Been a while

I know it has been a long time since I've posted. We are still alive and well. I decided that blogging is a winter activity. I just don't like spending a lot of time in front of the computer when the weather is nice.
Nothing has changed with us. I'm still working full-time, Dan is still searching for employment and constantly making improvements on our house. We almost have a bathroom in our bedroom! Dan is amazing!
Maicee is growing like a weed! She started walking a couple of weeks ago. I can't decide if she looks like a robot or a zombie when she walks. Maybe both. She turned 10 months old on Tuesday. I can't believe how fast the time has flown by!
I have finally gotten back into the habit of running! Yay! I love running! Okay, maybe not running, but I love how I feel after a run. And Maicee loves going in her jogging stroller. I normally go at night, that way I can take Maicee with me and I don't feel guilty leaving her, (since I don't see her all day). Sometimes she'll make car noises the whole run; sometimes she stares at me through the plastic window; most of the time she just falls asleep.
I am so excited for Halloween! I would say that it is my favorite holiday, but I say that about whatever holiday is coming up. I've been itching to put up my Halloween decorations, but thought it was a little too early. This morning while driving to work, I noticed the house at the end of our street has their Halloween decorations up. So I might put ours up tonight...

On a more serious note, I love being a mom. I love my beautiful little girl and her amazing personality. I love the joy she has brought to our lives. I love the wonderful dad that Dan has become, and I love the great job he is doing being at home with her. I wish our roles were switched, but I'm thankful to have a good job in such an unstable economy.
Okay, I'm done being serious. If the weather turns colder, maybe I'll post some pictures!

Watch out!

Maicee is now mobile! She started crawling on Friday, July 3. Dan has always said if I'm at work when she starts crawling or walking, he's going to knock her down until I get home. So I was kind of scared for her. We were both home on Friday when she started crawling. She's been able to do this army crawl thing, or she can move about a half a foot on all fours, but she's not very fast. We were trying to get ready to go to the fireworks at Rigby lake that night, Maicee was sitting in the middle of the living room floor. I walked into her room for like 5 seconds to grab her some warm clothes, and when I came back, she was on the other side of the room chewing on a dog toy. I grabbed the dog toy from her, turned around and threw it on the dog bed, and she crawled into the corner and tried to pull over a glass picture! So the first couple of times she crawled, no one saw her. She crawls all over the place now, though.

We took Maicee swimming a couple of weeks ago and she loved it!

Saturday we bought her some toys that she can crawl around with. We got this little ball that rolls around and lights up and sings to her. I put it on the floor for her, and she is terrified of it. I'm not sure why. Maybe because the first time she was watching it, she tipped over and it hit her in the head. She will not play with it, but she'll sit and watch it as long as one of us is right by her. She's so silly.

So cute!

She says "mama" all the time now, also. She likes to say it when she's crying, because I pick her right up. Who wouldn't? She says "dadda" occasionally. I think she likes me best!Preslee and Maicee waiting for the 4th of July parade to start

And she finally got a tooth. I first saw it last Saturday, July 11. She's growing up way too fast.

This is Maicee's favorite position to sleep in.

Our getaway!

Warning: This is going to be a long post, you may want to grab some popcorn!

I wanted to start off by letting everyone know we are not moving to Vancouver right now! Some how a rumor got started that we're moving there soon. We would love to move to Vancouver, just not for a couple of years. Yes, Dan is applying for jobs out there, but if he does get a job, it will just be Dan moving. Remember, we just bought a house and haven't even been in it for a year. I doubt we will be able to sell right now. And we're not ready to leave our house right now. With that over with, let me tell you about our trip!

Maicee started doing this surprised mouth thing on our trip. I think it's funny.

Last week Dan, Maicee, and I were able to travel to Vancouver. It was an awesome trip!

We left Friday night around 6:30. We drove north this time, instead of taking the normal route through Pocatello, Boise, etc. We drove through the night, stopped somewhere in Washington and slept at a rest stop, then continued driving around 5:00 the next morning. We arrived in Ellensburg, WA, at around 8:30, and walked around a little bit. Dan had a test at 10:00, and he checked in at 9:30. (Since he is not finding work in Idaho, we decided maybe he should start looking for a job around Vancouver.) Maicee and I walked to Fred Meyers, bought some pink fingernail polish, came back to the school and painted our toe nails while Dan finished his test indoors. Once the written portion was over, he got to come outside and say hi, then had the physical portion of the test. He finally finished around 2:00, and we hit the road again. We made it to Vancouver around 6:00 that night. Maicee did really well in the car that long. I was surprised.

We spent Saturday night and Sunday with Dan's family. Sunday Maicee decided she would start sitting up. Monday we got together with some of my friends from college at my friend Stina's dad's house. It was so nice to see everybody again. I got to meet Stina's baby Ira, who is only 5 days younger than Maicee, and Jennie's little boy Blake, who really isn't that little. He was a riot. Oh, and we decided that Maicee and Ira are going to get married when they're older. Sorry boys, she's off limits!

Tuesday we went to Julian's Taekwando test. He moved from green belt to blue belt. It was so cute to see him in action. Every time we go visit and he's in his little Taekwando uniform, I ask if he can show me what he's learned, and he's always too shy, or too modest to show me. So I got to see it first hand this time! Good job, Julian! After that, we went over to Josh and Rebecca's house to see the other Rebecca and her kids. We got to meet our niece Jaidyn for the first time! She is 13 months old, and so cute!

Maicee and Jaidyn

Wednesday we spent time with the family again, and Thursday we got to see our friend Amy and her new baby, Jovie!

Maicee and her cousin Caleb

Friday Stina picked Maicee and me up, and we went to the Portland zoo with Stina's mother-in-law, sister-in law, and nephew, oh and Stina's husband. Maicee and Ira had a blast in the double jogging stroller. It rained a lot, but was still a lot of fun. I even got to buy Maicee a little stuffed sugar glider in the gift shop. Later that night Maicee and I went to my sister-in-law Richelle's baby shower. Dan stayed at home with some of his brother's and worked on some home-made Olympic rings.

Maicee and her boyfriend Ira, linking arms already!

Saturday we went to Tim's graduation! He graduated from Chiropractic school and was the valedictorian for the June 2009 graduating class. Congratulations Tim!!! Good luck in Florida! We went to a party at the park in Tim's honor, then we went home and packed a little. We said goodbye to Rebecca R. and her kids, went to bed early, got up at 5:00 am Sunday morning (at least I did), and drove back to Rigby. Our dogs where happy to see us. Maicee was afraid of them at first, not sure why. But now she's back to trying to pull out their eyeballs.

Maicee is almost crawling. She likes getting into the crawl position, and hopping her knees, and she can move maybe a half a foot, but she is not mobile yet. Any day now, though! And she still has no teeth. She did make the big move from her bassinet in our bedroom to her crib in her bedroom, which is down the stairs, through the kitchen and living room, and down the hall. I don't think it was as scary of a move for her as it was for me. I think she has been sleeping better! (she was kind of filling up her little bassinet).

Special surprise!

On a scary note, my nephew Kylan was stomped by a bull at the high school state tournament last Friday. He had his vest on, so the damage was not as bad as it could be. He only has a broken right collar bone, a separated left collar bone, some broken ribs, a fractured sternum, and some holes in his lungs. But don't worry, he's excited to get right back on the bulls. Did I mention he's only 15? I think he has a death wish.

Tagged

I've never been tagged before, so if I did it wrong, somebody please let me know!!!

8 favorite TV shows:
-American Idol
-House
-The Office
-Biggest Loser
-So You Think You Can Dance
-Friday Night Lights
-Wipeout
-Jon and Kate plus 8

8 things I did yesterday
-Fed Maicee
-Changed diapers
-Showered
-Watched Julian break a board and advance to blue belt!!!
-Started reading another book
-Saw my sister-in-law that I haven't seen for 2 years!
-Met my niece Jaidyn for the first time
-Watched the first 20 minutes of Paul Blart, Mall Cop

8 Restaurants I love
-Olive Garden
-Texas Roadhouse
-Fazolis
-Pizza Hut (does that count?)
-Fong's
-Bajio
-New York Burrito
-Uptown Bagel

8 Things I look forward to
-Dan getting a job
-Being able to stay home with Maicee
-Maicee sleeping through the night again
-Maicee's teeth finally coming in
-Maicee nursing again so I don't have to pump anymore
-Running either a full marathon, or at least a half marathon next year
-Being able to fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes
-Being able to fit into my pre-marriage clothes

8 Things on my wish list
-Dan getting a job
-Fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes
-Fitting into my pre-marriage clothes
-A trip to Hawaii
-Not being sick for the entire 9 months the next time I get pregnant
-Adopting 2 babies from Africa
-A 4-wheeler
-An SUV, or a truck

8 People I tag (do 8 people really read my blog?)
-Whitney P. (if she ever checks her blog again)
-Crystal C.
-Kari B.
-Beth W.
-Olivia H. (if she has time!)
-Rebecca H.
-Rebecca R.
-Charity May

Wow. I'm glad that's over with!

Pictures of Maicee!

I know, it's been a long time since I've blogged. Work has been crazy, and since it's been nice outside, we don't stay inside much. Since today is a rainy day, I thought I better take advantage of it. So, here are some of the latest pics of Maicee.

Just chillin'

See her cute little pigtails?

Sometimes it's hard to go to work when she looks like this. At least she gets to stay home with her daddy!!!

Naked bum!!!

She can almost sit up!

Messy hair

Crazy wind

So, remember the wind storm we had last week? I sure do. He are some pictures of our back yard after our fence was blown over in some spots. Our shed was blow over our fence, into our neighbors yard. Good thing we have nice neighbors.

Our fence blew into our neighbor's driveway! This picture on the right is what it looked like after it was picked up so they could at least get into their garage.

The ironic thing is 3 days before the storm, Dan and I were out back talking about replacing the loose posts, we just didn't think we would be doing it so soon!

Happy Birthday Mom

My mom was born May 10, 1945. This year she would have turned 64. She was a pretty funny woman, so I thought I would honor her this year by sharing some random facts about her life.

(Mom is the little one)

1- When she was little, she had a little black doll that she named Armadilla, and it was her favorite toy ever.

2- Also when she was little, she would spend hours ice skating on the pond outside her house, and she would dream of becoming a professional ice skater. Then she would sing to the cows, and pretend she was a professional singer.

3- My aunt C.C. was born on Halloween. When my grandma decided it was time to go to the hospital, my mom went out and stood in front of the car. She thought if my grandma couldn't go to the hospital, she wouldn't have to miss out on trick-or-treating.

4- She was a tomboy growing up. She used to play baseball with the boys. She would tie her hair back and tuck it under a cap, and try to hide the fact that she was a girl. After a while, one of the boys would speak to her, discover she was a girl, and not want to play with her anymore. Even though she was a tomboy, she was very beautiful.

5- She was incredibly smart. When she was 14 and in reform school (that's a long story), they had her IQ tested, and her score was 145.

6- She always thought she was fat, even when she wasn't, and was always trying new diets. When Wende and Marcie were first born, she gained some weight, but lost it quickly, probably because they were only 13 months apart and she had her hands full! When Waylen was born, she gained a lot of weight and never did lose it. I like to believe that Waylen is the source of all evil. ;0

7- She was hilarious! I remember when my nephew Jory was little, she made up a joke for him. It went like this:

"Knock, knock!"

"Who's there?"

"Gramma."

"Gramma who?"

"Gram ma ball (grab my ball), I want it."

This had little Jory laughing for hours!

8- She was raised in the LDS church, but had very bitter feelings toward the church by the time I was born. She refused to go to church. But she always encouraged me to go, and supported my decision to marry in the temple, even though she couldn't be there. She once wrote me a letter telling me she was very proud of me for sticking with the church. Because of this, I was able to do her temple work for her.

9- Her family was very important to her, especially her grandkids. When Waylen's ex-girlfriend lied about Waylen and tried to take their son, Cade, away from him, she flew to Seattle and testified in court for Waylen. My mom wasn't a big fan of flying and used to tell me she would never fly again. But she did, for Cade.

10- She always said the only thing she wanted out of life was to be loved. Even though she may have had bad luck with men, her children loved her more than anything, and we miss her terribly.

Happy Birthday, Mom, and happy Mother's Day.

We love and miss you.

Playmate for Daisey

We got a new puppy! I found a cute little black pug on craigslist, we went see her last night, and Dan fell in love. We brought her home, and Daisey instantly bonded with her. She probably thinks this is the coolest toy we have ever given her. We've been looking for another dog for a while. Daisey is so high maintenance we thought another dog would help distract her from her neediness- and it worked! She is 5 months old and weighs about 9 pounds. We wanted a smaller dog because Daisey seems to like them better. Right now we are calling her Delila. Delila just loves following Daisey around. This morning, she followed Daisey outside, stood right behind her while she pooped, and got some poop on her head. It was gross. Dan is giving both dogs a bath today.
Maicee is still a little scared of her, when she's up close. Last night the 2 dogs were running all around the house, and Maicee was laughing so hard at them she was having a hard time breathing. Once we pulled out the video camera, though, she stopped laughing. It was still cute.
Hopefully I'll get pictures of our new addition up soon!!!

Poor Maicee

At the beginning of last week Maicee had a runny nose. It started out small, and then her nose was constantly running. By the middle of the week, she had a cough also. It sounded like she was trying to cough up the phlem in her throat. Dan and I didn't really think anything of it. I thought she would be better by the weekend. Well, the weekend came, and my happy baby was grumpy all weekend. Monday she started acting better, Tuesday and yesterday she was back to her old self, but still coughing with an occasional runny nose. Yesterday morning I was cuddling with her after she ate, and it sounded like she was having a hard time breathing. I had been listening for this, and yesterday was the first time it sounded like the sickness was in her lungs. Dan said she was acting fine all day, though. I called my dr. to make sure, and the nurse I spoke with said not to worry about it, but to bring her in if the cough has lasted more than a week. So I set an appointment, picked Dan and Maicee up, and we went to the dr. It took almost 40 minutes for the dr. to see us, and he kind of acted like I was a paranoid mom bringing in my baby over a little cough. He listened to her breathing, though, and instantly his face went serious. He said she has some kind of virus in her lungs, it could be RSV, but he didn't want to test her without treating her first. Then he checked her ears and she has a double ear infection! He gave us antibiotics for her ear infections, and we had to rent a nebulizer. With the nebulizer, we have to put medicine in the machine, put a little mask on Maicee's face, and she breathes the treatment in. We tried it last night, and she was so scared of it. She cried like she did when she got her shots. It was so sad. The dr. said she isn't contagious anymore, so that's a relief. My poor baby is so sick, and I didn't even know it. I'm so glad I took her to the dr. yesterday!

Easter weekend

Maicee loves being outside!!! When she was born, we would bundle her up, put her in her stroller, and go for walks, even in December and January. Now that it is getting warmer outside, we don't have to cover her stroller, and she loves looking around. We are outside a lot, either walking or jogging or just being outside. And she loves it!

We had such a good weekend! On Saturday we took Maicee to the easter egg hunt here in Rigby. She got 2 eggs. She loved looking around at all the little kids and just loved being outside!

Sunday morning, Maicee woke up bright and early and got her first easter basket! She was really fascinated with the pin wheel.

We went to church, and took a couple of pictures of Maicee in her easter dress. I have never in my life been into crafts, but I love making Maicee little head bands and little bracelets. It seems like I'm making her a new head band every Saturday for her dress on Sunday. You can't really see it in this picture, but this head band was my latest creation. I'm not very good at it, but it gives me something to do.

After church, we went to a barbeque at my sister Marcie's house. It seems like we don't get together much as a family anymore, so it was nice to see my sisters. Maybe next time Waylen can come.

We also had a birthday party for Preslee, who turned 3 on Saturday. She is growing up way too fast. She is so tall and skinny! And she finally has hair! Marcie almost always puts her hair up in pony tails, but yesterday she left it down. Her hair is so beatiful!

Preslee tried climbing into Maicee's car seat, but didn't quite fit.

After everybody left, Marcie, Dan, Preslee, Maicee, and I watched Twilight. It was a good day! And a good weekend!

Maicee is still a little scared of Preslee, for some reason.

Maicee loved playing with this empty soda bottle.

Maicee!

Maicee's first pony tail! So cute!

This last weekend was so good! I got to sleep in all weekend, listen to good conference talks, and play with my baby! Friday night I got home from work, Maicee was having "tummy time" and Dan was helping her roll over. He would put his hand out, Miacee would grab his fingers with both of her hands, and he would guide her to roll over. He rolled her over on her belly and we started talking, and Maicee rolled on to her back. Sunday we were cooking breakfast, and we had Maicee on a blanket in the kitchen. She was just laying on her back playing like a good little girl. Dan spilled some hot potatoes on the floor, and I looked over at Maicee to make sure they weren't near her, and she was on her belly! It was so cute because she had a little night gown on and her little butt was sticking out of the night gown. I'm so glad she rolled over for real when I was at home. Dan keeps saying if she tries to crawl or walk while I'm at work, he'll knock her over until I get home. I try to tell him that's what our video camera is for. That's all for now, I'll do a better update after this weekend is over.

Monster baby?

Maicee has been a wiggle worm the whole time I have known her. She was constantly on the go in my belly, and being born didn't slow her down. I think she gets it from her dad. It is difficult to feed her around anyone because she is always in motion, and blankets tend to fall off. It is a struggle just to stay covered. When she was first born and I would nurse, we would joke that I had a little monster under the blanket. Recently, she has started growling. Deep, almost manly growls, and she's a 4 month old little girl! So now when I feed her, it really does feel like I'm feeding a little monster...

Just another sheep

I decided to join the rest of the world and start a blog. We'll see how it works.

Dan and I have just been living in our house in Rigby. Dan is currently unemployed but is looking for work. If you know of anybody that wants to hire him, please let me know. He has his bachelor's in biology with a chemistry minor. He is incredibly smart, knows computers really well, and is a genious at math. He likes staying at home with Maicee, but he needs a job!!!

I have my bachelor's in health science, but there aren't too many job oppurtunities out here for that, so I'm working at Beehive Federal Credit Union in Rexburg. I love my job, but would rather stay home with our beautiful baby girl, Maicee. She has fun at home with her dad, though.

We love spending time with our little girl and our crazy dog, Daisey. We love the outdoors! Right now we are kind of training for the Dam marathon in June, only running the half marathon. (Kind of meaning Dan is training, and I try to train on Saturdays). I was a big runner before I got pregnant, but didn't run for almost a year because I was so sick. So it shouldn't be too hard for me to get back into running shape, I hope. That's all for today!