He is preparing me in ways I still don’t understand…hopefully next time around I will be more willing to trust in Him. 

This Mothers Day I can say that I am happy and proud to be a Mother. I now can say that I truly believe that being a mother is a divine calling. I know with a surety that this is the single most important thing that I will ever do. I am so overwhelmingly grateful for this beautiful love that comes with Motherhood.

Happy Mother’s Day all you Mamma’s! You are so loved! 

Life Lately

Yes. I am wearing an N'Sync hat.

So…once again. It’s been awhile. Have you noticed that each time I blog I have given my little corner of the internet a make-over? Am I missing the concept of what a blog actually is? Possibly. 

Well, I’m going to give you a condensed version of the haps over in my hood lately.

-I recently finished my internship at New Haven as a Recreational Therapist and it was AMAZING. Seriously. It’s the most incredible program and I had the best mentor who let me try so many new things. It was such a great experience. Now I’m just prepping for my exams….then when I pass them, I will be a grown up rec. therapist…..crazy right?! 

-Brian’s business is booming…..almost to the point of complete and utter chaos….but in a really good way! It’s exciting!

-Myla is starting to talk! It’s SO CUTE! And hilarious….like the other day at Walmart….she sees this very dark haired, bearded man and yells ‘JESUS!!!’ repeatedly….SO LOUD & CLEAR….she was all frantic and reaching her hands….I was literally crying l was laughing so hard. Luckily for me the guy had a fantastic sense of humor and wasn’t at all offended by my child yelling and pointing at him….and me laughing….

-Brian and I went on a little road trip and saw the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, the Four Corners Monument, Antelope Canyon, Horse Shoe Bend, and the Pink Coral Sand Dunes. It was completely random….but a great way to celebrate the end of my internship! Which is probably why it was so much fun! We made tons of unplanned stops and it was just super chill. Brian is funny. He kept me laughing the whole drive…we’ve always loved driving together :) it’s the best. Ta-ta for now...