The Grahams

turning 2

2011-12-05T11:55:00.002-07:00

We have a slew of family birthdays in the middle of winter and then in the middle of summer. In the winter, we have one December, soon to be four Januarys, and 2 Februarys. In the summer, we have two Junes, two Julys, and two Augusts. And then there's Ross... the April singlet. But it's okay babe, somebody's bound to have a spring baby at some point! :) We celebrated Gabe's 2nd birthday in June, but with the craziness of summer activities, we just did a small get together. My friend Hannah was living with us at the time, so she joined us along with our dear friends Devri and Ruben and their girls, Bria and Camri. My favorite birthday cake is the Rainbow Chip, so until Gabe is old enough to tell me otherwise, we always celebrate with Rainbow Chip:) And honestly, who doesn't love Rainbow Chip??? It's even fun to say! RAINBOW CHIP! Okay, anyway....

Gabe struggled to make a "2" at first, but he's got it down now.

This kid gives the BEST smooches! He has the juiciest lips and I love it when he shares kisses with me.

Blowing out the candles. He was focusing so hard, he's even gripping the counter with his toes!

Gabe and Bria are bff's. She was either telling him a secret or trying to tickle him, I don't know which.

They love sitting together and reading books. She's like a little mommy to him, and he just lets her do her thang. I love their cute toes in this picture.

Even though he's almost 2 1/2, here are some fun things that I want to remember about Gabe at this age:

- He speaks really well for his age, and I think it's because he's so observant. He's always mimicking what he hears and he's never afraid to say new words. For example, new phrases he's learned from watching The Lion King include "Oh, not Zazu!", "Slimy yet satisfying!", "Pinned ya again", "Hakuna Matata", and "A wee mawe, a wee mawe" (continued by singing).

- He sings the BYU Cougar fight song ALL DAY LONG. This boy was born to be a Cougar. He loves to throw his football, he'll tackle Daddy, and he would wear his BYU shirt every day if he could.

- When he first learned/understood that there was a baby in mommy's tummy, he refused to call him Baby Max. For months it was Peppayoni. I have absolutely no idea where he got Peppayoni from, but I'm just glad he'll now call him Max.

- Like his daddy, Gabe is a gentle giant. He loves to rough house and jump off of things he shouldn't and he tends to just shake things off when he gets hurt, but he is such a cuddle bug! He'll come up to me, raise his arms in the air, and say "Mommy, I wanna hold you." How the heck can I say no to that?! He wraps his arms around me and gives the sweetest kisses. If he thinks I have a "boo-boo," he'll kiss it and tell me I need a band-aid. He loves looking at my ever-growing belly, and he noticed my stretch marks for the first time the other day. He gasped and said "mommy, scratches!" and then kissed my belly. He absolutely melts my heart.

- And while he melts my heart, he also drives me crazy. This kid can destroy in 90 seconds what it takes me an hour to clean. My house is never clean for long, because if Gabe can mess it up, he will.

-He builds nests by stripping the couch of its pillows and blankets, and will grab just about anything else he can get his hands on and throw it in his nest. He'll then strip down to his diaper (thankfully he leaves that on), and hunker down under all the pillows and blankets and just lay there. Weirdo.

- He has no interest in potty training (grrrrr...)

- He'll stand on anything that could act as a platform and then conduct himself while he sings. Twinkle Twinkle and the Cougar Fight Song are his favorites at the moment.

- He loves holding babies. When Bria and Camri come over, he likes to hold Camri and will sing "I Love You Forever". He then kisses her head (once again, melting my heart).

I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast. I'm so glad that he's still a mama's boy and will cuddle me whenever I ask. We love Gabe so much. What a blessing it is to be his mommy...

I am not ashamed...

2011-12-05T10:33:00.005-07:00

... although I probably should be. I have had absolutely ZERO desire to blog for the last several months (if you couldn't tell). But I have a growing son who is too cute not to share, lots of pictures of our family doings, and I have seven weeks left of this pregnancy. Time is flying too fast! And since I've never been good at scrapbooking or journaling (or blogging, for that matter), I need to post some pictures of our lives so that I can at least remember the second half of 2011:)

To start, this is from our trip to Cokeville, WY to visit my dear friend Violet. She was visiting her family over Memorial Day Weekend, so we decided to take a little road trip!

Ross was excited about the cool teepee. Gabe, not so much.

However, Gabe was VERY excited about the cool indian thingamabob in our hotel room!

I love this sweet mama.

Lemme tell ya, this place was ROCKIN.

The day we came back from Cokeville, I realized that it had been 5 weeks and decided to take a test... well, 3 tests. Ross and I were equally shocked and even more thrilled. I probably would've taken more tests had I had them.

And since my mac won't let me post more than 5 pictures at a time, on to the next post!

happy day!

2011-07-12T17:19:00.002-06:00

So remember that pity post back in May? The one where I talked about how difficult it was for me to look at a negative pregnancy test each month? Well, 5 days after that post, I took another pregnancy test... and it was positive. COMPLETELY positive:) I was actually pretty shocked, considering that I'd seen negative results for almost a year before that. Ross walked into the bathroom right after I took the test, and he was equally shocked and VERY excited. Baby #2 is due January 28th(ish), 2012 and everything's lookin' good! I had my first OB appointment today and I was a little nervous when he couldn't find the heartbeat. I knew my uterus was tilted back a bit, but it wasn't until after I had an ultrasound that they told us the placenta is anterior, or in front. The baby is sitting low and back a bit, but the heartbeat is strong and Baby is healthy! I'm so thrilled to be growing a little one... even if the nausea has already been a doozy. My doc gave me some prescriptions to try, so I've got my fingers crossed that they help! It was horrible to be nauseous without a toddler, but now that I have a very active 2 year old, it makes the nausea even worse. But seeing my cute little Gummy Bear wiggle around today made it all worth it:) I am very grateful for a loving, compassionate, hard-working hubby, a beautiful, FUN little boy, and a healthy, growing baby. We already have names picked, now we just have to wait and see if Gabe will have a brother or sister!

oh. my. yum.

2011-06-16T19:26:00.003-06:00

I had a hankering for chicken fajitas (which is rare, since I don't like peppers), so I decided to wing it. I didn't have a recipe, but I figured they'd be easy enough. The good news? They were super easy and DANG GOOD! Ross took pictures with his phone because he was proud of my culinary creation :)

He obviously loaded his up with cilantro, which was a personal choice. I like cilantro, but I like to taste other flavors too. So, if you're undecided about dinner or just want to add a yummy, simple recipe to your mix, here ya go:

2 large chicken breasts

1 red pepper

1 orange pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 medium onion

olive oil (enough to evenly coat chicken and veggies, about 1/4 - 1/3 cup)

1-2 T. minced garlic

fajita seasoning

fresh chopped cilantro

sour cream (opt.)

tortillas

Heat oil in a large skillet and add garlic. Thaw chicken breasts if frozen, then cube and place in oil. Thinly slice the peppers (I used about 3/4 of each pepper and saved the extra for a healthy snack later on) and onion, then place with chicken once chicken is mostly cooked. Simmer until veggies are soft, then add fajita seasoning and mix well. Simmer for another 10ish minutes to allow flavors to absorb. Spoon into tortillas and serve with sour cream and cilantro, and enjoy!

This is a healthy meal full of protein, fiber, and vitamins A and C. And I love being able to use fresh ingredients! One of the many perks to summertime is the availability of fresh produce. And once our garden starts producing, I won't have to pay for produce anymore! Woot woot!

Happy eating!

not an easy subject

2011-05-26T20:45:00.002-06:00

Okay, I'm just gonna come out and say it. I'm struggling. So many of my friends and family members are either having babies or have just had babies recently, and while I'm happy for them, it's not easy for me. Ross and I wanted our kids to be roughly 2 years apart (and before you judge, remember that I didn't have a child until I was 25), so I went off birth control last summer. It took us a few months to get pregnant with Gabe, but not this long. We've been wanting/trying to get pregnant for 11+ months now, and although I try to put on a strong face, it's really starting to wear me down. I went to my OB/GYN and they put me on Clomid for a while, but because I didn't get pregnant within a certain amount of time, they took me off of it and sent me to a fertility specialist. I scheduled an appointment for the next available date, which was a few weeks away, but when that day rolled around I just couldn't do it. I called and canceled. It would've been a $240 consultation visit, and I was terrified that I'd walk away from that visit with no answers. I know that Heavenly Father has it all worked out, but here I am, 11 months later, wondering what I'm doing wrong. Or maybe what I'm not doing right? I don't know. I just know that I'm sad. My heart wants another child, to give Gabe a sibling, to fill our lives with more chaos and joy. I'm trying to have faith. I'm trying to remember that I'm not in control. I don't know what the future brings, and maybe that's why I'm left doubting. My patriarchal blessing tells me that I was brought to this earth to "become a righteous mother in Israel." Well, I really hope Gabe won't be the only child to help me fulfill that, because heaven knows I've screwed up a lot. He's the first child... most oldest children are lucky to survive childhood as their parents figure out how to be parents. I wish I could wave a magic wand and know why we haven't been able to conceive. I wish that my faith was strong enough to keep me from doubting.

Every day that passes, I watch my sweet son and feel gratitude that he is ours. I'm grateful that I can hold him and sing with him and be his mommy. My love for him is so intense, and I just hope I'm given the opportunity to share that love again. I guess time will tell...

family update

2011-05-16T09:05:00.002-06:00

Things happen quickly in our family, so here's a little update. We were in Virginia for most of April visiting family (Ross' entire family and my sister and her fam) and we had so much fun! It's hard not living closer to them, so when we're there, we really make the most of it. I still need to download pics, so once I do, I'll post them. Ross and I spent our anniversary and his birthday out there, which also happened to be Easter Sunday this year. It was nice to be with his family for a few celebrations, especially since Grammy was very willing to take Gabe for a couple days so Ross and I could go to the beach for our anniversary. Virginia Beach is only 2 hours away from his parent's house, so it made for a nice getaway for us. We went to the aquarium and visited the naval base just up the road from our hotel. We also made a quick stop at the HUGE outlet mall in Williamsburg, and I was glad Ross brought an extra suitcase to pack with all the stuff we acquired during our visit:) Ross wasn't able to be with us the entire time Gabe and I were there because of work... which leads me to my next update...

So, remember how Ross is an incredible tenor and graduated in Music Education? And remember how he did his student teaching at a middle school and really didn't like it? And the starting teacher salary for Utah is a whopping $26K... pretty unbelievable, eh? Well, Ross was working at Pinnacle Security to pay the bills until he could find a teaching job, but Pinnacle was really holding him back and he wasn't happy with what he was doing. He'd come home with headaches every day and he didn't love going to work. We prayed about his job situation, and while we were in the midst of the storm, we received a great offer that was the silver lining we needed. Does this logo/name look familiar?

My dad is the owner of Stratus Insurance, and he offered Ross a job doing some product marketing. Ross has had quite a bit of experience making sales and being on the phone and working with people, and he is overall just a very trustworthy person. Well, the product he's been marketing is doing really well, and he's catching on to the whole insurance thing quickly. In fact, he had 5 days to study for his insurance exam (which is very difficult and something that people usually study for for weeks or months), and he passed it on the first try! I was so proud of him when I got that phone call (since I was in VA). He likes his work environment and his coworkers, and he's really enjoying the work he's doing at Stratus. My biggest fear with Ross taking the job was that I thought he would be wasting his incredible talent in music. I know he loves singing and performing, and I didn't want him to take a job to pay the bills NOW and then regret that choice twenty years down the road. However, Ross has realized that he can work at Stratus and still be involved in music. There are auditions for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir this summer, as well as auditions for the Salt Lake Choral Artists. In fact, the SLCA has gone to several international choir competitions and come home with a handful of 1st place prizes. So basically, Ross will still be involved in music. He'll still be able to feed his desire for performance while also providing for his family, and I'm very proud of him for making the decision he did. It was not an easy one, but our prayers have definitely been answered!

And speaking of prayers being answered...

... we're moving!!! It's actually not a big deal since we're just moving upstairs, but it was a miracle for us. We're in a 2 bedroom apartment right now, and we're REALLY needing more space. Gabe's room is stuffed to the gills (largely due to his teensy closet), and our master bedroom is also a studio and an office. I despise moving, and although we looked at some houses, we realized that we're not quite to the point where we can buy yet... but we need more space! Just last week I told Ross "the only way we're moving is if one of our three neighbors moves out of their 3 bedroom apartment." Well, just last week I saw our upstairs neighbor carrying several boxes. To make a long story short, she's due in July with her 3rd child and refuses to haul 3 kids up and down the stairs. They're moving to another building in our same complex and we're moving into their apartment on June 1st! Our manager didn't even have the apartment up for availability when I called to tell her we wanted it, so we're re-signing our lease and we'll have 1450 square feet in 2 weeks! I am SO excited to have more space, MUCH bigger closets, an extra bedroom, and nobody above us:) Our prayers were heard and they've definitely been answered, and for that I am so grateful.

Now you're updated and now I'll end this painfully long post (thanks for sticking with me...). Until next time, amici!

follow your nose

2011-03-18T13:51:00.004-06:00

As my sweet hubby could tell you, I have the nose of a bloodhound. I've always had a very sensitive sense of smell, and most of my memories have some kind of scent attached to them. We can all picture a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies and know exactly how they smell. Most of us choose our soap or body wash according to how it smells instead of if it's pretty or not. Mothers know the scent of their children. Do you remember the scent of your elementary school? Or your mom's perfume? Here are a few of my favs:

Whenever I smell this deodorant, it brings back memories of one of the happiest, most carefree times of my life. I bought it during our honeymoon to the Bahamas, and smelling it reminds me of our beach house and the sound of the waves against our dock.

If you read my post about Trieste, I talked about the Piazza Unita. Welp, this is it. Looking at this picture, I can literally smell the coffee wafting out of the cafe's and the slight hint of salt in the air as the breeze comes in from the Mediterranean. Oh, what I'd give to be there right now!

This is an Italian panatteria, or bake shop. I can't even describe the deliciousness of one of these places. It's just one of those things that should be on your bucket list... "experience a panatteria." Divine.

This may sound weird, but I smell Gabe all day long. Ever since he was a newborn, he's had the sweetest baby scent that is my favorite smell in the world. It's not the 'fresh out of the bathtub' scent, but it's just HIM. His skin and his hair and even his breath. I love it!

I don't even have to say anything about this picture. Can't you just smell it?

Heavenly Father sure knew what He was doing :)

and it came to pass...

2011-03-10T20:33:00.002-07:00

Okay, so Gabe's not quite 2 yet... but the Terrible Two's have definitely begun. I don't even want to think about the tantrums we've had in our house this week. I lost count after about 50. It has been a very difficult, stressful week, especially since Gabe is recovering from a nasty case of RSV. I'm trying to be patient. I'm trying to be understanding. I remind myself constantly that I love my child more than life itself... I just don't like this phase. He continues to do the same naughty things every day, even when we've told him countless times not to do them. He knows there are consequences, but he crosses the line anyway. And then, when we tell him 'no', he FREAKS OUT. He throws the typical tantrum; screaming, flailing on the ground, weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth. You know what I'm talking about. My sister suggested that I start putting him in time-out, which will require patience on my part. I can just imagine how time-out will work for my almost-21-month old, but I'm desperate for a breakthrough at this point. As for now, I'm living for the moments when he's happy and funny and cute. He really is a sweet little boy, and he makes us laugh all the time. I love him like I've never loved anyone before, so please don't think any different. Do, however, feel free to share any ideas you may have for dealing with this lovely time in my toddler's life:) I'm open for suggestions!

*T

Time in Trieste

2011-02-25T15:52:00.002-07:00

I've been wanting to write down some of my travel memories for a while, and I figure that some of them are interesting enough to share. My parents gave us some wonderful travel opportunities, and one of my favorite places to visit just happens to be my namesake. My dad served his mission in Padova, Italy, and Trieste was his favorite city. It's a port about two hours up the coast from Venice, and it is, to me, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Trieste not only hugs the Adriatic, but it's nestled against the mountains and is only 15 minutes from the Slovenia border. It is one of the most interesting places I've visited, as it has a castle, a university, an incredible plaza and fountain surrounded by old government buildings and quaint cafes, Italy's sole concentration camp, and some awesome shopping venues and restaurants. I've visited Trieste three times, and the last time I went I stayed for half a summer. One of my favorite memories happened one weekend when we went to the Piazza Unita (the main plaza). Trieste was celebrating its 50th anniversary of being freed from Austrian rule, which came about because the Alpini, or "Alpine soldiers," fought for Trieste's freedom. About 50,000 people came to Trieste to celebrate over this anniversary weekend, and several thousand were Alpini soldiers, both young and old. Alpini are easy to find since they all wear their signature felt hats with a long eagle feather on one side. They are known for their love of singing and drinking, and they usually do both quite well:) This particular Saturday, we (me and my Italian "family") were walking down a side alley to get to the plaza. It was crowded because there were so many tourists visiting the city, but it was a beautiful day and we were taking our time. I noticed a 60ish-year old, rather overweight Alpini walking towards us, and as he sang loudly and stumbled a bit, it was obvious that he'd had a few drinks already. We gave him a wide berth, but he then started walking right towards me. Before I could step out of his way, this man literally walked into me and wrapped both arms tightly around my torso, pinning my arms to my side. He started singing again, swaying back and forth and kissing my neck and telling me how beautiful I was. The couple I was living with were mortified and tried to pry this guy's arms off me, but he was a happy drunk and didn't want to let go. My little Nonna (Italian grandma... about 4'11" and 100 pounds) was tugging on my hand and asking the guy to let me go. My Nonno (Italian grandpa, very loving but very protective) was trying to talk this guy into letting me go. After what seemed like an eternity, the man loosened his grip... but before I could squirm out of his arms, he kissed me several times on the neck and gave my bum a little smack. So here I was, a tall, strawberry blonde, green eyed American in Italy (aka I stood out like a sore thumb), and I was so overwhelmed by what had just happened that all I could do was laugh. My Nonni were just relieved that this guy finally let go of me, and once I stopped laughing, we continued toward the plaza. It wasn't but two minutes later that we entered the massive plaza and ran smack into a group of about fifteen young Alpini. These soldiers were my age (early twenties), and lemme tell ya, they were high on life! They were singing and laughing and having a good ol' time... and then they stopped when we came into the plaza. I've never felt more self-conscious in my life because they were staring at ME. A few of them actually pointed! I couldn't figure out why I was suddenly a specimen, but one brave soldier came up to me, put his arm around my shoulders, stuck his face just inches from mine, and said "Mamma mia! Che bell'occhi!" or "holy cow, what beautiful eyes!" My poor Nonni... they were standing close to me, making sure we didn't have another neck-kissing, bum-grabbing drunk man on our hands. But these young guys were awesome! I felt like a celebrity! Within seconds of the beautiful eye comment, I had guys surrounding me, wanting to take a picture with me and inviting me to spend the day with them. Between shouts of "you're so beautiful!" and "will you be my girlfriend?!", I was being yanked on one arm by these testosterone-filled Alpini while my Nonna held firm to my other arm. I was blushing and flustered and giddy that I'd had more male attention in the last 5 minutes than I'd had all my life (stupid American men...), and finally my sweet Nonno stepped in and invited the young soldiers to enjoy their day, as I would spend the rest of my day with my 'family'. I don't remember much else of what happened that day since I was on Cloud 9, and my Nonni kept having to reel me back to reality. We shopped, we saw some friends, we took pictures, we ate gelato, and after a few hours, we began the walk back to the car. As we were about to cross the plaza, two Alpini on a tandem bike came into view and it was clear that they were happily buzzed and singing at the top of their lungs. We were walking towards them, and as I watched them I realized that the soldier riding in front was also watching me. He steered the bike toward me and began singing loudly about "la Bella Bionda", the beautiful blonde. We had been walking in the middle of the street, so when the Alpini reached us, they began riding in circles around me and continued singing to me. Once again, I felt like a movie star. Remember, these are ITALIAN MEN literally falling at my feet. I thought I'd wake up from a beautiful dream at any moment, but it was very real! The Alpini sang loudly until their song was over, and as they rode away they both blew me a kiss. People who'd witnessed the scene began clapping and, for the umpteenth time that day, I blushed. My Nonna grabbed my hand, and in playful exasperation she scolded me and told me they would leave me at home next time. I could've died happy at that moment... I'd had men drooling over me all day and I never felt endangered. These men were not perverts hoping to get lucky. They were happy Italians who made this Americana feel like one lucky gal. Even the first drunk Alpini was non-threatening. He was just a happy drunk who had no concept of personal space and told a woman (while kissing her neck...) that she was beautiful. I will forever remember my introduction to the Alpini with fondness, and it's a story I will tell for the rest of my life. Even my Nonni remind me of 'that one time when the Alpini loved me.' I've not had an experience since that even comes close to making me feel the way I did that day. It still puts a smile on my face!

stereotype

2011-02-19T12:09:00.002-07:00

(Disclaimer: This post is not meant to offend or point fingers. I am stating what's on my mind (aka I'm venting) because I feel like I may not be the only one who feels this way.)

So, I live in Utah... "The Greatest Snow on Earth", "The Beehive State", "The Mormon Bubble", etc., etc. There are so many things I love about this place; the mountains, the awesome summers, the skiing, how close we live to the temple, and not to mention the incredible network of friends and family that we have so close to us. Utah is our home for now, and I will appreciate that. However, there is one thing about this great state that I do NOT appreciate, and that is stereotype. What I'm going to say might sound harsh to your ears, but please remember that these are my feelings. In a nutshell, I am not a blonde, size 4, gourmet cooking, interior decorating, quilt making, award-winning blogging Superperfectmom. Phew. There's my confession. And I am so SICK of the expectation that that is exactly what I should be. I've never before felt the pressure for perfection like I've felt here. And quite honestly, it boggles my mind that I feel inadequate sometimes when I'm surrounded by these Superperfectmoms, because I'm a great person! I constantly have to remind myself that not everyone speaks 3 languages or has served a mission or has a college degree or has traveled to 15 countries or is temple worthy. And before you judge, I am NOT bragging... I'm simply stating that I've done some pretty cool things with my life and I shouldn't feel inadequate just because I don't make bread from scratch! Why do I feel like, in order to 'fit in', I should not only look cute and fashionable all the time, but I should be a pro at everything? I should take my 24 hour day and feed the hungry, knit a sweater, cook an amazing meal for not only my family but the gal downstairs who just had a baby, run a 10k, teach my 20-month old how to read, maintain a perfectly clean, beautifully decorated house, read my scriptures for an hour, and invent some cute craft that I can sell on etsy and make enough money to support my mani/pedi obsession... right?

WRONG.

I am not a Superperfectmom, but I am a super mom. Not Supermom, just a super mom. And wife. I provide the emotional and (hopefully) spiritual support for my hard-working husband and sweet little boy. Sometimes the house is clean, sometimes it's not. Sometimes I'm really proud of my culinary creations, other times we enjoy grilled cheese and tomato soup. I don't sew, I don't scrapbook, I occasionally blog but I've never been published, I'm sure as heck not a size 4, my hair color is NATURAL, and I still wear the same clothes that I've had since 2005 (gasp!). Sometimes I'm tired and I let Gabe watch Dora the Explorer all morning, but he knows who Jesus is and he can say his prayers and point out the temple when we drive by it. He has an incredible vocabulary for a boy his age because we work diligently with him on communicating. I know that my husband and son feel loved because I tell them and show them all day long. I have to give myself some credit, because if I don't, my lack of stereotype will be the death of me. I'm learning to accept that I'm not that Superperfectmom, but with 1 in 5 Utah women on antidepressants, why would I want to be? I'm just me, take it or leave it.

*T

a cute boy, a birthday present, and some fish

2011-02-16T20:32:00.004-07:00

I feel like my life really isn't all that interesting to blog about. We stay busy, but it's the everyday stuff... Ross goes to work, Gabe and I play and read books and I try to teach him how to clean up his ENDLESS messes, I do some work for my dad and (try to) keep the house in order, and when Ross comes home we eat dinner and try to catch up on Modern Family. I know people who have kids blog about their kids, but I don't want to be one of 'those moms' that can only talk about the amazing achievements of her offspring. Don't get me wrong... Gabe is pretty much the most amazing kid I know and I love talking about him, but I can keep a conversation going without talking about him.

Anyway, our 2011 has been interesting so far. We've either been sick or, well, sick, and I finally had my tonsils out in January (I did NOT enjoy my birthday this year... it was spent in bed and in PAIN!). I can easily say that it was the WORST thing I've ever gone through. It's been almost 4 weeks since the surgery and I'm still not 100%. In fact, the doc says I'm a week behind most patients, with is due in part to my age. It's not an easy recovery for anyone, let alone a 27 year old (the recovery usually takes longer if you're not a kid). I still can't yawn or take more than 2-3 swallows of water at a time, but at least I can eat and talk, both of which were very difficult for a good 2 weeks. The doc accidentally knicked my uvula during the surgery and it's still swollen, but at least he didn't accidentally remove that too :) Ross has a severe sinus infection that spread to his ear (he spent Valentine's Day in bed sipping chamomile tea), and Gabe is recovering from a nasty virus that turned into a deep, lingering cough. And amidst all the germs, I've caught a yucky cold and am thinking of buying stock in Kleenex. We've gone through so many tissues in the last month, it's unbelievable. However, today was gorgeous and almost 60 degrees, and I did some deep cleaning and had all the windows open to air everything out. Hopefully the germs are gone and we can recover! I've never been so ready for Spring! We just need to move to Jamaica. That would solve all our health problems...

And now, on to the part most of you are probably looking for anyway: pictures! It's okay, I realize that most people don't read my ramblings and just look for the good stuff. So here it is...

Our old bookshelf was literally falling apart, so Ross got me a new one for my birthday. Thank you babes! I love it!

Gabe has 2 new roommates, Benny and Joon. Aren't they cute?!

What mom doesn't have a picture of a spaghetti-covered child? We had to scrub him to get the orange stain off his skin, but he loved making a mess.

Look at that face. Pure joy.

I let Gabe play one morning while I made breakfast, but realized I hadn't heard him for several minutes (doesn't your heart drop when that happens?). I walked into our bedroom and he was hanging out on our bed, playing the Animal Sounds game on my phone. Kids these days... technology is in their blood!

And again, a few minutes later. Still gaming...

Look at that cute face. This was right before bathtime, and he was just chillin on the recliner. I love those juicy little lips!

Time to take some Nyquil and read Vampire Academy:) I figure it was just a matter of time before my sister beat me over the head to get me to start reading them... (love you sizzle!).

And in case you're wondering...

2010-12-29T16:42:00.002-07:00

... I WILL own one of these someday.

This is the most beautiful car I've ever seen, and I'm in love.

My mouth is watering...

2010-12-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

So the holidays are a time for celebration and family, right? A time to get together and remember our Savior and His birth, a time of giving and service. Well, there's also the bittersweet tradition of FOOD... lots and lots of yummy food. I say bittersweet because, while my mouth loves the scrumdiddleeumptiousness (?) of all the holiday goodies, so do my love handles. I mean, really... how can you say no to this:

or these...

or this minty goodness...

Muddy Buddies?! C'mon!

Fig Newtons in a jar? I think YES!

Ross's fav

I can't even begin to describe my love for these. Oh. So. Yummy.

So will I join the thousands who start off the New Year at the gym? Yes. Will I say goodbye to (most of) these goodies until 2011's holiday season? Unfortunately. Have a gained weight this holiday season? Surprisingly and thankfully, NO. Go me:)

Choffy is pretty much amazing

2010-11-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Triest and I where introduced to Choffy by Ingrid (Triest's mom). And it is pretty much the best thing ever! It is brewed chocolate. Just like coffee is roasted, ground and than brewed (soaked in hot water) coffee beans, Choffy is roasted, ground and than brewed cocoa beans. Just like coffee you can add creamer and sugar (I just add a scoop of Splenda). This drink is great for the winter months and has all the health benefits of eating dark chocolate, and...it is delicious!

If you live close to us you need to swing by and we will make you a cup! You can also learn more at drinkchoffy.com/chocolove.

I copied the following paragraphs from an article on the health benefits of Choffy and chocolate by Dr. Eric Durtschi.

"Choffy is made from 100% cacão beans (also known as cocoa beans), roasted to perfection. All the antioxidant value, mineral benefits, neurotransmitter rejuvenating properties, and overall health-giving qualities of chocolate are found naturally in cacão beans. No sugar, no dairy, no chemicals. Just one ingredient: cacão.

The cacão bean is one of nature's most fantastic superfoods due to its mineral content and wide array of unique and varied properties. Since many of the special properties of cacão are destroyed or lost in the process of making chocolate, we feel that planet Earth’s favorite food is still unknown to most of us.

While Choffy uses roasted cacão beans, many of the health benefits found in its natural state are still preserved, allowing us to deliver a healthy and delicious product that will easily fit into most every lifestyle. This document describes many of the health benefits of the cacão bean that survive the roasting process.

Cacão beans are extraordinarily nutritious

Cacão is the Best Natural Source of the Following Nutrients:

Magnesium: Cacão appears to be the #1 source of magnesium of any food. Magnesium is one of the great alkaline minerals, helping to support the heart, brain, and digestive system. In addition, Magnesium balances brain chemistry, builds strong bones, and is associated with more happiness. The most deficient major mineral on the Standard American Diet (SAD), over 80% of Americans are chronically deficient in Magnesium.

Iron: Cacão contains a significant amount of iron per serving. Iron, a critical mineral in nutrition, is part of the oxygen carrying protein called hemoglobin that keeps our blood healthy.
Chromium: Chromium is an important trace mineral that helps balance blood sugar. Nearly 80% of Americans are deficient in this trace mineral.

Anandamide: Anandamide is an endorphin that the human body naturally produces after exercise. Anandamide has only been found in one plant—cacão. Anandamide is known as "the bliss chemical" because it is released while we are feeling great. Cacão contains enzyme inhibitors that decrease our bodies' ability to breakdown anandamide. This means that, when we eat cacão, natural anandamide or cacão anandamide may stick around longer, making us feel good longer.

Theobromine: Cacão usually contains about 1% theobromine. Theobromine has been shown to strengthen the enamel of the teeth and to reduce the incidence of cavities.
Theobromine is a chemical relative of caffeine but is not a nervous system stimulant. Theobromine dilates the cardiovascular system making the heart’s job easier. This is one of the major reasons why cacão is an important part of a heart healthy diet.

Antioxidants: Cacão contains the highest concentration of antioxidants of any food in the world. These antioxidants include polyphenols, catechins, and epicatechins. By weight, cacão has more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries, açai, pomegranates, and goji berries combined.

Manganese: Manganese is an essential trace mineral. Manganese helps assist iron in the
oxygenation of the blood and formation of hemoglobin.

Zinc: Zinc is an essential trace mineral. Zinc plays a critical role in the immune system, liver, pancreas, and skin. Additionally, zinc is involved in thousands of enzymatic reactions throughout the human body.

Copper: Copper is an essential trace mineral. Copper is found naturally in plants with vitamin C. In the human body, copper helps to build healthy blood.

Phenylethylamine: Phenylethylamine (PEA) is found in abundance in cacão. PEA is the chemical that we produce in our bodies when we fall in love. This is likely one of the main reasons why love and chocolate have such a deep connection. PEA also plays a role in increasing focus and alertness.

Tryptophan: Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that is transformed into important stress-protective neurotransmitters including serotonin and melatonin.

Serotonin: Serotonin is the primary neurotransmitter in the human body. Serotonin is similar in its chemistry to tryptophan and melatonin. Serotonin helps build up our “stress defense shield.”

Does Choffy contain caffeine?

Contrary to popular opinion, cacão is a poor source of caffeine. A typical sample of cacão beans will yield anywhere from zero caffeine to 1,000 parts per million of caffeine (less than 1/20th of the caffeine present in coffee). Unlike caffeine, Theobromine will give you a noticeable increase in energy without making you feel nervous and jittery.

In February 2008, Dr. Gabriel Cousens discovered in clinical tests on healthy people that cacão does not elevate blood sugar in the same way as caffeine containing foods or beverages. In fact, Dr. Cousens found that cacão has less of an effect on blood sugar than nearly any other food.

What is cacão?

Cacão is the seed (nut) of a fruit of an Amazonian tree that was brought to Central America during or before the time of the Olmecs. Cacão beans were so revered by the Mayans and Aztecs that they used them as money!
In 1753 Carl von Linnaeus, the 18th-century Swedish scientist, thought that cacão was so important that he named the genus and species of this tree himself. He named this tree: Theobroma Cacão, which literally means "Cacão, the food of the gods."
There is no evidence to implicate cacão bean consumption with obesity. Cacão is actually one of the great weight loss foods because within its extraordinary nutrition profile it contains the minerals and molecules that help curb appetite.
summary
Incorporating Choffy into your daily diet can help you take advantage of the many benefits native to the cacão bean and assist you in leading a healthier and happier life."

Ross

Yes, I took a sabbatical...

2010-10-06T12:23:00.000-06:00

Life has been very busy and yes, I'll admit that I've had no desire to blog. Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so. I've had other things to deal with, and blogging was at the bottom (and by 'bottom' I mean VERY BOTTOM) of my list. In short, here's what's kept me from keeping you informed about my life:

*Ross started student teaching in August, and he's now halfway through his last semester as an undergrad! Woot!
*During his first week of student teaching, Ross got a call to the front office. The mother of one of his students hit his car and basically totalled it. She had a big SUV and his 15-year old, 207,000+ miles, already-been-in-2-accidents (not by Ross, I'll add) Mercury Sable met it's end. On a good day, that car was worth maybe $700. We were told it would cost at least $2500 to fix it, which we decided wouldn't be worth it. So, we had to look for a new car, which was NOT part of our budget plan. It took almost 2 weeks of searching and stress and budgeting and more searching, but we finally found what we were looking for: a 2005 Toyota Corolla. We got it for a great price and the gas mileage makes me absolutely giddy! We need this to be Ross's run around car that will hopefully last through all of grad school, and we have been very happy with it so far :)

*We moved! Life in Alpine was great, but when you're 26 and have your own family, living with the parentals is... well... less than ideal. We love my parents and Gabe loved seeing Mimi and Poppy every day, but it was time to find our own place. We found a nice apartment in old town PG, and within about a month of turning in an application, we were moving in! We love having our own place and we really like our cute little community.

*I started having really bad migraines the week we moved in, so after several doctor and chiropractor visits, I was told to just slow down. The chiro said I was suffering from neuro-emotional stress (whatever that means), but with all that happened in such a short time, what do you expect?! Ross was leaving for school at 6:45 each morning and would go straight from school to work, so most days he wouldn't come home until after 8pm. I was at home with a very active little boy, I was beyond exhaustion, and there was still a lot of unpacking/cleaning/sorting to do. I was feeling guilty because I was SO TIRED and didn't have a spotless house and a warm gourmet dinner on the table when Ross came home every night. And with guilt came more stress, and the more guilty and stressed out I became, the more emotional I was. And I know what some of you are thinking, but I am NOT PREGNANT. Headaches- yes. Exhausted- yes. Pregnant- no. Anyway, Ross finally sat me down and told me that all he wanted was my happiness and for me to take care of sweet little Gabe. He helps around the house more, he'll cook when he can, and he's been very understanding of the whole thing. He even quit his job for the next 8 weeks (until student teaching is over with) so that he can come home earlier and focus on family and student teaching. And it just so happens that our school grant came through the day before he quit, so our finances are right where we need them to be. Thank you, Heavenly Father!

So, I hope my explanation gives me an excuse for taking a blogging sabbatical. Now that things have slowed down just a bit, I'm hoping to get back on the blogging horse. Maybe I'll even add some pictures next time (gasp!). But for now, I thank you for reading this very long post and give you my word that it will not be 3 months before I write again:)

PS- blogger won't let me put spaces between any of my paragraphs... anybody know how to fix that?

tossed salad and scrambled eggs

2010-07-25T15:05:00.000-06:00

I'm sure I'm not the only mom out there who feels like this after church:

... right???

I love my son more than life itself, but Sundays are getting harder and harder. We bring snacks, books, a bottle, finger puppets... but he is SO SQUIRMY that I get absolutely nothing from church meetings. My brain feels all kindsa' scrambled once our 3-hour stretch is over. I have five months until this kiddo goes to nursery, which is roughly 20 Sundays. I don't know if I can handle 20 more Sundays! Thank goodness Ross is such a hands-on Daddy, otherwise I'd be inactive. I look forward to church until we're about 15 minutes into Sacrament Meeting, and then I realize it's practically impossible to get Gabe to sit still for 30 seconds at a time. He's not tired... he takes a nap right before church. And if he doesn't take a nap, it's World War III. If Gabe had it his way, he'd spend the first hour of church climbing up and down the stairs that lead to the podium. Obviously, that won't happen. So please, mommies of the world... share your ideas with this scrambled egghead as to how I can quietly entertain my 13-month old during church. I'm desperate!

old glory

2010-07-04T09:47:00.001-06:00

"You're the emblem of the land I love,

home of the free and the brave."

I love this flag.

Happy Independence Day!

a soup lover's delight

2010-07-03T09:13:00.001-06:00

This post is for all of you Olive Garden lovers out there (or for those of you who may want a new, super delish recipe) . My Aunt Vilate gave me the recipe for Zupa Toscana, so I decided to try it out last night. Ross and I are searching for new low-carb recipes now that we're doing the Atkins diet again. Yeah, let's not talk about that. Anyway, this meal was such a success that I had to share it. And even though I omitted the potatoes to make it more carb-friendly, there wasn't a drop left in the pan by the time we were through! I should've taken a picture of the final product, but I was so excited to eat it that I totally forgot =)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. sausage, cooked and crumbled (I used a 12 0z. package of reduced fat turkey sausage and it was still delicious)
3/4 c. diced onion
1 1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 quart low sodium chicken broth (and believe me, you'll want low sodium!)
2 medium potatoes, cubed to your liking
2 c. kale leaves (I used a little more because they're good for you) - cut off stems and cut out the core of the leaves, then slice thinly
1/3 - 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream (obviously not whipped)

Place drained sausage in separate bowl. Put onions and garlic in the saucepan that cooked the sausage, and cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent and cooked through. Add chicken broth and potatoes and simmer for 1 hour (but if you omit the potatoes, just simmer the broth/onions/garlic for about 15 minutes). Add sausage, kale, and cream and simmer for another 10 minutes, which will allow all the flavors to mix together. Remember to use a saucepan that's big enough to hold everything. I actually used my electric skillet and it was perfect. I'm pretty sure this will be one of your new favorite soup recipes! I'd love your feedback (hint, hint) :)

Enjoy!

*T

The Tank is 1!!!

2010-06-26T21:07:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that this little boy....

... is now a year old! We celebrated Gabe's birthday on Father's Day, which was actually perfect because we had most of the family together. We were in Virginia visiting Ross's family, so we had a get together at Ross's parents house. My sister and my dad were there as well, so it was quite the party! My in-laws made a big German feast for dinner, and then we cleared the table for the cake annihilation. I put the photos in order from blowing out the candle to the final hose-off, so you'll see how messy he got. It was so fun to just let him just have a heyday with the cake, and he loved it!

The feast. I love all the different facial expressions.

Blowing out the candle...

Dipping his finger in the cake for his first taste...

HE LIKES IT!

He kept sharing with Poppy. He'll be such a good big brother:)

He'd get a fistful of cake in each hand and make this cheesy, super-excited face.

Power to the baby!

Posing with Mama.

Poppy made an elephant noise and it scared Gabe. He's pointing at Poppy like "Why would you EVER do a thing like that???"

Hosing of the Tankster. Luckily it was so steaming hot in Virginia that the cold water didn't even phase him.

Gabe kept trying to drink from the hose. He loves playing with water!

The Graham fam in its entirety.

Opening presents with a clean baby. He got some bath animals from Ellen Young, my 10th grade English teacher. Gabe is obsessed with elephants, so he was excited to see an elephant in the mix!

Poppy got Gabe a fandangled swim vest. It was hard for him to walk around with it on, but it'll definitely keep him floating when we go to the pool!

At a year old, Gabe continues to amaze us with his intelligence and personality. Here are a few fun facts about our little dude:

- He took his first steps two weeks before turning one, and by his first birthday he was a well-seasoned walker!

- He points at EVERYTHING. He used to point with his entire hand with the palm up, but now he points with his pointer finger.

- He can say a few words, including Mama, Dada, Papa (which he uses for both Poppy and Grandpa), bah (ball), beebee (baby), uh-oh, and dah (dog). Most of his vocabulary consists of NON-STOP baby babble (that we love to hear). He also makes an elephant sound when he sees anything having to do with an elephant or when he wants to read his elephant books, and he'll bark when sees a dog. Smart kid:)

- He loves anything with wheels, and he gets mad if one of his cars turns on it's side and he can't push it as easily.

- He's a pro at climbing the stairs. I can turn my back for a minute and he'll already be at the top of the stairs. He also likes being chased up the stairs, which is fun for me because he has a cute, high-pitched squeal whenever he's being chased.

- He loves babies, but we don't give him full access yet because he's still working on being "soft". He gets so excited when he gets close to a baby that he waves his arms up and down, and it's not too baby-friendly.

-He loves being outside and he's a champ when we take him for hikes. He'll sit in the baby backpack for hours without complaining, and he'll usually fall asleep before the hike is over.

- He's transitioned perfectly from formula to regular milk.

- He's the least-picky eater I know. He'll eat just about anything and is always willing to try new things. Some of his favorites are bananas, chicken, Cheerios, green beans, and rice cereal.

- The only thing he'll sit down and watch is Baby Mozart. Other than that, TV doesn't really interest him.

- He'll "conduct" whenever he hears music, whether it's on the radio or in church. He'll stand on our laps when we sing the hymns at church and conduct right along with the chorister. He'll also sing along to ANY music (hymns, ringtones, commercial jingles, Ross's opera, etc), and he sings while he plays the piano. And when it's all over, he claps :)

- His favorite 'toys' include phone chargers, computers, remotes, and anything that shreds easily (newspaper, toilet paper, paper towels, dryer sheets, etc.).

- He sleeps about 10 hours at night and takes a 2-3 hour nap during the day.

- He LOVES books! He'll put a book in his lap and run his fingers over the words and babble away like he's actually reading it. And I can sit with him for 30 minutes at a time and just read to him. I think he'll be an early reader :)

- He loves bathtime. He'll splash with his feet and will stick his head under the running water.

- He's the sweetest little cuddle bug. He gives awesome hugs and is now giving kisses. He'll also lay his head on my shoulder and pat my arm whenever I pick him up. Melt my heart!

- Gabe has no fear of animals. See my last post for examples :)

- It's hard to get angry with him because he gives us the cutest little scrunch face if he's doing something naughty. He listens well and knows what "NO" means, but it's hard not to smile when we scold him. He's just too cute!

- He's the ultimate charmer. Most who've met him are smitten by his sweet face and good-natured attitude.

- He's got a pretty sweet mohawk :) It's actually the only thing we can do with his hair that'll stay. Anything else just doesn't cut it.

We love Gabe so much. I feel very blessed to be his mommy and spend my days with him. He's always making me smile and he teaches me the importance of not sweating the small stuff. When it comes to amazing kids, Gabe is definitely at the top of the list! We love you, Bug!

Animal Adventures

2010-06-08T08:56:00.000-06:00

I think it's safe to say that my son is obsessed with animals. No matter the size or species, Gabe loves them all. My parents have a yellow lab, and Gabe will be the first to crawl to him and yank on his ear or pat his head. My grandparents live next door, and they have two cats. Gabe has watched them sprawl out on the ground and roll onto their backs, so whenever Gabe sees the cats, he'll crawl over to them and try to roll over them. He doesn't do it do be mean (obviously... he's not even a year old), but those cats usually run when they see him... which he then thinks is an invitation to play:) Lately, we've been trying to indulge his love for animals. In the last month, we've gone to Hogle Zoo, the Dino museum, and Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. I was unsure how he'd react at the zoo because I wasn't sure he'd understand it, but he proved me wrong! He was very alert and loved seeing all the new animals. His favorite animal/animal sound lately has been the elephant. He'll walk around puffing air through his lips and he laughs out loud whenever I read him his elephant books. It amazes me how smart he is and how quickly he picks up on things! Here are a few pictures from our recent animal adventures:

Gabe saw his first real elephant when we went to Hogle Zoo. He made elephant sounds the whole time we were at the exhibit.

We met at the zoo with our friends Brady and Chelse, and their son Logan is 3 months younger than Gabe. Logan didn't quite get it, but Gabe loved it!

This is a perfect example of how fearless Gabe is with animals, no matter how big. This cow would stick it's head through the bars right where Gabe was, and Gabe never even flinched! We actually had to catch him a couple times because the cow would get so close that it almost knocked him over. Maybe Gabe will be a veterinarian...

Gabe found a baby dino at the dino exhibit, and they were fast friends:)

My Aunt Tammy has a HUGE bloodhound named Metro, and Gabe was amazed by him when she brought him over to visit. Gabe's a really big kid, but you can tell by this picture that Metro is one massive dog!

I love how adventurous my son is. He loves climbing, rolling around on the ground, and he LOVES playing outside. I'm so glad the weather in Utah is finally warm enough to allow us some outdoor playtime! Gabe may have a handful of bruises across his forehead, but nothing stops this little tank! He is ALL BOY. Believe me, I'm constantly chasing him and keeping him from further injury, but I love being his mommy. He keeps me smiling all day long =)

Buehler? Buehler?

2010-05-18T09:44:00.000-06:00

I've felt a complete lack of motivation to update my blog lately (can you tell? It's been a month!). Does anybody even read this thing?

he/she

2010-04-18T23:11:00.000-06:00

*he*

1. Sitting in front of the TV, what's on the screen? dirty jobs, history channel, castle, the office, glee

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? blue cheese

3. What's one food he doesn't like? are you kidding?

4. You go out to a restaurant, what does he get to drink? water, root beer, diet pepsi

5. Where did he go to high school? lee davis high school, mechanicsville, va

6. What is one phrase he says all the time? "take it easy!", "no worries"

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? TIES.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? reuben.

9. What would this person eat everyday if he could? a big, juicy steak.

10. What is his favorite cereal? cinnamon toast crunch.

11. What would he never wear? a bra.

12. What is his favorite sports team? byu cougars.

13. Who is his best friend? me.

14. How many states has he lived in? 6- VA, UT, ID, IN, NM, AZ

15. Does he have any nervous habits? fake laughing,

16. What could he spend hours doing? playing his computer/phone games

17. Who would he vote for? Mitt Romney

18. He is: an awesome tenor, a great daddy and hubby, a teacher, a chef, very kind, PATIENT.

*she*

1. Sitting in front of the TV, what's on the screen? ellen, the biggest loser, the office, glee

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does she get on her salad? ranch.

3. What's one food she doesn't like? mushrooms, peppers,

4. You go out to a restaurant, what does she get to drink? water with lime, lemonade

5. Where did she go to high school? atlee high school, mechanicsville, va

6. What is one phrase she says all the time? {i love you} in sign language.

7. If she was to collect anything, what would it be? shoes, jewelry.

8. What is her favorite type of sandwich? peanut butter and honey.

9. What would this person eat everyday if she could? otter pops

10. What is her favorite cereal? raisin nut bran.

11. What would she never wear? a bikini.

12. What is her favorite sports team? byu cougars.

13. Who is her best friend? my hubs, vi, chelse.

14. How many states has she lived in? 7- VA, IN, NM, AZ, UT, ID, CA.

15. Does she have any nervous habits? biting nails, cracking knuckles.

16. What could she spend hours doing? reading, computer stuff, talking with friends.

17. Who would she vote for? Mitt Romney.

18. She is: a mommy, a wifey, tall, a strawberry-blonde, fair-skinned with freckles, a sister.

i tag: Jess Harwood, Angela Zeyer, Melissa Nielsen, Sue Gilchrist...

and anyone else who reads my blog. :)

time's a flyin'

2010-04-14T19:04:00.000-06:00

Holy moly, these past few weeks have FLOWN BY! After a long-awaited arrival, my in-laws flew into Salt Lake on General Conference Sunday. Gabey and I met them at the airport (surprising my mother-in-law), and then joined them in Park City the next day. We didn't plan on staying in Park City, but I-80 ended up being CLOSED that night because 18 stinkin' inches of snow fell. 18 INCHES! It started when I was driving up the canyon to get to Diana's (my MIL's sister), and it didn't stop until later on the next day. Luckily, Diana is a grandma and had a pack'n'play that Gabe could sleep in. It was fun spending the extra time with my extended family, but it was stressful nontheless... I had no idea when I would get outta there! It took Bruce, my father-in-law, an hour to clear a path to my car when I had to leave, but we got off the mountain safely and finally got on the road to head back to Rexburg. Julia, Ross's youngest sister, came with me to help me prepare for the festivities (and to help with Gabe). We were able to get the house cleaned by the time everyone else showed up Wednesday, which was just in time for Ross's senior recital. My mom and Aunt Vilate made a Costco run before heading up to Idaho, which SAVED ME! We ended up having around 30-40 people stay for refreshments after his recital, so I was very happy and VERY grateful to have their help with the food. Thanks Mom and Vilate! As for Ross's recital, he was awesome. He's such a ham (as most of you know), but it made for a very entertaining evening. His voice stayed strong for the whole recital, and he really made me proud. His voice teacher only had good things to say about his performance, and for all of you who know Kris, her compliments mean a lot more than most. She's as professional as they come, so we take what she says to heart. Good job babes!

The day after Ross's recital was another big day, as Ross had a few finals and Catherine (my other sister-in-law) had her recital. Ross and I both sang duets with her, so it was another big night filled with more singing, more friends, and more food. She did a great job, and it was fun to have a Jazzy touch to a recital (which are usually more Classical/Romantic/Baroque). Friday was Ross's last day of finals, and Saturday was graduation! We all joined together for Commencement, and then each college met to celebrate the graduates from each of the different colleges (i.e. College of Performing and Visual Arts, College of Business and Communication, etc). I was so proud as Ross walked across that stage! He had a huge smile across his face, as did I. He has worked so hard and music is NOT an easy degree. Okay, so he technically doesn't graduate until December when he finishes student teaching, but he walked because his entire family would be here and it was his final semester of classes. Either way, it was a great day to celebrate! Here are the pics...

FINALLY! He's got a degree to go along with all that hard work! Good job baby!

Shaking hands with our friend, President Kim B. Clark.

Ross, Alan, Bro.Linford, Brady, and Katelynd. These people are fantastic and SO talented!

Ross and Gabey after the convocation ceremony.

The whole Graham fam (minus Yours Truly... but somebody had to take the picture).

I couldn't help but post this. He's such a goofball!

This next set of pictures is from a FFFN (Fun Formal Family Night) we had with some friends of ours. Brady and Chelse Hodgson are some of our best friends here in the 'Burg, and Chelse had the grand idea that we needed to put our wedding dresses to use one more time. We invited some other good friends, Katelynd and Ben Blake, to join us at the local bowling alley for our FFFN. We got some looks from most of the people there, and a few even asked us if we were just married (which was funny because our babies were with us...). It is NOT easy bowling in a wedding dress, lemme tell ya! My petticoat that fluffs it up underneath is in Utah, so it was kinda droopy and really long. Chelse and I had to be creative when it came to the actual throwing of the bowling ball since we didn't want to rip our dresses, but it was still a lot of fun. Ross wore his tails and Brady bought a groovy cream-and-brown tux from D.I. for $4. I don't know what got more looks that night, the dresses or that tux. We took lots of pictures, and we'll have fun memories to look back on when Chelse and Brady are at Florida State. We love you guys!

Can't you just tell it's a bowling alley by the gorgeous wall in the background?

Chelse and I sportin' the wedding dress 'n' bowling shoes look. Very fashion-forward.

And the tux and multi-colored shoes are quite the statement. Look at that form!

Ross is now out of school and we're packing for our move to Utah on Friday. I wish I had a magic wand or some Mary Poppin magic to get my house in order! Packing is my least favorite past-time, so it's always slow-moving getting things ready to go. I love unpacking though (it's much less A.D.D. for me), so I'm chomping at the bit to settle in down in Alpine! Check back soon for pictures of our new home!

my sweetness

2010-03-28T22:39:00.000-06:00

It's taken me just a few months to figure out how to upload more than 5 pics at a time, but now that I've got the hang of it, ya'll have to suffer through my picture overload:) I LOVE this boy. He has stolen my heart time and time again, and his smile makes my day (as I'm sure you'll understand when you see these pictures). I recently read a blog written by a mom I don't know. Her 3rd son was diagnosed with cancer when he was 6 months old. They noticed that he wouldn't move in certain ways, and he always got fussy during tummy time. They found out that he had a tumor growing on his spine, and it had branched out into the nerves around his vertebrae. During the last weeks of his life, all they could do was make him comfortable. They decided to take him home to spend time together as a family, and he gently passed away in their arms soon after. As I read this mom's blog, I cried. Hard. There are days when I get frustrated with my son, especially as he's teething and going through a "mommy" phase. Yet as this mom talked about her baby boy teaching lessons of love and blessing everyone who knew him, I realized that I need to truly cherish this time I have with my son. Once he hits a certain age, he'll never have another "mommy" phase again. He won't let me squeeze his little cheeks or tickle his chubby legs. I won't be able to hold him as he falls asleep in my arms. These are things that I do every day now, and I don't want to take them for granted. He loves his mommy and daddy, and we love him with everything we've got. He gives the best hugs, he's crawling EVERYWHERE, he's got a goofy personality, and his smile is contagious. See for yourself...

He seems worried for some reason... I'm not sure why.

CHUB!

He puts everything in his mouth.

This is Mr.Bedhead. I LOVE this face!

Bonding time for Daddy and Gabey.

Another face I love.

Gabey loves chewing on wrappers. Is this normal?

I don't even know what this face is, but it's funny!

I love Gabriel. He gives me purpose in this life and he helps me to be a better person. I don't take him for granted, and I love being his mommy. He is one of the greatest blessings in my life, and I thank Heavenly Father every day that I have a strong, healthy, goofy son. Life is good:)

Cabo

2010-03-22T22:13:00.000-06:00

As you can tell, we're back from Cabo and missing the sunshine. It snowed off and on today here in Rexburg, and the once-visible grass now has a light dusting of the cold white stuff. Thankfully, my skin is holding on to it's sunkissed glow and I'm still feeling my vitamin D boost from the week. Although it got a little chaotic at times with the 3 boys and houseful of people, it was a much needed vacation. Our Idaho winter has been long and cold, and we're REALLY looking forward to springtime! My mom will be making me a picture CD of all the pictures we took during our South of the Border vacay, but here's a little sneak peek for what's to come:

This is Gabe's first pool experience. He absolutely LOVED it!

This was our last night at the house, and I was soaking in as much pool time as possible. Gabe even enjoyed the hot tub!

As soon as I get more pictures, I'll post them. Gabe is now an international traveler AND a crawler! He just up and crawled the day before we left, which was a total shock to me. He'd been rolling around like crazy up until the night we got to Utah, and when he was sitting on the carpet and saw something he wanted to play with, he just started crawling! He sometimes forgets that he's mobile and will get upset if I walk away while he's on the floor (which I think has to do in part with his recent separation anxiety), but he sure is fast once he starts moving! We've already moved a lot of our stuff down to Utah, which has helped us with baby-proofing our house until we move next month. Why must babies grow up so fast?! I don't know if I'm ready for this!

The Biggest Losers

2010-02-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ok friends, I've been juggling back and forth as to whether or not I should post this, but I need some help. What I'm about to share is very personal, but I think the only people who care about or even read this blog are close friends and family, so I trust you not to be judgemental :)

Back in November, my dad challenged us to become healthier. Between my post-baby weight and being overweight to begin with, my challenge was to lose 45 pounds. Ross experienced some 'sympathetic weight gain' while I was pregnant, and he gained weight during the summer because he was always on the road, so his goal was to lose 47 pounds. My dad provided us with Nutrisystem food, and we have from November 15th until March 13th to not only lose the weight, but to also do a 10K in less than 60 minutes and do a set number of situps and pushups without stopping. I've lost about 27 pounds so far, and Ross is down 32 pounds. We feel great and we're stronger than we have been in a long time, but we're down to the wire. We've actually stopped the Nutrisystem diet because of the higher fat content of the food, and we're cooking our own food. I'm trying to keep my calories below 1400 a day and my fat to 15 grams a day. Luckily, the trainer I'm working with (or rather, the trainer who's killing me 3 times a week) at World Gym introduced me to livestrong.com, and I LOVE this website. I can enter the foods I eat during the day, and it helps to calculate my daily calories, fat, protein, sodium, sugars, etc. It also calculates the calories burned during the day with different exercises. I can burn 340 calories a day just by lugging around my chunk of a baby boy! Anyway, this is where I need your help. Ross and I need ideas for high protein, low fat/low calorie meals and snacks. There's this great place in Idaho Falls called Winco, and we had an entire cart full of tons of fresh produce, whole wheat goodness, chicken breasts, tilapia fillets, and anything else we could get our hands on that was healthy and yummy. Oh yeah, and we got it all for $180:) I don't know what I'll do without Winco! Well friends, this is me BEGGING you to share your recipes. PLEASE. We need ideas! We are in love with our George Foreman grill... all we do is slap on a frozen chicken breast or tilapia fillet with a couple spices and BAM! Healthy, delicious goodness! But seriously, I can be a little more creative than that. Please friends. PLEASE. Our prize for losing the weight and hitting our goals is also very personal, but I will tell you that it will change our lives. We are already making better choices, and we would love for you to help us out by sharing your healthy recipes. We are so grateful for those of you who've supported us in this endeavor. We're working hard to obtain these goals, and I PROMISE to post pictures when we get there! We're gonna look awesome!

Thanks friends.

*T

Daddy Post

2010-02-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

I have heard that some people have had trouble looking at the video below. If you go on my Facebook page you can see it in better quality.

follow this link

*Ross

Daddy Post

2010-01-31T00:36:00.000-07:00

I should do this more often. I gave Gabriel a bath today after he threw up AGAIN! Well he was happy to be in the water. It is amazing to see how much he has grown and matured even over these past couple weeks. He is starting to do this funny cock his head to the side thing which is hilarious. And he is discovering new consonants and ways to make noise. He is getting so curious grabbing at things and starring inquisitively. And of course, as you can see, he loves bath time.

*Ross

pictures!

2010-01-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm working for my dad, I've acquired a new laptop that allows me to actually update my blog! Wondrous! We had a lot going on over the holidays, so I wanted to make a quick picture post. Gabe is growing up so fast, and it seems like he's changing from day to day. He loves to mimick us, and he's a champ at saying "mama" and "dada". We're not sure if he knows what they mean, but he seems to repeat "mama" over and over again when he's fussy and wants to be held. Who knows?!

I turned on the TV the other day and saw that Regis and Kelly are having a beautiful baby contest. I figured I'd snap a few shots of my own beautiful child to see what I could come up with. This is one of my favorites.

One of my dear friends, Maria, had a voice recital/concert right before Christmas. She's in grad school in Colorado, so I haven't seen her in a year and a half. Our voice teacher joined her for a few duets, which is how we found out about the recital, so we surprised her! We had so much fun catching up, but I miss this girl so much! Love you Maria (I know you're blog-stalking me)!

She'd never met Gabe before, but he obviously loves her!

This is Hannah, me, Elise, and Gabe at a little Christmas get-together. We were laughing because the power had just gone out and we were in complete darkness. You'd never guess Ross couldn't see a thing when he took this picture!

Hannah matches the blanket on the piano, Elise and I match one another... and then Jordan is just off to the side enjoying a cup of cider. We were trying to sing carols while Hannah played the piano and Elise held a flashlight. We were laughing because Elise ended up proving that she couldn't sing and hold a flashlight at the same time... which is why I'm helping her:)

I thought I could post more than 5 pictures, but blogger isn't letting me. Can anybody give me a few tips on how to load more than 5 at a time??? I still have more pictures to share, so come back soon!

paradise

2010-01-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

Our Home Teachers came on Sunday and gave us the lesson based on Elder Uchtdorf's message "Hold On a Little Longer". During the lesson (taught by 16-year old Daniel), we were asked why it was even worth it to endure through trials. The first thing that came to my mind was a scripture found in The Book of Mormon in Alma 40:12 :

"And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow."

I then explained that, during my mission, we taught many lessons about the Plan of Salvation. This particular scripture refers to the Spirit World and those who will be rewarded with "paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace". Those of us who endure the trials and continue to live in righteousness will be received in this state of happiness. No matter how difficult our trials may become, if we just hold on a little longer, we will know the worth of enduring to the end. I then likened this to childbirth. During my pregnancy, I (like most women) endured just about every pain and heartache typical of carrying a child: nausea, heartburn, weight gain, back pain, swelling, heightened emotions, headaches, stretchmarks, and the overall discomfort of being pregnant. But, like most women, I endured through the pregnancy, labor, and delivery (involving even even more pain and discomfort), only to receive the most wonderful reward: my sweet son. My work was only beginning, but enduring the trial of it all rewarded me with one of the greatest blessings of my life. The same goes for our journey here on this earth; no matter what trials may come, if we but endure them in righteousness we will soon enough rest from our troubles, and from all care and sorrow. I know that there will be work to do once we cross through the veil, but it will be the most important work we can do. Life is a test, but we are not alone. We have help from family, friends, church leaders, and our Father in Heaven. Stay faithful, my friends. Stay strong, and you will receive your reward.

Thank you, Ms. Streep

2009-12-16T08:14:00.001-07:00

So I have this fantasy that I will one day meet Meryl Streep. In fact, I had a dream last night that she was at a book signing and I had a one-on-one conversation with her. She asked me what I do with my music degree, and when I told her I teach voice, she gave me a big hug. I literally woke up with a smile on my face! She is my absolute favorite. Yes, she lights up the big screen and is listed as the greatest actress of our time, but I love how she is a Mom. I've seen her give interview after interview and, although she has a passion for acting, she looks at it as her job. That's just what she does. Yet, when asked about her family, her demeanor changes. She becomes gentler, there's a little sparkle in her eye, and her smile is oh-so-natural. I've never seen her talk about her family in a "ho-hum" sort of way, like she sometimes does when she answers the same monotonous questions about her latest movie. You can tell that she's passionate about her family and never tires of talking about them... yet she doesn't exploit them. In fact, she had this to say about the millions of dollars given to those like Brangelina and JLo for the first pictures of their newborns:

"One thing I learned very early on is when you’re famous, you lose your right to privacy. And, if you promote your children, if you have them photographed, then they lose their rights. But, if you do not have them photographed and (do not) sell them to OK! magazine, they have the right to… privacy and citizenship."

"They (paparazzi) can follow me, take a picture, whatever they want to do. My kids, no."

Now, I'm not exactly a celebrity in any sort. But I love my child and I appreciate any mother who loves and respects their children. I appreciate Meryl Streep for her talent, her natural beauty, her passion for her work, and her love for family. I sure hope I get to meet her one day. Here's to you, Ms. Streep:)

October pictures

2009-11-09T04:25:00.000-07:00

Now that it's 4:45 am, blogger is finally uploading my pictures. I hope I don't have to make a habit of insomnia just so I can post pics of our little man. He's totally worth it, don't get me wrong, but I do prefer to SLEEP:) However, since I'm awake (against my will), here are some pictures from last month:

I was washing bottles one morning and had Gabe on the counter next to me (I know you're not supposed to put Bumbo's on the counter, but he stays happier for longer when he can watch me). One minute, he was smiling and watching me. The next minute, I see this. He was OUT!

Being a baby is hard work!

This was on Gabe's blessing day. We had pictures with Taylor, Lara, Caden, Catherine, and Julia as well, but I love Gabey's smile in this picture! Ross's mom Theresa is on the left, and my parents are on the right.

This little kid is loved, lemme tell ya!

Okay, so my two favorite things about this picture are 1.) Gabey's cute little smirk and 2.) those LEGS!

Oh, I could just eat 'em up!

We got his outfit from some dear friends of ours at my baby shower in Utah, and we all thought it would be the cutest Easter outfit for him. Little did we know that this kid would be a monster, so here he is wearing it in October... NOT April.

(Also, please note the french manicure. These are MY nails! I've officially stopped biting my nails, and I'm so proud of the outcome!)

Is he NOT the cutest little Tin Man you've ever seen?!? This outfit was a very last minute idea (hence the scotch tape), and we had about 2 1/2 minutes to get it on him and take pictures before his wiggles ripped it to shreds. I love how he has this look of "what the heck are you doing to me?" on his face. Priceless:)

Well friends, I think it's time for Mama to hit the sack. It's now 5am, and I'm hoping to get at least 3 hours of sleep before Gabe wakes up. Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Good night!

i know, i know

2009-10-27T14:54:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's been almost 2 months. I know this. The only thing I can say about my blog inactivity is that we HAD 2 functioning computers. We had an older Mac G4 that was my mom's, which is what I used while Ross had my computer, a newer MacBook. The G4 is now taking a sabbatical, and our MacBook is with Ross ALL DAY LONG. He's taking 16 credits and working 3 jobs, so he's gone a lot. Therefore, I have no computer access. And I am NOT about to take my 4-month old with me to the local library just so I can get on the computer. Swine flu is not a joke anymore, so the fewer public places I expose my child to, the better. The end.

Now, on to bigger and better things! Speaking of bigger, Gabe is huge. He's well over 17 pounds now and his head is bigger than every other infant's head in our ward. He is such a fun baby! My sister-in-law, Lara, always told me that her favorite baby age is around 5 months, and now I know why! Gabe loves to smile and his belly laughs absolutely cracks us up. We've started him on rice cereal, and he averages around 8 hours of sleep a night (after about 8oz. of formula plus 1-2 Tablespoons of rice cereal). My favorite thing to do is walk into his room in the morning and peek my head over his crib, in turn to see him smiling and cooing back at me. I've heard that colicky babies turn into the happiest babies, and I agree! He loves his mommy, but he'll go to anyone and we don't have to worry when we leave him with a babysitter. And all Moms out there know that this is a plus!

Two weekends ago, we had Gabe's blessing here in Rexburg. Although he was almost 4 months at the time, it was the first opportunity we had to get everybody together on a Fast Sunday. Ross' mom and youngest sister came out from Virginia, and my parents came up from Alpine with Taylor, Lara, and Caden. It was such a wonderful blessing, and Ross invited my dad, my brother Taylor, Randy Kempton (music teacher at BYU-I), and Brady Hodgson (Ross' good friend and fellow musician) to join him in the blessing circle. Ross said that Gabe was smiling and looking around during the blessing, and he wasn't fussy at all. My Grandma Van Leeuwen made Gabe's blessing outfit out of material she had saved after making my wedding dress, and Ross' mom made his blessing blanket. My mom took a ton of photos that day, so here are some of our family and our darling baby boy:

Well, just kidding. For some reason I can't post photos right now. Dangit! They're really cute, I promise! I'll keep trying. Anyway, baby's in bed, Daddy's home from work, and now it's Mama's turn to relax. Well, by "relax" I mean SLEEP. But before I hit the sack, I'll pat myself on the back for doing Pilates 2 days in a row:) And I have another date with Pilates tomorrow at 11:30. Go me.

Life is fabulous.

we're baaaaaack!!!

2009-09-05T11:48:00.001-06:00

I'm realizing that it's been 4 weeks since my last post... and that's too long! In my defense, however, we've had A LOT going on. We've moved 4ish times, depending on how you look at it, and we're just now settling back down in Rexburg. Just after my last post, we were kicked out of our apartment because there was a mess up between Pinnacle and our apartment complex in Indy. Pinnacle had leased all of the apartments until the end of August... except for ours. Supposedly our apartment's lease was up as of August 4th, and a new tenant (who wanted nothing but a view of the lake) was moving in the following weekend. We had about 7 hours to pack up our apartment and move everything to a downstairs apartment, where we ended up staying for less than a week. I flew to Utah with Gabey 4 days after the surprise move, and Ross's office moved to Bakersfield, CA 2 days after that. On his way to Cali, Ross stopped at my parents house to unload all of our stuff before driving the 10 hours to Bakersfield. It was so nice for me to finally be with family again, although it got kinda crazy at times because we had such a full house. My brother's best friend is living with my parents because he's working with/for Taylor (my little bro), my sister Maddy, Bryce, and their son Britton were visiting since Bryce's brother got married, Taylor and Lara and their son Caden are living in my parents basement, and then Gabey and I showed up! Did ya follow all that? It was fun to have all the little boys together for the first time, even if Gabey just sat there and the other two played together. I missed Ross like crazy, but instead of being gone for 3 weeks (like originally planned) he called me 5 days after arriving in Bakersfield to tell me that he was coming back. The office wasn't doing as well as they'd hoped, so they were sending the guys home. SOOO, Ross packed his stuff back up, came to Alpine for a few days, and now we're FINALLY HOME in Rexburg! It's so nice to be here. We missed our friends, our house, our awesome ward... we just missed everything! And it's so nice to be settled. We're still unpacking things, but we're so happy to have Gabey's room set up. When we were in Indy, we borrowed almost everything from friends who had baby stuff (thanks Hiram and Alanna!)... a Pack'N'Play, a rocking chair, a bouncy seat, even baby clothes. But now, Gabey has his own stuff and it's awesome! Mom and Dad helped us get everything up here in Dad's massive truck, and the boys set up the crib and changing table while Mom helped me get things organized and decorated. We love being in our own home, that's for sure! And Gabey likes having his own room and crib:) Here are some pictures from this last week:

Gabey LOVES to be held... which makes it hard when it comes to naptime because he usually doesn't sleep during the day unless he's being held. We're trying to break him of this, but there are lots of tears. Any suggestions?

We put this little duck on the handle of his car seat and he LOVES it! He'll talk to it and laugh and smile, and he stays entertained for quite a while!

Our friends, Brady and Chelse (and soon to be Baby Logan, due in 3 weeks), came to see us when we got home. We MISSED THESE GUYS!

Mama and Baby Gabe. It's hard to believe he's 11 weeks old already!

I LOVE his sweet face. He has stolen our hearts and he makes us smile every day. WE LOVE HIM!

Sorry for the long post, but there was a lot to catch up on! Overall, we're happy, healthy, and blessed beyond measure!

7 weeks!

2009-08-08T09:43:00.001-06:00

I can't believe my son is 7 weeks old! Gabey is growing every minute, and it kinda makes my heart twinge when I look back on his newborn pictures and remember how small he was. Now he's a total chunk who just keeps eating! As he's growing, we're starting to hear from more and more people that he looks like a mini-Ross with my chin. At least my genes popped up in there somewhere! All of these are from my phone, so the quality isn't great but the pictures sure are cute!

I love this sleeper and matching hat. I remember when it devoured him, and now it's getting too small!

No, I'm not holding him while the car is in motion. We went to Target and he got REALLY hungry, so we fed him in the parking lot. He passed out as soon as he had a full tummy, and we just had to take a picture of his cute face (I have a similar picture of Ross making this face after he fell asleep on the way back from Prom back in 2001 (and NO, Ross did NOT fall asleep on my chest). Like father like son, I guess!).

I find myself stripping him down to his diaper so often now because he spits up and gets his cute clothes all smelly. This is Gabey's "little Buddha" picture, with an attempt at a smile. I tell ya, this kid's a CHUB!

He's been pretty fussy still with his colic and gassiness, and I wanted to document him in a peaceful moment. He was so content just sitting in his chair, but 10 seconds after I took this picture he started crying again. Oy ve.

I just love this little boy. He really is sweet, even with the fussiness. We love him to pieces!

And now that I've finally found a moment to update my blog, I have a crying baby to feed. Our lives have definitely changed, but it's been for the better!

HELP!

2009-07-22T15:35:00.000-06:00

I know, I've been bad at posting since we brought Gabey home. He's dealing with colic and gas problems, so we've had some rough days this last month. He had his 1 month appointment on Monday, and this little chubster has gained 3 pounds in 3 weeks! At least he's eating well! We got a prescription for Zantac for him, which will hopefully help with his upset tummy. Now, I need some advice from moms who've dealt with this before. Baby Gabe has pretty bad baby acne that started about a week ago. It's gotten worse these last few days, and I don't know what to do. I'm actually not sure if there's anything I can do, but there HAS to be a mom out there who knows how to at least lessen the severity of the acne. I know it doesn't hurt him, but when he gets angry or impatient, he has a bad habit of clawing at his face... and with all the acne, he's made himself bleed a couple times (no worries... they're tiny little scratches). I try to keep his nails filed down so he can't scratch himself, but he still finds a way to scratch his face. I feel so bad because there's not much I can do to help his colic, and the anti-gas drops don't help his poor tummy. BUT, if there are any of you who have any pointers as to what I can do to help with the baby acne, do tell! I'll do anything at this point! Muchas gracias:)

today WAS the day

2009-07-05T20:08:00.001-06:00

I woke up this morning (after another long night of minimal sleep) and realized that today is July 5th. What a realization, right? Well, today was my due date. Today was the day that has been marked on every one of our calendars for months now. Yet here I am, holding my sweet son who is now 15 days old and growing cuter by the minute. It seems like just yesterday that we had the ultrasound that determined my induction, so it's crazy to think that it was over 2 weeks ago when we packed our bags and headed for the hospital. Gabey is a great sleeper, although he sleeps better during the day than at night (much to our dismay). He's a good eater too, even though I'm having to pump because he refuses to latch on (I don't think any men read my blog, which is why I have no problem sharing this tidbit of info...). And what I LOVE is that he hasn't lost any of his hair! He still has a good head of dark hair, which I was told he might lose so I didn't want to get my hopes up. He's already been to church, a barbecue, the movie theater (if you haven't seen the movie "UP", you NEED TO SEE IT!), and he's a pro when it comes to doctor's visits. His jaundice got pretty bad the first week home, so we had to take him back to the pediatrician EVERY STINKIN DAY so that they could do more tests. Thankfully, after lots of heel pricks and a few days on the biliblanket, Gabey is doing just fine. Even without the added measure of color from the jaundice, he's still much darker than his mommy and proving to take after his daddy's coloring. Of course, after dealing with a lifetime of sunburns, sun spots, and SPF 70, I'm okay with him having Ross' darker skin:) No matter what, this is one cute baby!!! Here are a few more recent pictures (although he's changed even since these were taken while my mom was here).

Okay, lemme explain. We went downtown to the canal walk and Mom was snapping some photos. This has now become one of my favorite photos because Ross sneezed RIGHT when my mom took the picture and she caught the moment perfectly. I laughed so hard when I saw this the first time that I almost peed my pants... really...

Oh, our sweet little man. He still had jaundice in the pic, but just look at how much darker he is than me!

What can I say?... he loves being close to his mama :)

He does NOT like to have his arms tucked into a blanket. Even when he was just a few days old, he would wiggle his arms out of it. His hands are always by his face, whether he's sleeping or awake.

This is the sweet face I get to look at every day. This little man has completely snatched up my heart, and just like my dad said to me the other day, "there is no greater love than that of a mother for her son." I love my son more than I ever thought imaginable, and our lives have truly changed for the better.

Other than the severe lack of sleep, Ross and I love being parents. I couldn't imagine doing this without the constant support and help from my sweet husband, who gets up in the middle of the night to help with Gabey EVEN THOUGH he works and stays busy during the day. Ross changes diapers like a pro, offers to feed Gabey so that I can have a break, and will watch him (when he can) so that I can take a nap. We've grown closer as a couple, and it's such an amazing feeling to know that we are a forever family. And this is only the beginning!

Life is good!

The many faces of Gabey

2009-06-25T10:10:00.000-06:00

We all know how much newborns can change in their first few weeks of life, so here's a picture update of Gabey. Like most new moms, I'm seriously sleep deprived and I don't plan on making a novel out of this post, but I just had to share a few photos of some of the faces Gabey makes.

This is the "mama's little angel" face

And this is the "dreaming about the next feeding session" face

And here we have the "FEED ME NOW!" face

And finally, the "quasi-smiling, full tummy" face

Assume the position!

I love this last picture because it explains perfectly the reason for Gabey's new nickname. He has pulled into this position since the first time I held him, so we rightfully call him our little Tree Frog. Doesn't he look like one?! Note his right hand behind his head... he did that on his own. I'm so glad my mom is here to get pictures of all of this. I'm so preoccupied trying to remember which side I last nursed him on that I probably wouldn't have all of these darling pictures. I am so in love with this little boy that I can't think about it too hard or I'll start to cry. He is the sweetest, most lovable little tree frog on earth, and we are blessed to have him!

Baby Gabe

2009-06-21T11:04:00.000-06:00

Proud Daddy

He is a lot cuter now. (Less cheesy). Like his Dad, he cleans up nice.

I can't believe I am posting this. Proof that real men cry.

Mommy did so well!!

Just some pictures from last night I copied from grandma's Facebook account. We will be posting more HQ pictures later on. This should stave off the needs of all you hormonal women out there!

Love,

Daddy Ross

PS Happy Father's Day to me!

Gabriel Ross Graham

2009-06-21T10:07:00.000-06:00

We would like to welcome the newest addition to our family. Gabriel Ross Graham, born June 20th 2009 at 11:06PM. Weighing in at 7 lbs.. 7.7 ozs. and 21 inches long. Baby and Mommy are healthy and happy. He is really cute and has features of Mom and Dad, Dad's dark complexion and Mom's nose and chin. We will see what his hair color will turn out to be, it is dark now but may get a lighter, it also has a little wave to it. What a great Father's Day present for me.

Pictures will be coming shortly, or check out facebook.

Posted by Dad.

a SLIGHT change of plans...

2009-06-19T10:30:00.001-06:00

So I went in this morning for my weekly check up with Dr.Beckwith, and she had scheduled an ultrasound for me before our appointment. Ross and I were so excited to see our little Gabey again, so we eagerly watched as the ultrasound technician (Rita) put her magic wand up to my belly. His heart looks great, his little toes are cute as heck, he's weighing in at about 7 pounds... and I'm being induced tonight! My amniotic fluid level is low, which could cause stress to Gabey when I'm delivering him, which increases chances for a C-section. SOOO, my doctor said that since he's measuring just fine and I'm past the 37 week mark (I'll be 38 weeks tomorrow), she has no problems inducing me early! I was a little nervous about his lungs, but Rita pointed out to us that she was really pleased with his breathing. I wasn't sure what she meant, but then she pointed out his little diaphragm and sure enough, he was breathing! Or at least practicing breathing, which helps to strengthen his lungs. And every time she would go back to his lungs after that, he'd still be breathing. She said she was usually happy to see a baby do it once or twice during an ultrasound, but for him to do it the whole time was awesome! We knew our little man would have strong lungs!

Anyway, please keep us in your prayers over these next 24 hours. We'll post pictures as soon as we can!

yet another picture update...

2009-06-16T21:41:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted new pictures, and believe me, THINGS HAVE CHANGED. Well, I guess I should say that I have changed more than anything... this belly's getting H-Y-U-G-E! I measured my belly tonight for the first time and I was FLOORED. I can't believe my body can stretch and grow like this! It makes me so grateful that the Lord created women in such a perfect way. Now please don't think that I'm claiming to be perfect in any way, but it amazes me that we have the ability AND the opportunity to carry and protect and grow our babies inside us for 9 months. Babies are such miracles. Even with the nausea, back pain, and swelling (and so on and so forth), I know that baby Gabe is so very worth it. Even when he's sticking his feet in my ribs, I simply smile because I can feel my son moving inside me. It amazes me that Ross and I already love him SO much, and we haven't even seen him or held him yet! Man, we're so excited!

Anyway, on to the pictures:)

Outside the Louisville, KY temple. It was small but beautiful!

Ross and I planned a special date night to the Melting Pot. It was delish (yet a little expensive for our liking...)

Here's a nice shot of downtown Indy and the Canal Walk. We spent part of a Sunday evening walking around and enjoying the artwork and scenery of this beautiful city.

Like I said, I'm huge. This is Mama and Gabey at 37 weeks.

And one more 37 week shot, just for kicks. C'mon Gabey!!!

Hopefully it won't be long before we post pics of our little man. I've known several first-time moms recently who've gone into labor early, so I can only hope I'll be one of them! Of course, my family genes aren't exactly conducive to early labors. Mom delivered all of us a week late, and my sister and sister-in-law were both induced a week after their due dates. Oy ve. We'll just have to see what happens! Until then, we'll enjoy our restful nights:)

predictions?

2009-06-13T19:05:00.000-06:00

Okay, I was going to post about my little vacation to Virginia and Kiawah Island, SC, but my mom and sister took so many pictures that I'd basically be copying their blog posts. So really, if you want to see pictures of last week's adventures, just go to bretandingrid.blogspot.com (this is totally the lazy way out, but Mom and Maddy already have most of the pictures posted). I was just so relaxed that I didn't take a lot of pictures (shame on me, I know), but I don't have a baby to take pics of yet and I'm so pregnant that I don't necessarily like being the subject of pictures:) In a nutshell, the beach was beautiful, my baby shower was a blast (thanks to Maddy, Theresa, and Debbie for hosting and planning, and thanks to all who came!), it was so fun to go "home" and see everybody, and my favorite part was when Ross decided to drive down from Indy and surprise his family. It ended up being a VERY good thing that he came with the car, because we got a lot of great baby gifts and there is NO WAY I would've been able to take it all home on the plane. And it was just fun to have him there with me:) All in all, this vacation can be classified as a complete success!!!

Anyway, now that we've got about 3 weeks left until Baby Gabe comes, I'm curious to see what y'all have to say. I've posted some pictures of Ross and I when we were little, and it's obvious to see that our physical features are totally opposite. It'll be very interesting to see who and what Gabey (and the rest of our kids) look like. Ross is olive-skinned while I'm quite alabaster, and his dark hair is the opposite of my strawberry-blonde locks. My eyes are big, round, and bluish-grey, and his are smaller and change between hazel and green. His Graham nose is much more pronounced than my little button, but my square-as-heck jawline is, well, much more square than his longer, rounder face (it's hard to tell in these baby pics, so just trust me). I like to tell Ross that he has "grub worm" lips because they're plump and juicy:) Mine, on the other hand, are pretty thin and the opposite of anything having to do with Angelina Jolie. We do know that Gabey will most likely have big hands and feet (he'll probably just be big all over), and we sure hope that he loves music as much as his mommy and daddy love music:) As my sister says, "his first cry will have vibrato." We just have our fingers crossed that this little guy can sing!

So, take a gander at these pictures and let us know what you think... will Gabey come out looking like a Ross Jr., or will we have a fair-skinned carrot top on our hands? Either way, we already love him to pieces and can't wait until he's here!!!

23-ish days to go!

Lil' Miss Daisy

2009-05-23T13:57:00.001-06:00

This post is completely random and has nothing to do with our lives at present, but I'm being nostalgic at the moment and remembering back to my sweet friend Daisy. So please bare with me for the next few minutes as I have a little mission moment:)

In October 2006, after serving for 6 months in Anaheim, CA, I was transferred to Santa Ana, CA. It was heartbreaking for me to leave the ward I loved so much, but as all missionaries know, that time comes sooner or later. Santa Ana is literally Little Mexico... the population is 98% Latino, and there are some areas that can be so dangerous that Sister missionaries don't serve there. But our area was wonderful and we always had plenty of people to talk to on the streets. One sunny day after I'd just moved there, my companion and I were street contacting and we ran into a beautiful woman who I would come to know as Hermana Flores. She was the Relief Society President in our ward in Santa Ana, and she sweetly invited us over for lunch that very day. We had an appointment soon after taking with her, but we stopped by a little later so that I could meet the family and we could have a late lunch. While we were there, I not only had some of the best Mexican food EVER, but I met the 4 Flores kids. The 2 oldest boys are 11 months apart ("what was I thinking?!" Hermana Flores always says), then Elizabeth, and then Daisy. Well, this is where the story really begins. Daisy and I became close friends during the 7 months I spent in Santa Ana. We even had a little "handshake" so to speak, and whenever she saw me she'd run up to me, wrap her arms around my waist, shake my hand, and then we'd pound fists. This was our "huuuuug, handshake, BONES!" ritual:) Daisy was 7 when I served in that ward and she always talked about how excited she was to get baptized. Unfortunately I was transferred before her baptism, but she has been the most excellent penpal! She even writes me letters to this day, and to me, Daisy is the purest example of childlike innocence and love. Here let me show you: (this was a letter she wrote to me last month)

"Dear Hermana Van,

I miss u. The first day you came in our barillo (ward) I was scared of you because you were very tall and giant. but as time past we became friends and I was not afraid of you. but now that I knew I thought If the blue sky is as beautiful as you and the birds sing as beautiful as your voice than that's the perfect person for me. and today that I saw the sun, sky, birds, and beautyness of the world it reminded me of you. I am always so cyriouse about what god created because it's so beautiful. and now that the bees are being ex tinked I grow a much bigger garden so they could come and live. I love you!!!

- Daisy"

Well, if that didn't completely melt your heart I don't know what would. It's people like Daisy that make a person cherish their mission memories so much. I met so many incredible people on my mission, and I rank the Flores family at the top of my list. Daisy is now 9 years old and it's been over 2 years since I served in Santa Ana, but there's still a connection between my sweet little friend and I. In her letters and phone calls, it's like I never left and we just pick up where we left off. She's 16 years younger than me... she's still in Primary!... but our spirits touched and that's all we needed to start what I hope to be a lifelong friendship. Oh how I love my sweet little Daisy girl:)

Me and the Familia Flores on my last Sunday in Santa Ana. L-R: Elias, Hermano Flores, me, Daisy, Hermana Flores, Isaias, and Elizabeth. What a beautiful family!

This is one of my favorite pictures. Can you tell how much Daisy and I love each other??

Ahhh, it feels good to be a little nostalgic. It's so wonderful to think that I could literally hop in a car and drive to my mission if I wanted... and be there in a day! I know so many missionaries who hope to travel back to their missions at some point during their LIFETIME simply because they served so far away. Vina del Mar, Chile (where I was first called to serve) is a distant memory, and maybe I'll go there one day. But for now, I'm forever grateful for the people I met and the incredible experiences I had as a missionary of the California Anaheim Mission - "the happiest mission in the world!"

a lil' glimpse of Indy

2009-05-11T16:28:00.000-06:00

Ross got a new camera for his birthday (thanks padres!), so we finally have some quality pictures. Our other camera was just about to give up the ghost, so we are loving this new one! Mom ordered it online and it came just before Ross left for Alaska. It was PERFECT timing because Ross took some amazing pictures during his 2 weeks on tour. And now we're able to document our new life here in Indy, which will be OH SO IMPORTANT once Gabey comes:)

Adenture #1: Chuck E Cheese lunch with all the technicians. Now I know why our parents never took us to this place growing up... it is TOTALLY overpriced and the food isn't even that good! But the boys sure had fun playing the games and taking pictures with Big C:)

This is Chris (Ross' brother) and his sweet glasses. Hiram, the lead tech, gave everybody 10 tokens as we came in. Whoever played the games and got the most tickets from those 10 tokens got to cash in EVERYBODY'S tickets for a big prize. Chris won the competition and decided to go with these amazing straw glasses and a big bag of cotton candy. All for only 700 tickets... like I said, overpriced.

Me and Gabey at 32 weeks... only 8 weeks to go! Ross bought me the dress as part of my Mother's Day gift, so I just had to wear it to church! When I woke up that morning, he had made the same DELICIOUS strawberry and ricotta cheese crepes that he made me for Valentine's Day. There was a beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting for me on the kitchen table, and then he surprised me with a fun new summer bag, 2 CD's, and 2 Mother's Day cards... one was from my sweet hubby (it made me cry), and the other was from Baby Gabey (whose handwriting looks an awful lot like Ross' handwriting... and it still made me cry!). I have the most wonderful husband ever. He is SO GOOD TO ME!

The view from our balcony is awesome! Ross took this just after the sun had gone down.

This is our view of the sun setting over the lake behind our complex. We have several geese, a cute pair of ducks, and a crane that hang out right by our apartment. One pair of geese has 3 fuzzy little goslings that have hatched since we've been here and they are so stinkin' cute! The parents aren't very nice, but the goslings are fun to watch:)

I'll hopefully get Ross to write all about Alaska sometime soon. He's at his 2nd install for the day, which is SPLENDID, and we hope he stays busy this week! Working as a tech is a lot less stressful for him than selling, and although he's had some late nights (and will continue to have late nights), as a whole he's able to spend more time at home. It's been great spending time together, but it will be a HUGE blessing to have him home once Gabey's here. And from the sound of it, we'll have lots of help! In his first month of life, he'll get to meet his Grammy and Poppy Van Leeuwen, Aunt Maddy, Grandma and Grandpa Graham and Aunt Julia, Uncle Chris, Aunt Lara and cousin Caden. The more the merrier, so let us know if you're in Indy!

Life is great, the weather is beautiful, the birds are singing, and the trees are green. That's all we could ask for!!!

We're HERE!!!

2009-05-08T20:41:00.000-06:00

Well folks, we are SO HAPPY to finally be in Indiana! We left last Monday (4/27) to drive down to my parent's house in Alpine, UT so that we could see them one last time before heading East. After spending the night there and eating breakfast as a family, we left Tuesday morning for the first leg of the trip. It's about 1600 miles from Alpine to Indianapolis, and Ross really wanted to cover about 1,000 miles the first day. I figured that he would be driving most of the way anyway, so I let him do what he could do. We ended up pulling into Salina, Kansas around 1 am and we were SO TIRED! It took quite a bit longer to get there because we started losing air in one of our tires and had to stop several times to fill up the tire. It was stressing both of us out because we thought the leak stemmed from my accident a while back (sliding perpendicular across the highway wore down my tires a bit...). Ross woke up early the next morning to take the car to a shop (thank goodness for GPS! We were in the middle of nowhere!), and they were able to fix the tire because we had only run over a nail. PHEW! We were VERY happy that it wasn't anything worse than a nail, although the guys did tell Ross that we should replace all 4 tires, and it would only cost us $650.00. I DON'T THINK SO! The tires might have been worn down a little from the accident, but we definitely did NOT need to replace all of them. I think those guys were just bored and wanted to make a quick buck. Anyway, back to the journey...

We left Salina after Ross came back with the fixed tire, and we hit a torrential downpour just outside of Topeka. It was scary! We turned the radio on to listen to the road report, and they were calling for flash floods in the exact area where we were driving. There was standing water on the freeway simply because the rain was coming down so fast and so hard that it couldn't drain off the road fast enough. We drove through the rain for about an hour, but after that we enjoyed rainless weather for the rest of the day:) The only detour we made was to Independence, Missouri. We hadn't ever seen the church historical sites there, and since it was so close to the freeway we decided to stop. It was fun talking to the Sister Missionaries at the Visitor's Center, and I actually ran into a few who know some of the same people I know. There were quite a few who spoke Spanish, so I took the opportunity to practice my Espanol. And there was one Sister whose younger sister is leaving next month for her Spanish speaking mission to Anaheim, California! My mission! It was awesome to feel their beautiful spirits, and it was by far my favorite part of the trip:)

We finally pulled into Indianapolis around 10:30 on Wednesday night, and I was SO ready to get into our apartment and SLEEP. HOWEVER, our apartment had been used as the "back up" apartment for when others had arrived and their apartments weren't ready yet. I didn't really care that other people had stayed there before us, but because the keys had been passed around so much between several people, nobody knew where the keys were... THUS, we couldn't get into our apartment. I wanted to cry. BUT, our friend Chris (the sales manager) reserved a hotel room for us nearby and we were able to get some rest Wednesday night. It felt GREAT to sleep in and take our time getting ready Thursday morning, and by the time we got back to the apartment complex, the leasing office had made us a copy of our key. We have an awesome 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a balcony that overlooks a lake. It has a washer and dryer in a separate utility room right off the kitchen, and a cute little fireplace and mantle:) And now that we have the internet set up in the apartment, life is pretty much complete! I don't have pictures yet, but I will soon! Ross shadowed some installs for the first 2 days, and now he has a few of his own installs under his belt. It's amazing the stuff he's learning! He'll be able to wire just about anything by the time this summer is over with! As for me, I've been setting up house and getting things underway for having this little baby boy of ours. There's an awesome hospital called St.Vincent Carmel Hospital, and not only is my insurance accepted there, but it is highly recommended in this area. And it's less than 10 miles away! Ross' manager's wife is a friend of mine, and she wants to go with me on Monday to take a look at the facility. I have a good feeling about it, so now I just have to find a doctor! Gabey is growing and his kicks are getting powerful enough that they sometimes throw me off balance. He still gets the hiccups multiple times a day, and when he stretches I can feel pressure on both my bladder and my ribs. It isn't the most comfortable thing I've ever felt, but I just love this little man! I love feeling him move inside me, and we can't wait to have him with us. Ross and I think that Gabey will look like his daddy, but that he'll have my eyes. It's just a guess, but we'll know for sure in 8 short weeks! The time is flying by and we can't wait to hold our little Baby Gabe!

We are loving Indiana and it reminds us so much of our Virginia home. We're having to re-acclimate to the humidity, but we are L-O-V-I-N-G the green lushness of this area! Overall, life is good and we are blessed!

1 down, infinity to go...

2009-04-19T22:42:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's been a year... time flies when you're having fun! Here's a glimpse back to some memories from April 19th, 2008:

Today has been a wonderful day of reflection as I've thought back on the memories of this last year. Ross and I were married a year ago today, and the time has FLOWN by. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were sealed in the temple for time and eternity, and now we're here... 2 apartments, 1 house, 6 jobs, and a pregnancy later:) Baby Gabe has the hiccups (for the 3rd time today) as I write this, and I wish I could say that my sweet husband was sitting next to me with his hand on my stomach. However, Ross is 3,000 miles to the northeast, sharing music and the gospel with the people of Alaska. He is with BYU-I's Collegiate Singers, and they left last Monday for their choir tour. They'll be gone for 2 weeks, so I have another week to go before Ross comes home. But he's been extra wonderful today, calling when he can to wish me a Happy Anniversary and just to talk. In fact, as soon as they finished singing at a youth fireside tonight, Ross had a bunch of the Young Women from the Wasilla, AK stake yell out to me "Happy Anniversary from Alaska!". It's been hard to be away from him (especially being pregnant, celebrating our first anniversary AND his birthday apart from each other, and trying to prepare for our move to Indiana next week), but I know that he is having some amazing experiences, seeing some beautiful sights, and sharing his wonderful musical talent. Thank goodness Verizon doesn't charge extra for roaming when calls and texts are in the same network! I made sure to clear that up before he'd been gone too long... we definitely didn't want to end up with a horrendous phone bill at the end of the month!

Anyway, here's to our First Anniversary:) I love every day that Ross and I are together. Like Ross said to me, "we've had some good times, but we've really had some GREAT times." Every day I learn from his optimism, his pure heart, his thirst for knowledge, and his caring and forgiving attitude. He truly makes me a better person, and he is the absolute light of my life. He doesn't just make me happy... he fills me with joy. I am forever grateful for his patience (that has been 18 years in the making when it comes to dealing with me), his hard work, and the sweet love he shares with me, his eternal companion. We really were meant for each other.

So babes, Happy First:) I miss you. Te quiero mas que las estrellas de los cielos.

a not-so-bedtime story

2009-04-07T21:02:00.000-06:00

We have had some crazy busy weekends these last few weeks, and I'm starting to think I could make the drive from Rexburg to Alpine with my eyes closed. That obviously would be a bad idea, so I won't do it, but it reminds me of a time when I almost DIED a few weeks ago. So that's where I'll start:)

There are times when Ross gets a little behind on schoolwork, which happens to most college students (especially crazy-busy music majors). Well, a few weeks ago I decided to take a trip to visit my family and give Ross the opportunity (i.e. time, space, freedom, etc.) to catch up on everything. I left Rexburg in the afternoon to give myself plenty of time to get to Utah without it getting dark. Well, I was less than 2 miles south of Rexburg and had just passed a pocket of traffic (including a semi-truck) when I made the mistake of looking down at my console to make sure I had my cell phone within reach. I don't know how it happened, but the next thing I know I'm halfway off the road and into the median. I remember thinking to myself "don't overcorrect, don't overcorrect!", but my first reaction was to pull my car back onto the road. I had just barely set my cruise control at 70 mph, and it wasn't until I (involuntarily) jerked the wheel to the right that I hit the brakes. My car (a Honda CR-V) squealed across both lanes on Highway 20, hit the right shoulder, and I frantically tried to gain control of the car. I ended up overcorrecting again, sending my small SUV flying back across both lanes and into the median. I am SO THANKFUL for my car... had it been any other SUV, I would've rolled it. I know it sounds dramatic, but the first police officer to the scene actually saw it happen. He said that when I hit the median the 2nd time, I had two wheels in the air and was sliding sideways down the highway. He thought that I was going to roll the car when I hit the median, so he was very surprised when I landed with all four wheels on the ground. All I remember is that before the two wheels went into the air, I was looking down the highway out of the passenger window. That's how far my wheels were turned. I think it was also a blessing that the snow had just melted on the median, so the dirt was softer and more squishy and it actually helped to keep me from rolling. I've never been uncontrollably hysterical before, but I think it took about a nanosecond for my body to go into complete freak out mode. I started to shake all over, I couldn't breathe without wheezing, and I started to cry. My first reaction was to call Ross, and because I was so hysterical, he thought I'd had a REALLY bad car accident. I barely had time to tell him where I was before a nice cowboy in a pickup pulled off the road to make sure I was okay, and then the cop pulled up (the one who saw it happen). The cop noticed that I was literally clutching my belly, so he asked if I was pregnant. When I said yes, he called an ambulance to make sure I was okay and that I hadn't hurt the baby. All I could tell him was that my sunglasses were on before I lost control, and by the time the car stopped in the middle of the median, they were on the floor. They wanted to check my head and my vitals, and they also did a belly check to make sure everything was okay. Poor Ross... by the time he got to where I was, there were 3 cop cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck (a LITTLE over the top, but that's how they do it). He sat and rubbed my hand while they checked my blood pressure (which went from 130/96 down to 117/80 by the time I could get my breathing under control), and I've gotta give him props for staying so calm. After confirming that all was well, including Baby Gabe, I shook the hands of the men who helped me and walked back to my car. Ross put his arms around me as we were walking and said "I just wanna hold you for a second." We both realized how close of a call this really was... according to the police officer, this could have been a very bad accident. Ross followed me back to Rexburg so we could take the car to the shop (it was making a grinding sound when I'd turn left), but other than cleaning out LOTS and LOTS of dirt and gravel from the wheel wells, they only had to replace part of the axle that was bent. Did I mention that I love my car??? Not only did it literally save my life, but it held up pretty nicely considering it took a pretty good beating.

Anyway, Ross and I now think twice before taking our eyes off the road. Unfortunately, it took this incident to shake me up and make me realize the importance of staying alert ALL the time. I looked down for a second, but it only took that second for me to lose control of my car. So, as my plea to all who read this, please keep your eyes on the road. Don't look down, DON'T TEXT, don't allow yourself to get distracted. You can't afford to take your eyes off the road! Believe me, I KNOW. Please, just be smart when you drive!

time to catch up

2009-03-14T11:08:00.000-06:00

Time to catch you up with some pictures! Some of these are from Valentine's Day, but what the hey. I have to brag about my husband's amazing culinary skills somehow! But first... (and sorry if these are facebook repeats for some of you...)

Baby Gabe is growing! 24 weeks down, 16ish weeks to go (Van Leeuwen babies tend to come late).

Mom got me a maternity dress and I LOVE it! So comfy!

Here's little Gabey at about 21 weeks. It's a profile shot, so you can see his little nose and mouth. So cute!

Here's what my sweet hubby had prepared for me when I woke up on Valentine's Day... I wasn't nearly as excited about the contents of the gift bags as I was about that crepe! Just LOOK at that thing! It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!

BYU-Idaho's Collegiate Singers heart-attacked Brother Kempton's truck WHILE it was in his garage. This choir director didn't know what to think (he's the one hanging out the driver's side sporting the peace sign). It was supposed to be a surprise, but we couldn't help but make our presence known:) I was there as moral support since I'm just a choir alumnus (but Ross is in the choir), and it was so fun to be a part of this crazy night!

Ross has been busy with opera this last week. He's in 3 different opera scenes, and their performances started last night. He has a concert tonight and then again on Monday, and both of us are excited for him to perform but SO READY for it to be over! He's doing amazing things with his voice and he sounds better than ever. He's also quite the comedian up on stage, and it's fun to watch him engage the audience. I really miss performing, but I know that my calling now is to be a mom and not a diva. And I've never felt Baby Gabe move so much as the times when we're either at one of Ross's concerts or sitting in on choir rehearsal! This baby's bound to be a musician!

Although the snow is finally melting and the roads are clear, Spring hasn't quite reached Rexburg yet. It's still in the freezing temperatures, and I think there's snow somewhere in our 10-day forecast. Our move to Indiana is only 6 weeks away, and the longer the cold lingers around Rexburg, the more excited I am to get outta here! We love Southeastern Idaho, but it's been a long winter and we're ready to be warm! Plus, the sooner we get to Indiana, the sooner I can find a doctor... and then we'll be all set to go to have little Gabey:) Life is good!

A productive morning

2009-03-09T14:40:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess I should say that it all started last night. After making a yummy dinner for Ross and I (buffet burritos), I set out to clean up the kitchen so I wouldn't start my Monday with dirty dishes and a messy counter. Doing the dishes really wouldn't seem like much, but we don't have a dishwasher and our sink is TINY. Ross, being the wonderful man and husband that he is, did most of the dishes while I disinfected countertops and dried and put away the clean dishes. I sometimes get on a roll once cleaning has started, and I want to conquer the cleaning empire before I sit down... which might have been the case last night, but Ross pulled me onto the couch so we could relax and spend the evening together. Luckily, when I woke up this morning I found that this desire to conquer was still thriving:) I'm taking a break for this first time since breakfast simply because I'm proud of what I've done today and I want to blog about it! So here's what I've conquered so far:

* cleaned the breakfast dishes and disinfected once again (the only thing I'm kinda OCD about)

* did 3 loads of laundry and put clothes away

* sewed a button back onto my church coat

* wiped down the front side of the kitchen cabinets and the stove... it's amazing to see how dirty those can get until you clean them and see how sparkly they are!

* cleaned/disinfected some fridge shelves and reorganized/cleaned out food in the fridge

* made the bed, picked up around the bedroom

* organized our pantry

* kissed my husband when he came home from class (I know this shouldn't really count, but it's important) :-)

Now it's time for lunch, but after that we'll see what else I can get done today! Life is great, Baby Gabe is growing and KICKING, and it's March! That means Spring should be coming soon... I hope :)

another week gone by...

2009-02-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

Life has gone by fast in the last 7 days. After saying goodbye to Mom and Dad in the hospital parking lot after we found out that Baby Gabe is not Baby Genevieve, we started what was to be a pretty busy week. Well, Ross' life is always hectic as an upper level music student, so I guess I just felt busier than usual:) I was able to substitute twice last week for a 5th grade class at Madison Middle, which I've come to realize is ALWAYS an adventure. Day 2 was easier than day 1 since I already knew the schedule, the kids, the routine, etc., but I will admit that 5th graders are quite animated little creatures. And I KNOW FOR A FACT that discipline in the classroom is up to the teacher. Mrs.Mitchell is supposedly a pretty strict teacher, and I could tell the difference between this class and the first class I taught (totally out of control, no discipline, etc). As a substitute, I'll take a strict teacher any day! The kids just know how to listen better, they follow directions, and they DO THEIR WORK. When a teacher is a good teacher, their substitute is very grateful!!!

I am also teaching 2 voice students, and in the last week I've had 4 more students/parents show a lot of interest in starting lessons. 3 of them are girls from our ward who I know from Young Womens, and the 4th was a referral from a fellow voice teacher. So I hope to add them to my schedule before too long!

Here are a few pictures we've taken this last week:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Baby Gabe and Mommy, 19 1/2 weeks

Our gorgeous temple on a foggy/snowy evening. We love it here.

Okay, I went with Mom and Dad to Walmart so they could re-stock our pantry (thanks guys!) We spent the highest percentage of time in the fiber aisle so that the 'rents could make a decision as to which fiber supplement was best. They ended up going with the Equate brand...

Pops found the elastic headbands and tried them on, although they're usually used when one actually has hair ;)

So life is good here in Rexburg, though it is cold, snowy, and windy. It's about 16 degrees outside at the present moment and the wind usually drops the temperature several degrees. But we're happy, healthy, and staying warm (when we're inside)! This will be our first Valentine's Day as a still-completely-in-love married couple, so there's another to celebrate life! Hope all is well with all of you!

Moment of Truth!

2009-02-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, as many of you know, yesterday was a BIG day for us. My parents came up from Utah on Sunday, we ate some yummy food and watched a lil' football, and although I took a Unisom (doctor prescribed for the nausea) at midnight on Sunday, I was awake at 6:30 yesterday morning. I was so excited to finally find out what was going on with my little butter bean that I was like a kid on Christmas morning! After breakfast with mom and dad, we did a little grocery shopping and restocked the pantry (which was awesome, parentals! THANK YOU!). I was giddier with every passing hour (waiting til my 3 pm appointment was not easy!), and I don't know if I've ever been so insistent to leave so EARLY for an appointment. And to test my patience even more, the ultrasound technician had to take an emergency patient who showed up in the ER and we had to wait another hour before she could see us (which was okay because we didn't exactly have an emergency). Our technician, Jessica, was awesome and she really knew her stuff! It amazed all of us when she pointed out Baby's kidneys, the four chambers of the heart, the two halves of the brain... incredible stuff! And then came the moment of truth... Jessica stood up and, using the little wand thing like a microphone, smiled and said...

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

I could NOT believe it! I really thought I was having a little girl! It seriously took me a while to wrap my head around it, but we are SO EXCITED! We could not be happier to have little Gabriel Ross on the way. I was actually relieved to see him wiggling around so much because I haven't felt him move since last week. In fact, he was so active that it took the tech longer than normal to get a reading of his heartbeat just because he wouldn't sit still! He was kicking, waving, and rolling around all over the place. It was such a neat experience to see him. And the interesting thing was that I had a Braxton Hicks contraction during the ultrasound and we could SEE the contraction! Like I said, Jessica was awesome. Not only could she see every little thing, but she explained it to us and showed us exactly what we were supposed to be seeing. Right now, Gabe is about 5 inches long and weighs 8 ounces... so he's got QUITE a bit of growing to do:) And Jessica said that his growth shows a due date of July 3rd. So there's a possibility that we could have an Independence Day baby! We'll just have to see what happens!

Other than that, I had my first lesson with another voice student and got a referral today for someone looking for a voice teacher. And I'll be substituting for the next 2 days at the middle school, so I'm staying busy! Ross is, of course, busier than ever and just trying to stay on top of it all. He finally admitted that he secretly wanted a boy all along, so although he's a busy man, he's excited to have a son!

Life is great!

Picture Update

2009-01-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

I realize that these picture updates are few and far between, but it seems like we don't really take pictures of ourselves very often. I guess we'll be taking lots more when the baby comes. Nonetheless, here it goes:

Ross feels the need to show off his "belly" now that mine is steadily growing.

Here it is! The baby belly! I haven't really popped yet... I just look fat:( (note: the mattress looking thing behind me is actually an insulated curtain that helps keep in the heat during the winter)

Proof that Rexburg froze over on my birthday (and that I was awake before 7 am). -23* fahrenheit! F-R-I-G-I-D!

Beautiful Alpine, UT during Christmas break.

Okay, so we didn't have much of a Christmas tree this year because we were here for all of 2 weeks during December, but it sure was cute!

I'll post more when we get pictures of Le Bebe! 6 days and counting until we know whether it's Genevieve Kate or Gabriel Ross!!!

Life is GREAT!

It's ALIIIIIVE!!!

2009-01-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I obviously knew before now that there's a little butter bean growing inside me, but I was just commenting to Ross yesterday that I wish I could feel it move. I know women who have felt their babies at 15 weeks, and some not until 20+ weeks, so I figured that at 17 weeks, I shouldn't worry. BUT STILL... I would sometimes jiggle my belly a little and then sit completely still to see if I could feel anything (but I never did). Well, I got a call from the Madison School District this morning at 5:58 am, letting me know that the schools were closed today due to the "extreme cold" (when we woke up, it was -22 degrees outside). For some VERY strange reason, I couldn't fall back asleep. It might have had something to do with the fact that Ross was really excited to wish me Happy Birthday, or because the temperature in our house was in the lower 60's, or just because I was jarred from my sleep to the ringtone of "Yakkety Yak". Either way, I was laying there listening to Ross move stuff around in the living room (to prepare for my birthday surprise) when I felt this little twitch in my abdomen. My stomach was a little gurgly because I was hungry, but this was different than the rest of the gurgles AND there was no sound that accompanied it. It happened again, very faintly, but I FELT IT! I knew that this must be the little baby 'flutter' or 'twitch' I've been waiting for! And to reaffirm it all, I laid down to take a nap in the afternoon and felt another bigger twitch down in the baby belly. I can't believe that such a little thing could absolutely make my day! It was like my baby's way of saying "Happy Birthday Mama!" What an awesome way to start my quarter-century mark! Wootawoo!

Music to our Ears!

2009-01-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Soooo, we FINALLY got to hear our beautiful baby's heartbeat! We went in for my second OB visit on Tuesday, which I have been anxiously awaiting since the last visit when we weren't able to hear a darn thing. My doctor is in Idaho Falls, which seems silly since there are so many great doctors in Rexburg, but I've known my doctor for about 5 years now and he and his wife were basically like surrogate parents to me. Dr.Christensen's daughter, Susan, was one of my roommates and best friends, so we spent quite a bit of time at her parents house while we were in school. So needless to say, when Ross and I found out we were pregnant, my first choice for a doctor was Dr.C :)

Back to the reason for this post... it took Dr.C about 4 seconds to find the heartbeat, and when he did, it was INCREDIBLE! I felt like I was floating in mid air, almost like I was having an out of body experience. I realized, as I was listening to this beautiful heartbeat, that I am fulfilling a HUGE part of my life and that I have wanted this for such a long time! I have a while to go still (I'll be 16 weeks along on Saturday), but this was the first real evidence we've had that this baby is inside of me. I looked at Ross as we listened to this sweet sound of our baby's heart, and we both had tears in our eyes. Dr.C said that the baby sounds strong and that I'm growing on schedule, so everything is looking great. I also made my ultrasound appointment for February 2nd, so we'll know in just a few short weeks if it's a boy or girl! I am so STINKIN excited that I can hardly stand it! I really do feel like it's a girl, but we are just so happy to have this baby that we'll take either a boy or girl. We'll just have this one ultrasound, so I'm excited to see what this baby looks like. I know you can't really tell what the baby looks like at the 18-week ultrasound, but it'll be so fun to just SEE it. Man, I can't WAIT!!!

Other than baby stuff, life is goin for us. Ross is busy with school and work, and I finally acquired some students for my voice studio. I hoped to be substitute teaching more often, but school just started again and I don't think a lot of teachers are needing subs right now. But we have so many things to be grateful for! We are blessed beyond measure, and we really can't wait for July to roll around:) Here in the cold, frozen tundra of Rexburg, life really is good...

Pictures... FINALLY!

2008-12-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

The answer we've been waiting for! Even though it was barely visible, there WAS a 2nd line! Woohoo!!!

So, shortly after we moved into the new house in Rexburg, I was doing dishes and heard a really big BANG outside. I just thought it was someone pulling a trailer that went over a pot hole (there are a couple big ones on our street), but then I heard people yelling. When I stepped out onto the front porch, I looked towards all the noise and saw this... a MICROBURST had picked up someone's SHED and dumped it right on top of our neighbor's house!!! They had to call the fire department to come get it off, which was pretty funny to watch. Two uniformed firemen simply get up on top of the roof and literally just kick the shed off of the house! I know it was traumatizing for our poor neighbors, but it was kinda funny to watch:)

Me and Hannah, my darling should've-been-sister. We all went out to Applebee's to basically celebrate Hannah since she was moving to Florida the next day, and this was our way of sharing our departing moment... I guess?? She's really not heavy and I'm actually stronger than this picture makes it out to be, but we were laughing so hard that I could barely lift her and she could barely hold on. This is a typical Tri&Han moment.

Disclaimer: I was NOT pregnant when this picture was taken! If I was, I would NOT have been lifting more than 20 pounds:)

Ross and I chillin at Applebee's to celerate our dear Hanbanan. I think this is a cute picture of us:)

Mom and dad came up for the weekend and we took a day trip to Yellowstone. These elk were so close to us! It was amazing how unperturbed they were even though there were a lot of people around taking pictures of them.

So I finally am able to get up some new pics... sorry it took a while. We rearranged the furniture in our living room and, although I have no idea how it got there, we found our picture importer thingy under our recliner. Like I said... NO IDEA how it got there, but now we're able to upload pictures! Hooray!

I can't believe this is the last week of the semester for Ross. He was stressed out today for about 3 hours, but that was it! I can't believe it! When I started the upper level music classes (and for the rest of my college experience), I was an emotional wreck the last week of school! But Ross seems very cool and collected, and I think he's going to do awesome on his finals. As for me, I've been sick. Not with a cold or anything, but with BABY. Don't get me wrong... I love this baby and I can't wait to be a mommy, but it amazes me how something SO SMALL can make a grown woman SO SICK! I finally went to my doctor and got a vitamin B6 shot, and he wrote me a prescription for an anti-nausea med. I was dumb and didn't fill the prescription because I was feeling better, and lo and behold, I puked my guts out yesterday for the first time. So needless to say, filling that prescription was on my to-do list today:) The only thing that has been affected seriously is work. I work from 6am-2pm, and it is not easy getting up and going to work when I've been so sick. Although I didn't plan it, I literally worked part-time last week because I either went home early, got there late, or couldn't go at all. But my boss' wife had a baby just a few months ago, and he is SO understanding with everything. He basically said that, with 6 weeks of maternity leave, he wouldn't say anything unless I hadn't shown up for MORE than 6 weeks by the time the baby's born. And since I'm not planning on going back after the baby's born, it's nice not to stress about losing my job because I'm so nauseated.

On a better note, I have my first prenatal visit on the 16th! I'll be about 11 weeks along by then, and my doc said that we might get to hear the baby's heartbeat:) I'm so excited! I know that there's a baby inside me right now, but to actually hear the heartbeat will make it so much more real. And even with finals and nausea, our life is good! It snowed the first big snowfall today, so now it really feels like Christmastime! We are very excited to spend the holidays with family, and I'm crossing my fingers that we'll have a White Christmas this year! What a beautiful time of year to be together and remember all that our Savior has done for us...

S.O.S.!!!

2008-11-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I know my last post talked about feeling okay as long as I wasn't hungry, but that was last week. Today is my 8-week mark, and lemme tell ya... I'm feeling it. I don't have morning sickness, but rather an all-day-off-and-on sickness. I've been feeling kinda lousy at certain points the last few days, but today is by far the worst. I woke up at 6:45 this morning, which was unnatural because we went to bed late last night, and I was already sick to my stomach. The only thing that sounded remotely appetizing to me at the time was fruit, so I figured I'd try eating a little bit to see if that helped. My mom keeps pre-packaged grapefruit cups in the fridge (we're at my parent's house in Utah for Thanksgiving), so I had one of those and did NOT feel better. I waited a while before trying to eat again, and then had some eggs and herbal tea. Then I went downstairs to lay down, and it wasn't until this point that I REALLY felt gross. I haven't been throwing up at all, but I've just felt soooo sick to my stomach and my whole body feels crummy. Ross and dad went to the ranch early this morning (part of the reason I was up so early), so he's not here to witness my first day of being a typical pregnant woman:) I finally called my sister Maddy to ask what she did, since she got sick right around this same time during her pregnancy with Britton. I guess the answer is just to keep little bits of food in my stomach at all times to keep it from getting worse... even though eating is the LAST thing I want to do right now. So here's my plea... to all of you moms or soon-to-be moms out there, WHAT DO I DO to keep from being so sick??? And if there's nothing I can do, is there anything that'll help? Please share!

this is why we're smiling...

2008-11-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

So if any of you read my sister's blog, which a billion of you do, you already know why we're smiling. Yes, we have a bazillion reasons to smile, but we've been smiling even MORE lately! We found out that this summer will be the summer of our lives, starting around the beginning of July... cuz we're having a baby! WAHOO!! We weren't going to really start telling people until after Christmas, but it seems like the word has gotten out. I'm still in the "danger zone" of the first trimester (I'm about 7 weeks along so far... I think), but I'm feeling good and Ross and I are confident that all will be well with this little baby growing inside of me. The only times I ever really get sick are when I get too hungry or when I get stressed out. I was promoted to the Accounting Team at the Law Firm I've been working at, but I was mostly dealing with angry people who wanted to cancel their cases with us. I had a guy tell me to shut up yesterday when I was trying to explain some things to him, and then he continued to cuss me out and drop the F bomb a LOT during our conversation, even after I asked him not to. Needless to say, yesterday was my last day on that team. I requested to move back to the Reinstate Team, which is where I was before being "promoted" to Accounting.

ANYWAY, Ross and I are ecstatic! We are hoping for a little girl, but what's most important is that the baby is healthy... boy or girl. So far, I think my due date is between July 5th-9th. My first doctor's visit isn't until December 16th, and by then I think I'll almost be done with my first trimester. And like I said earlier, I'm still in a bit of a danger zone because it's so early in the pregnancy, but we're staying confident and optimistic that the Lord will bless us with a pure, beautiful baby this summer. And the best part about it is that Ross will be out of school for the summer and he'll just be working. His stress level won't be quite so high and he'll be at home more often, which is a BIG PLUS all around.

So there it is... I'm pregnant!!! Yippee!!! Now we just have to wait for July to roll around...

Happy November!

2008-11-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

So, I've received enough reprimands from friends and family that I'm making the time to write a new post. I will admit that it has been TOO LONG since I last posted, so I apologize to any of you who have checked our blog in the last 10 weeks to see what's going on in our lives. A lot has happened actually, so I'll try to fill you in on a few things. We're settled into our cute little home and we are loving having our own place. It cost quite a bit of money to get things up and running, but we've come to realize that it's not cheap to set up house. Dad helped us get a REALLY nice shed set up out back, so we have more room to put storage stuff. School had already started and I had a full-time job by the time the shed got here, so our 2nd bedroom still contains quite a few items that still need to go in the shed. We've just been so busy that we're literally unpacking a box here and a box there when we have time. Other than that though, we love our home. It's nothing fancy or big or grand in the Better Homes and Gardens sense, but it is HOME to us. One of our favorite items is the wood-burning stove in the living room. This puppy can heat up our entire home in no time at all, and it stays warm as long as there are embers still smoldering. The previous owners left some firewood from last winter, which gave us the heat we needed for about a month. We've gone without firewood for a couple weeks now, and we sure do miss having a fire. We have a furnace, but it is SO MUCH CHEAPER to keep the furnace off and keep a fire going. The place where we were told to get firewood actually ran out of wood, so we're now looking for ads in the Classified section of the paper:) That's how much we love using our stove! It's awesome!

As for Ross and I, life is busy. Ross' school schedule definitely keeps him sticking to a routine, and he's been involved in several concerts and recitals already this semester. He'll be performing in Handel's Messiah in December, as well as Opera Scenes later on this month. Kris Ciesinski is his new voice teacher, and for those of you who haven't heard of her, just Google her. She and her husband, Norman Bailey (who Ross worked with during last semester's opera "The Magic Flute" by Mozart) have "retired" to Driggs, ID, but they both teach lessons on campus. They had opera careers in Europe for over 20 years, and they are a huge asset to BYU-Idaho. Kris has really whipped Ross' voice into shape and she expects a lot from him. It can be tedious for him at times because she is very demanding, but his voice sounds better than ever and I am extremely proud of him! Ross was actually going to school full time and working 20 hours a week, but we figured that the best thing for his/our future is for him to totally focus on school (and keep his 2 scholarships, one academic and one vocal) and leave the working to me. I got a job as a Paralegal at Lexington Law Firm (which has nothing to do with music, I know), and I'm working 10-6 Monday thru Friday. I was amazed at the lack of jobs here in Rexburg, so I was forced to take this job so we could pay the bills. It's not a bad job, but it's definitely not my dream job. I'm just not the kind of person who does well chained to a headset and a grey cubicle for 8 hours a day... so I decided to remedy the situation. I am starting the Graham Music Studio, where I will teach beginning, intermediate, and early advanced piano and voice lessons. My USP (Unique Selling Point) is that I will be a traveling teacher. I will actually travel TO my students instead of having the parents chauffeur them to me. My mom helped me put together flyers and business cards, which I've been handing out on a frequent basis. I have quite a few prospective students already, which is exciting! I've realized that the hardest part will be starting since I work all day, but my evenings and Saturdays are free, and that's where I'll start! And I'll be setting up either a blog or a website for the studio once I have some time (and some help from my tech-savvy mother), so I'll keep you posted for when I get that up and running! But for now, I'll continue working at the Law Firm until I get enough students, or until something better comes along :)

So I'm fully aware that I need to post photos, but I haven't uploaded any new ones since we moved back to the 'Burg. I promise that those will be up soon! My favorite part about blogs is the photos, so I know how important it is for you all to see what's happening in our lives. As for now, this will be a purely written post. I guess people will want to REALLY see pictures when there are growing children, which we don't have yet, but I'll still get some up for those of you interested enough to look at them.

Life is still great, Ross and I are blessed beyond measure, we are still madly in love with each other, and we are happy. There are ups and downs like usual, but I couldn't imagine a better partner to take along for the roller coaster ride:)

Happy November!!!

what a week!

2008-08-21T07:49:00.000-06:00

Holy wowzers. Okay, so the past 10 days have been absolutely C-R-A-Z-Y!!! We ended up making a totally impromptu decision last Monday (August 11th) to pack up and leave Albuquerque a few weeks earlier than originally planned. Sales had taken a dive, we'd just purchased a home (with Dad's help), Ross' brother Chris was graduating, and it was my mom's birthday later on in the week, so it wasn't like we didn't think things out first... and now we're VERY happy about the decision. So, after making the decision Monday, we packed all day Tuesday and were out of the apartment by 7:15 Wednesday morning. After stopping for a Cracker Barrel breakfast, we hit the road and pulled into my parent's driveway in Alpine, Utah by 6 pm. We spent the rest of the week hanging with family (it worked out perfectly because Ross' parents were in town for Chris' graduation) and we waited to be approved to live in the community where we'd bought our house up in Rexburg. They do background checks and contact the referrals we put on the application, so it takes a couple days. Anyway, it was a fun time for us to just relax and be with family. We weren't expecting to hear anything back from the community until this last Tuesday or Wednesday, but we packed everything up on Monday to have it ready just in case:) Well, I guess I should say that I worked mostly with my parents and Theresa, Ross' mom, to pack up since Ross woke up around 4:30 am with the stomach flu. He helped us organize some things as we packed them, but the poor guy just wasn't doing well that day. Our hard work paid off though, because we got a call from the community manager on Tuesday morning saying that we were good to go! We finished up a few last-minute odds and ends, and we hit the road! Mom and I got to our new place just before Ross and Dad pulled up with the horse trailer (yes folks, we packed all of our belongings into my dad's clean, scrubbed out horse trailer, AND we live in a trailer park... no worries, I have pictures:)). Two guys showed up 5 minutes after we started unloading, offering to help us unload and mentioning that they're our neighbors and that we'll all be in the same ward. Within an hour, we had EVERYTHING unloaded! It was fantastic! Unfortunately, mom and dad had to head back home as soon as they could, so my hopes of having my mother's ever-efficient help were shattered. We hugged, they left, and the unpacking began! To make a long story short, I'll just say that we've been working hard for 2 days and we STILL have a lot to do. Oh yeah, I guess we were set back a day because I woke up yesterday morning with the same stomach flu that Ross had on Monday, so I was down for the count. I'm still feeling a little weak from a complete lack of nutrients, but I'm feeling MUCH better than yesterday. Thank goodness those things only last 24 hours.

So, there ya go. That's what our life has been in the last week and a half. Once we get things a little more organized, I'll get some pictures up. For now, just imagine LOTS and LOTS of BOXES...

But really, life is good:)

BIG NEWS!!!

2008-08-10T01:30:00.001-06:00

Okay friends and fam, I'm sure by the title of this post you're wondering what in the HECK the big news is. Just to get things straight right from the start, we are NOT expecting any additions to our family in the next 9 months... so you can breathe easy now:) However, with the help of my wonderful and oh-so-helpful father, we will be moving back to Rexburg to live in a HOME... OUR VERY OWN HOME!!! We're homeowners!!! Ross and I did the numbers a while ago, and although our rental situation was great back in the 'burg, we would've spent A LOT of money renting for the next 2.5 years and would've received NONE of it back in the end. So, we started looking around, getting our feet wet as to what real estate was like in Rexburg. We also talked to some friends of ours who work with Ross, and 2 of the couples live in manufactured homes. To make a long story short, we found a practically perfect home in a great community where 2 friends already live, and 3 other couples (also good friends) are looking to buy! Now, it's not the Taj Mahal, but we don't NEED the Taj Mahal right now... and I'm not sure we ever will, for that matter. Anyway, we are so happy with it, which is kinda crazy because we haven't even seen it in person yet. However, we were in touch with the previous owners quite a bit (a young married couple as well), and we (myself, Ross, and my interrogative, anal, LOVING father) feel that we are getting a deal and that this will be a great starter home for us. There have been several recent upgrades to the home, and we feel confident that this is an awesome way to start out our married lives in the quaint college town we love:)

So obviously LOTS has happened in the past week... but buying a home is just the start! I'll post more pics and stories of our adventures to Santa Fe when it's NOT 2 am, and when I'm a little more coherent...

LIFE IS GOOD. We are so blessed...

Memories!

2008-08-02T10:25:00.000-06:00

Okay friends and fam, I'm not usually one to pass on forwarded emails or texts, but this is kinda cute. No obligation... just a fun thing for us to share if ya have a moment:)

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, just write anything you remember.

2. Re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave you a memory. If you leave a comment, I'll assume you're playing the game, and I'll come to your blog and leave a message:)

Ross' mad drum skills... (ahem)

2008-08-01T23:18:00.000-06:00

HILARIOUS, that's all I gotta say.

Life in Albuquerque!

2008-08-01T13:17:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's been TOO LONG since I've posted! Thanks to Maddy, my dear little sis, I've been commanded to post again. I finally figured out that Macs make blogging a little trickier, so I added my photos FIRST this time instead of typing up a huge long post and then losing it all when I add my photos. Anyway, we are LOVING Albuquerque. Tucson was nice, but it seems like such a dry, HOT, distant memory now. We literally live in the foothills of the majestic Sandia mountains, and the vibrant sunsets here turn the mountain face the most awesome shade of pinkish-orange. The Albuquerque LDS Temple is 1.7 miles from our FRONT DOOR and, although not the largest temple ever constructed, it is still a beautiful House of the Lord. Our ward is so nice, and I don't know if I've ever seen more babies in one congregation (which does NOT help with my baby hunger!). They have announced at least one new birth a week since we've been here, and there are still more to come. Give this ward 5 years and their Primary's gonna be HUGE!!! Anyway, we really are loving our temporary little life here. Ross' sales have stayed consistent and I've been able to be more social with the other Pinnacle wives, which has been so much fun. It's fun to get together with them and go to lunch, have a movie night, or just have girls to chat with. We love our husbands, but sometimes we just need to have girl talk!

In just the weeks that we've been here, Ross and I have enjoyed hiking, taking the Aerial Tram to Sandia Peak, swimming, and are SO EXCITED to go to Santa Fe in just a few days! It's only about 55 miles up the freeway, and the world-famous Santa Fe Opera was just too tempting for us:) We looked into what opera's they're doing this season, and when we saw that Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" (The Marriage of Figaro) was in production, we decided that it was a must-see. Ross is just excited about the opera in general, but I had the opportunity to actually study and research pieces from the opera for one of my classes last year, so I'm stoked! We've heard only great things about Santa Fe, so we figured we needed to take advantage of being so close to such an enchanting city. New Mexico is, afterall, the "Land of Enchantment"! Can't beat that! Here are some pictures from our adventures so far:

Saying goodbye to Tucson... I must say, the sunsets there were spectacular!

Standing at 10,000+ feet at the top of Sandia Peak.

The Aerial Tram here is the longest in the world.

I must say, watching the sunset over Albuquerque makes for quite the romantic evening ;)

Nighttime in Albuquerque on the 4th of July.

We have some amazing thunderstorms here (it's monsoon season), and they almost always hit late-afternoon. With these storms comes some really intense (and awesome!) lightning, and I've seen more rainbows in the past month than I have in the past decade I think. So beautiful!

So, needless to say, life stays pretty exciting and there are always things to do. We are happy, healthy, and still very much in love! Life is great!

PS- yesterday (July 31st) was my ONE-YEAR mark! I've been home from my mission for a year now!!! Sheesh, I'm getting old!

Mini-vacation!

2008-07-03T18:17:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of our recent trip around Southern Arizona and Nogales, Mexico. More info to come on Thankful Thursday:)

I don't know if this would pass inspection....

Even though I have allergies, I think these flowers are beautiful!

Ross loved this shirt....

This poor little donkey just didn't know what to do with himself.

We love Nogales!!!

Life is good, the grass is green (we have grass now! YEAY!), it's almost the 4th of July, and it's 70 degrees outside. There's no room to complain:)

Fortunate Friday

2008-05-30T21:18:00.000-06:00

Honestly, I look forward to Thankful Thursday ALL WEEK, and then I miss it. How do I do that?!?! So, here I am on Fortunate Friday. I had yesterday and today off of work, so I've had a bit of extra time to think about things. Here we go:

1. First and absolutely foremost, my sweet husband. I was talking with a friend yesterday for the first time since Ross and I got married. This friend of mine has 7 kids, so he's had plenty of experience with the marriage and family life. He asked me if I was doing okay, which really confused me. Then he said "we loved each other, but our first year was just SO hard." I felt bad that it had been a hard year for him and his cute wife, because Ross and I find ways to love each other more every day. And honestly, I don't think this is just a honeymoon phase. There is a lot of respect and admiration that Ross and I share, and I don't see our marriage going anywhere but up. Now don't get me wrong, we've DEFINITELY had our moments (quite a few, actually). But we hate being angry with each other. We've heard so many people say to us "don't make the little things the big things," and I think we've tried to take that to heart. Ross is my best friend, and I'm happy when he's happy. He makes me laugh every day, and we love to be together. Simple as that.

2. Our jobs. Ross' job brings in the big bucks, which is what we need. He's doing well as a first-year sales rep, and our summer looks good. The only downfall is that his hard work ONLY pays off when he makes a sale. There's no constant paycheck plus commission... he gets a check when he sells. So that's when my jobs come in =) I have been working at Kirkland's Home for about 3 weeks now, and I start training tomorrow at David's Bridal. I'm nervous because they're one of the top stores in Arizona and it's VERY fast-paced, but it'll be great. I'll work Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other Saturday with Kirkland's, and MWF and every Saturday with David's Bridal. I'm hoping to stay very busy because we use my paycheck for our living expenses, AND when I'm busy at work, my days go by faster and Ross' time away from home doesn't seem quite so long. So please keep us both in your prayers... Ross needs to sell and I need to make sure I'm not slaughtered by some high-strung Bridezilla!

3. The internet. Ross and I have no TV, so we can't watch the news to know what's happening in the world. I log on frequently when I'm home so that we can at least keep up with the current events. I know there's a LOT of filth floating around cyber space, but there's so much good to show for what the internet has to offer. We keep up with hundreds of loved ones just through blogs and facebook alone, so I'm grateful!!!

4. Personal washer and dryer. This is something that Ross and I do not own yet, but I'm already grateful for the days when we will have them. We spent $6.75 last night on laundry alone, using the tiny, smelly, public washers and dryers here at our apartment complex. I'm allergic to cats, and it seems to me that everyone in our complex owns a cat and all of our washers smells like cat litter. Thank heavens our clothes don't smell like that after we wash them. I just can't wait to get back to Idaho where we'll have a washer and dryer right next to our kitchen, and we won't have to lock our door ever time we need to switch the load.

I think I'm done for now because Ross is coming home and, like a good wife, I'll have dinner for him when he gets here =) Life is good and we're happy. What else could you ask for?

2008-05-26T20:20:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I tried posting a "Fortunate Friday" on the blog last Friday, since I somehow missed my Thankful Thursday. Don't ask me HOW I did that... I had been waiting for it all week! Anyway, I typed up a very heartfelt, endearing list of things I was thankful for, and then I decided to try and be blog-savvy and post one of my favorite videos of Ross. Well, 17 hours later, my 3-minute video was still uploading. I was confused, but my blog-pro sister Maddy told me that videos take hours and hours to upload...

THEN, all of a sudden, my computer froze and forced me into a "force quit" with Internet Explorer. I wanted to chuck my computer against the wall! Not really, since it's been one of my favorite presents EVER, but I almost started to cry. I really couldn't wait to make a list of what I was thankful for so that EVERYONE could see, and then I guess I got a little too excited to add the video:( Thus, I haven't posted for a bit as I'm just getting over the bitterness. I still have a list of things I'm very thankful for, but I think I'll wait for Thankful Thursday. Good news for the day: Ross got a sale! Woohoo!!! I love that man:)

In the meantime, here's a pic of Ross and I at the Rexburg Temple Celebration in February, and another of us playing in the snow for FHE. Hopefully this won't take hours and hours...

*T

PS- Happy Memorial Day!

Fortunate Friday

2008-05-23T21:22:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I missed Thankful Thursday (how did I do that? I'd been looking forward to it ALL WEEK!), but my dear friend EASY showed me that when one misses a Thankful Thursday, one creates a Fortunate Friday:) Thanks easy! So, on to the list:

iPhoto- I don't really know all the squishy, intricate details and artsy, "my-mom-knows-but-I-don't" features of my MacBook, and I REALLY don't know how to mess with stuff on iPhoto, but it helps me put all my photos in order and it just makes my life easier. Ross got a card reader in the Cincinnati airport when we were on our way to our honeymoon (I'll catch up on the honeymoon post later), and my technologically-illiterate self is grateful for these little things that make life easier. So I guess that's my next thing...

our card reader- I had never had one before, and I instead used the cord that plugs into the camera AND the computer. I LOVE the card reader! It amazes me how this little 4X4 inch plastic box can read up to 12 different camera cards, and how we can just stick our camera card into the little slot and our cute pictures get sucked outta the card and slapped onto the computer screen. Technology amazes me.

my job- although my feet hurt after a shift of standing, climbing, lifting, and walking, I really do enjoy my job. Kirkland's is a great company with great products, and my co-workers make life better. We see quite a smathering of people in our store, and lots of them speak Spanish. I love it when the return customers look for me when they come in. I have 3 co-workers that come from Hispanic descent, yet I supposedly speak the better Spanish. At least I think that's why they send all the Mexicans to me when they come in the store. Which leads to my next point...

my bilingualism (?)- I LOVE speaking Spanish! Living in Tucson has really helped me to be able to speak it a lot more, and I love it when I ask someone how they're doing (when it's obvious that they're from Mexico), and they look at me like they can't believe they're ears. "Pero tu eres una guerrita... una americana, no? Hablas BIEN el espanol!" or basically "but you're a white girl... an American, right? You speak really good Spanish!" Honestly, that is one of the greatest compliments for me.

wall decor- this sounds SO TRIVIAL, but really, I'm grateful for it. We live in a temporary, RATHER GHETTO apartment here in Tucson with BIG, WHITE walls. On these walls, we have 3 pictures of us from the wedding, a tiny wooden plaque with a little saying on it, a bouquet of 3 dry roses that Ross got me for Mother's Day, a decorative letter 'G' (for Graham... just thought I'd help you out with that one if you were wondering ), and another small wall hanging. Oh yeah, and a really cool, 24" decorative metal wall clock from Kirkland's that I talked Ross into getting. It was only $15 with my employee discount, so it was kinda one of those MUST HAVES, ya know? So, basically what I want to say is that I CAN'T WAIT to have my own home where I can decorate the walls... walls that will not be white!!!

and last but CERTAINLY not least, my sweet husband- Ross is my greatest blessing, my confidant, my personal comedian AND cook, and my best friend. He's the happiest, most optimistic person I know, and even when he has bad days, he comes home with a smile and a kiss for his wife. He makes me a better person simply because I see how genuinely GOOD he is, and I want to be like him. There is no other man in the world I would want to be my eternal companion, and there is no one better to raise my children. I love that man with all of my soul.

Now, I want to try and be blogger-literate and post a video of us. Let's see how I do.

I shot this towards the end of last semester, and Ross was practicing the drums for his Percussion Methods class. When I say that I have a live-in comedian, I mean it. Maybe you won't think this is really that funny, but I still laugh when I watch this. I think he's hilarious just because there is NO SHAME with him! He's totally off the wall and he just puts me into fits of giggles.

With that said, life is good and we can't complain. Ross and I have each other, a mostly-white-walled apartment, 2 good jobs (possibly 3 after my interview with David's Bridal... fingers crossed!), and enough love between us to last Aphrodite a lifetime. Happy is as Happy does =)

Learn more about Pinnacle

2008-05-19T11:42:00.000-06:00

Hey Folks,

I just posted some information about the company I am working for this summer on the column to the right. Working with Pinnacle will give Triest and I the opportunity to start out our life together on our feet financially. Bryce my Brother in Law also worked for Pinnacle a few summers as a Technician. That is how he met Maddy, while he was in VA with Pinnacle. It is hard work but hopefully it will pay off in the end! If you want to find out more let me know. I need to do well so we can pay for Triest's new job with the Home Furnishing store Kirkland's. It might be that we will spend more money there than she will make! Just kidding babe...kind of.

Ross

Peaceful Sunday

2008-05-18T21:23:00.000-06:00

Today has been just what we needed: restful and relaxing. Ross and I feel awful that we missed church today, and I'm sure we'll feel the repercussions throughout the week. I don't like missing Sunday meetings, but I think this was a pretty valid excuse. Ross came home last night and I think he was suffering from some kind of muscle fatigue/heat stroke (it's HOT... he was out all day in 95+ degree weather and it's extremely dry). He was absolutely exhausted and couldn't move his muscles very well (he couldn't roll over on his own, he kept getting charlie horses in his legs, and he said his muscles felt like jell-o), and we decided to keep him home where he could rest and rehydrate. So today has been pretty quiet. It's days like these when I'm so thankful for my sweet husband. His only day off is Sunday, and when we spend the entire day together on Sundays we realize how much we've missed each other. We watched a movie and it was nice to just sit next to him on the couch and hold his hand. Sometimes I think we take each other for granted, but I can see that as the summer moves on, Sundays will become our favorite days. Ross is working so hard with Pinnacle Security, and he's really doing a great job for a beginner. Our manager has commented on how well he's doing, and I know that he will find a lot of success this summer. Anybody that knows Ross knows how kind and honest he is, so what's not to love?!

As I work for Kirkland's Home, I realize how much of a home designer I can be. Kirkland's has great home products like art, furniture, wall decor, mirrors, etc., and I LOVE IT. Ross and I both agree that it's dangerous that I have an employee discount, but with him doing well this summer, I think we'll be okay.

Anyway, I just wanted to post something since I had some free time and I know that we've been REALLY BAD at updating this blog. But, my mom and sister inspire me to update regularly, so I'll try my best.

Life is good, we can't complain. We just have to remember to drink LOTS OF WATER:)

We're in Tucson for the Summer

2008-05-15T15:23:00.000-06:00

The wedding was wonderful, both receptions were fun, with lots of friends and family to wish us well. The honeymoon in the Bahamas was, well, awesome.

Here are some links to wedding photos and video:

Photos Password: Triest

Temple Video

Bridal Photo Shoot Video

Pointe Digital did the photos and video. They also did Maddy's wedding, and they do a wonderful job.

Here is my Facebook link. There is a lot of info about what is going on in our lives here too.

We have been in Tucson since April 29. We'll be here until the end of August. Ross is selling alarm systems for Pinnacle Alarm and I am working at Kirkland's, a home decor store. After that we'll be back in Rexburg for Ross to continue school.

Life is wonderful!

The Big Day is Quickly Approaching!

2008-04-07T22:29:00.000-06:00

April the 19th is coming very fast for us two. We have been staying very busy with school. Triest is graduating on Friday the Eleventh of April. What a great achievement! I have around four semesters left, maybe more. I am definitely taking advantage of my time at BYU-Idaho. I just finished performing in Mozart's "The Magic Flute". And Triest and The Collegiate Singers sang with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir during a broadcast of Music and The Spoken Word. We are looking forward to the end of finals and the end of another semester, and the beginning of our life together, forever. We want to thank everyone who has been so kind in participating in Triest's Bridal Showers in Utah and in Virginia. We are indebted to such amazing friends and family for everything they help us do, and do for us! We love you all!

Ross

Engaged!

2008-02-27T21:04:00.001-07:00

Ross and I have known each other since we were 7 years old. We grew up together and now we are getting married April 19, 2008 in the Mount Timpanogos LDS Temple. We are so excited to start our life together! We are having a reception in Utah on the 19th at the Alpine Art Center, and another in Richmond, Virginia on the 26th. If you are able to come to the receptions, we would love to see you!