Jarom & Erica

We Love...

2012-01-27T06:36:00.001-08:00

The Tree Padd!! It's so much fun! Although Fae never looks at the camera to prove it, she has a blast!! It's nice because she burns up all her energy and she will go to bed on time, or take a really nice nap!

Fae is so fun, I just love her so much!! She does of course, drive me crazy throughout the week, and as much as I'd sometimes like a break, I wouldn't have it any other way. She is my best little pal, we have so much fun together, and I love getting to know her sassy, smart, sweet personality!!

(Double chin much??)

For the life of me...

2012-01-26T06:19:00.000-08:00

I can not figure out why Fae refuses to smile for pictures! It is so annoying because I kid you not, she spends all day long smiling, saying hi to everyone she passes and laughing! It bugs me that she just wont give up that perfect precious smile!

Theres that baby face! Love my girl!

Here is one of her- it LOOKS like she is smiling, but she is actually trying to get away from daddy hahah

I love to dream....

2012-01-22T18:31:00.001-08:00

We have this neighbor, he lives downstairs, and he is very loud. We suspect he is going through some sort of mid-life-crisis... because of some things we've heard. Part of me feels bad, the other part wants to smash his speaker system into 10 million pieces and shove it down his throat. OK that was an over-reaction. But seriously, the other night was the worst! He blasted music so loud our apartment was shaking, SHAKING! And when we went down and knocked on the door, he refused to answer, and would only knock back... oooooo this made me so mad, (this wasn't the first time this has happened) I called the cops, who were not helpful. Surprise, surprise. They knocked for about a half an hour and the guy downstairs just refused to answer the door, he would switch the music from Miley Cyrus to Hakuna Matata. You know, the good stuff... haha (he is wierd) and throw things at the ceiling. One might ask what we were doing to deserve this treatment right? Let me paint a picture for you: Jarom, Fae and I had been out most of the day, came home around 8, watched a little TV and put Fae to bed around 9. The music started at 10. We were sitting on the couch talking, and doing some research on the computer when it started... so no, we weren't running around, or jumping, or doing anything loud at all, so we really don't know what we did to deserve this.

The music lasted 3 hours.. and nothing was done to stop it. He is apparently being evicted.. but good luck kicking someone out in the middle of winter in NY state.. I doubt it will happen.. which led me to give a little call (the 4th call about this same issue) to the land lord explaining that if something isn't done, we may look into breaking our contract.

Anyway, I titled this I love to dream because I want a house. The responsibility of a house is immense to me, but the perks so far out weigh it in my mind. I am so sick of apartment living, I could scream! Jarom keeps telling me that as soon as we graduate and get either a fellowship or a job, we will buy a house, but it really isn't helping, I just want it now!!! I'm so impatient!!

I'm not asking for much, just this ;)

14 days of Valentines day...

2012-01-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, I posted this on Facebook, of course, but I thought I would blog about it too. This year I decided to get Jarom 13 little gifts and 1 regular valentines gift which = 14 in all. They are very small, and consist of practical things, as well as fun things. I went to the Christmas Tree Shoppe, Walmart, the Dollar Store, and CVS to find cute bags, ribbons and containers to put them all in. (I never spent more than $0.50 on any of those things). And I had already been collecting things since after Christmas!
For each gift, I made a felt fortune cookie (the idea was from pinterest)- the "fortune" is the reason why I love him, which corresponds with the gift. I am sooo excited for February this year, because Jarom has been working so hard, and has made so many sacrifices for us, I thought he deserved something extra special to show him how much Fae and I appreciate him.

MY favorite time of day...

2012-01-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

MY favorite time of day is when Fae first wakes up. She is warm and cuddly, and sweet and quiet. She lets me cuddle with her, kiss her, and read books to her. I love my girl, even if she makes it impossible to go grocery shopping, throws fits when she doesn't get her way, and has recently started throwing herself on the floor when she gets mad... all of these things pale in comparison to how much I love her! She really is sweet and fun and special. I LOVE her more than anything!

P.S I really did try to upload the Christmas video, but it seriously was too long, and was taking forever, so just know this: It was very fun to see Fae open her presents, once she finally got one open she would just want to play with it, and didn't understand there were more... for the next baby (if there is one) I'm just going to get him/her 1 present until they are 2! We had so much fun watching her and letting her play with the wrapping paper afterwards, which was her favorite part of all!

Treadmill

2012-01-18T06:13:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, courtesy facebook, we got a treadmill! I've been beggin Jarom for one since we realized that trying to coordinate our schedules so we could join a gym just wasn't working. We looked around, saw a few from craigslist, but decided on the Golds Gym 480. Sounds intense right? haha We bought it from walmart.com and it came in the mail last saturday!! It's great! and it fits perfectly in the only amount of space we had left in our apartment haha. Its a little obtrusive when you first see it, considering you have to dodge it just to get into our living room, but that's something I'm willing to live with. I just love having my own treadmill, I mostly "power walk" on it, because if I want to run I have to do it in the day when our downstairs neighbor isn't home... he is annoying. I'm just excited because I really want to get back into pre-baby shape (yeah I know Fae is 15 months old.. leave me alone)... I mean I doubt anything will ever fit the same considering how the weight distribution is completely different now.. but I'm going to try my best!! I seriously recommend everyone buying their own treadmill :)

(oh and here is a little glimpse of the start of one of Fae's tantrums... she got time out for this actually, worked out well! She came out wanting to read books with daddy and give loves, my girl learns quick!! :) )

Happy Birthday

2012-01-15T20:04:00.001-08:00

I know this is a blurry picture, but it is still really cute! My brother Kevin turned 21 yesterday, so we had a small family dinner today for his, and delicious cheesecake!

These ones are just to show how wierd Jarom gets around my family:
Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Here is Fae and I:

Fae and Stephanie:

Fae attacking me!

Tinkerbell and Sleeping beauty

2012-01-15T19:56:00.000-08:00

Fae loves playing with her cousin Marlo, so when my grandma was in town, she brought Marlo to our house to play. Marlo brought "dress-ups" for her and Fae, they looked so cute, but of course wouldn't sit still for a picture (which made my grandma REALLLLLLY mad haha, I think she forgets how kids are).. I really need to get like a sports camera so I can take action shots!

Don't mind Fae making her new and very cheesy smiley face. Actually, its so cute, I need to video tape it.

Sleeping beauty Marlo

Playing nice together!!

Sometimes I throw fits...

2012-01-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

Excited, because I got on my chair.. and am trying to stand on it (which is a no, no.)

Upset that mommy took me off to take a lame picture.

REALLY mad that mommy wont let me get back on my chair.

Totally losing it!

Fae has always been pretty early with everything (except eating solid food, which we are still working on)... she crawled at 6 months old, and walked/ran by 10 months old. She says a few words (mommy, dada, puppy, no, belly, pen, mine, go, hi.. and some others... most of which are only translate-able by me haha) but a few words nonetheless. Lately, however, we have been experiencing the terrible 2's!!! WAY TOO EARLY! there is the hitting, spitting, pinching, "mine mine mine", and throwing full blown tantrums, rolling on the floor, screaming ETC. It seriously came out of nowhere. Where is my sweet princess baby?? I hope shes not gone forever! No, I know shes not, and in fact, when she is feeling happy, she gives a ton of kisses, hugs, laughs and smiles. She jokes and teases, and has the most hilarious sense of humor. Anyway back to the tantrums, time-out has been pretty great, she totally understands when I say it's time for her to go time out (because of screaming or whatever), and I do 10 minutes... yeah that sounds long, but the first 5 minutes she screams, and the second 5 minutes she relaxes herself. Then I go over and ask her if shes ready to be sweet, she usually says yes (nods, she is a genius I swear) and gives me a kiss, and we go on with our day! I really hope I'm doing the right thing, cuz it really seems to be working!!

I will post..

2011-12-29T12:04:00.000-08:00

Some Christmas pictures probably later this week, or next... we have to charge our camera, and I can't find the cords... which would only make sense! haha I am usually very organized, but lately I've been in this kind of funk where I am literally loosing my mind, and can't find anything I'm looking for! It's really driving me crazy!! Anyway, I thought I would take a few minutes to write down some of my New Years resolutions:

#1 the classic loose weight, I am not going to complain that I'm fat, because I'm not (not bragging, just saying) but I would like to work on a few things, including, but not limited to: daily exercise, eating healthy, and not that we watch a ton of TV, but watching even less.

#2 Finish reading the book of mormon (again) WITH Jarom and Fae.

#3 Send every person in my family (inlaws included) a birthday card on their birthday.

#4 Get more organized and ready for school to start-- a.k.a work on my time management skills.

#5 Make more time for Jarom and I.. which will be very hard once we are both in school again and have homework :(

#6 Be happy :) Find a hobby or something I like to do and have more "me time".

I'd like to put "cook more meals" on here too, but I don't want to write things that I know I wont do. Don't ask me why I hate cooking so much, but I do, I DESPISE it. LOATH it.

So anyway, I'll keep you all updated on these things as the year goes on, I'm excited to see what 2012 has to bring :)

I love...

2011-12-19T20:54:00.001-08:00

When other people are pregnant! I just love the joy babies bring to households, no matter how they get there. They are a blessing, a trial,and a happiness you can't even know until you have one. I am so grateful for my little one, and for future little one(s).

I am so excited for Christmas this year, because we actually kept most of our gifts a surprise from each other! I know about some things, I'm not going to lie, I may or may not have peeked... but I know Jarom hasn't seen most of his, because I wrapped them up tight, and put bows on them, so I would have known if he tampered with them.
I am also excited for church this Sunday, #1, because it is only an hour long, so we can muddle through it with ease.. that's kind of a contradiction haha.. but still. It is such a struggle to keep Fae quiet and happy throughout the whole 3 hours, especially since its right during her normal nap time! But, I am also excited because I'm sure there will be lots of talks on Christmas, and beautiful carols sung. This past Sunday the lessons were Christmas themed, and it was nice to have something so "understandable" to talk about. Sometimes when I'm at church I feel like things go right over my head, but during the Christmas season, all the sisters can relate to each other, because each knows the true meaning of Christmas. I love that. Plus, it was nice to have some little snacks, and let Fae run around a little.

Anyway, I am also pretty excited that my grandma (my moms mom) is coming up from Florida to visit a week after Christmas. It will be really nice to have her here, she and I are pretty close, and I call her like 4 times a week.. I bet she gets sick of me.. but its nice to just be able to talk sometimes you know. Shes like the girl friend I really never had. (( Not that I don't have awesome friends, I do.. it's just different).

I used the word Excited, wayy too much in this post, but no other word seemed right! sorry!

Christmas pictures!

2011-12-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

Hi guys! its been a little bit, hasn't it? Well we, at the Bowman house have been sick! coughing, sneezing, fevers, and stomach aches! It's okay though, we are on our way to being well.

Yesterday, the amazing photographer who did Fae's first birthday pictures, came over and took some family pictures for us, here is a preview:

((I am using some of these pictures in our christmas card, so don't be surprised!!))
--here is one of our tree, and fae creeching in on it- just for fun--

I am so GLAD I am a pusher...

2011-11-18T07:16:00.000-08:00

Jarom has been doing so well here in New York, although I get very annoyed with my apartment, and the general cost of living, we both do love it here. Fae has friends and goes to a ton of activities during the week. It's been awesome, but here is the icing on the cake: (and yes, I'm going to brag) Jarom had his "quarterly meeting" with Mrs. Verra (his boss's boss) regarding his over-all performance.. While they were talking Jarom asked "what if I were to apply for a job right now (with GE-- a permanent job)?" and she said " I would hire you in a second." UM AWESOME! then, he was studying at UGC (His grad. school) and happened to talk to the President of the school who told him as soon as he is in his last semester she would get him a job at a hospital! (which is his ultimate goal).

So yes, as pushy as I can be, and yes I do go about it in the wrong way sometimes, I am so glad I pushed for us to come here, it is paying out way more than we thought. I knew I was right ;) haha. Seriously though, cool stuff right??

At this point we are working toward a fellowship in North Carolina at DUKE university.. yeah, DUKE. There are a TON of applicants, since its open to all the major Health care admin. schools, but we really feel like Jarom has a leg up to all the others. So wish us luck, cuz this could be the start of a whole new life (oh and a steady income! WOOHOO!) Maybe the NEXT summer (after Jarom Graduates) we can be closing on our first home.. I wish I wish!

Some things I like, and some things I don't

2011-11-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

During the holiday season there are a bunch of things that usually bother me,one of them is shopping. Yes, I know this is me, the queen of shopping, doesn't care if she buys anything as long as shes out on the town-- girl. (At least that's what Husband thinks) However, each year, as Christmas approaches, I get more and more weary of shopping, #1 because the crowds (ESPECIALLY here in NY) are insane and people are so rude and REFUSE to go around you even when there is a perfectly good path just around the wrapping paper isle. #2 because stores decided to jack up their prices because they know you are desperate to get that very last foot bath with the delicious smelling bath slats and matching lotion.. oh and the fuzzy socks. And, #3 because of the blatant disregard for the actual meaning of Christmas. Every commercial on TV is of children opening their piles of presents, as their parents watch, all proud of themselves for picking just the right gift for their bratty child (I don't know if they are bratty they probably aren't, but for my points' sake I'm saying it). This my friends, is what bothers me most. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say no to a present or two, and lets be honest, Christmas just wouldn't be the same without them, but I feel as though the meaning and true spirit of Christmas has been so far lost over the years that its going to be (excuse my French) damn near impossible to inject it back into our homes and our children.

This year, will be the second year (out of almost 4) that Husband and I put up a tree, I am very excited about it. I really can't wait to start putting up my decorations, and watch Fae run around enjoying the lights and the pretty decorations. I can't wait to have all the pretty presents wrapped and sitting under the tree.. and most of all I can't wait to read the Story of Christmas to Fae. Of course she is young, 13 months old, and probably wont sit through the whole thing, but I can't wait to show her pictures of our beautiful savior and teach her the importance of giving thanks, and loving the Lord. This Holiday season will be the start of our own family traditions, and independence. I am so grateful for my family, Husband is just the best, I don't know anyone who works as hard as he does, and still makes time for us girls. To Quote one of Fae's favorite (and most annoying) shows, "He makes our hearts SUPER happy". And little Fae is such a blessing to me, she has helped me grow tremendously, she has helped me prove to myself that I can handle things I never thought I could, and that I do have patience, even if it isn't very much. She is my biggest challenge, and the most amazing reward, I am so happy she came into our lives when she did.

So, enough gushy stuff, I'm making myself tear up *sigh* no, seriously, on to the things I like:

For those who care, and those who don't:

2011-11-10T05:32:00.000-08:00

After 5 weeks of School, I was attending The Austin School of Spa Technology located in Albany NY, I withdrew. What should have been an easy experience turned into a huge mess. Why I withdrew:(not in order of importance) #1 I am not trying to say that I am better than anyone, because I don't believe that one person is worth more than another, however, there are social classes in which each individual person falls. Every morning, I made the 3 minute walk from the parking lot to the school, during which time I was harassed by the various men standing outside. It was extremely uncomfortable, and no I was not the only one with this problem, EVERY woman that passed had this problem. #2 There was absolutely NO education happening. In the first 5 weeks our class had learned nothing, not one of us could perform a simple mini facial, backcial, or any sort of wax. Our teacher did not have the capacity to teach us effectively, which resulted in jumping from subject to subject every class period, without proper teaching of the methods, testing, or example. She signed us off on things we could not perform, gave us the answers to every test, including our midterm and final, and had so little knowledge of the curriculum that she relied on other students for answers. #3 On Fridays we would attend a sanitation course combined with barber and cosmetology students. Every woman was harassed by the barber students throughout the entire 4 hours, without staff doing anything about it. In fact, a barbering teacher also inserted himself in many extremely inappropriate conversations with the students, including but not limited to: child support, court rulings, incarceration, sexual relationships, STDs, and more. He spoke in a very "inner city" demeanor and referred to himself as a professional. #4 The Aesthetics program at The Austin School of Spa Technology was an afterthought. The students had non-working equipment, some of us still did not have our uniforms or books--after 5 weeks. Hardly any of the steamers, electrical outlets, or magnifying lamps worked, and there was ONE towel warmer for the whole class to use. The beds were old and dirty, we never had enough sheets or towels, and half the time the products were low or completely out. The Director of Aesthetics also placed a cosmetology teacher in our class room who was supposed to teach us about aesthetics... this, for obvious reason did not work, and like I said earlier, she had no knowledge of the subject which resulted in a horrible education for the students.

What I did about it:
#1, On friday the 21st I properly, VOLUNTARILY withdrew myself from the school, my letter included the following, word for word "I Erica Bowman do not feel as though I will receive and adequate education at this school." Signed and dated. I then left. I tried calling financial aid probably 30 times after that to figure out what, if anything I owed the school for my time there. 2 weeks later I received a call that I owed 1086.00. During that 2 weeks, I wrote the Attorney Generals Fraud Dept. The NY State Board of Education, and FAFSA. They all returned my calls, and formal letters in a timely manner. The NY State board of education assigned an investigator to my case right away.
As of 3 days ago, I found out that I owe nothing to the school, and that there have been a variety of similar complaints to mine, and that they have a LOT of work to do at The Austin School of Spa Technology.

What The Austin School of Spa Technology did:
Ms. Angela Vitti, the department chair came into my former classroom, and explained to my former classmates that I was involuntarily removed from the school, that I wouldn't stop mouthing off, so she asked me to leave.
Mrs. Karen Sheppard, my former teacher began telling students that I was unruly, and that I was removed from the school by Ms. Vitti.
They both later conspired to tell the students that I was not able to get into any other Aesthetics programs, and was therefore begging to come back to the program at Austin's. (This is the most ridiculous rumor because I haven't even applied to another school yet)
These are only some of the immature, and untrue things that are being said about me. I forwarded all this information (which I received from a former classmate who also complained) to the investigator on my case.

I think it is absurd to be in a leadership position and yet be allowed to act like a child. None of the accusations were true in any amount, and not only that, why am I being the topic of any conversation? Are we really going to allow people like this to teach in school systems? Is FAFSA really going to endorse a school who has no sense of education? These are the questions I am currently working on, when I get answers, I'll update.

Boston

2011-11-06T18:59:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Jarom, Fae and I went to Boston. We were mostly going to attend the Temple, but decided to make a cool trip out of it, so we went to the New England Aquarium as well. It was AWESOME! and Fae had a blast, although she really wanted to walk around but there were so many people, it was hard to put her down... even WITH her monkey leash.
Here are Jarom and Fae playing at a rest stop, where we had lunch, and even got Mcdonalds Fries as a treat!

Here is Fae begging my dad for some food haha.. she is a GREAT eater.. and by that I mean she eats EVERYTHING and ANYTHING :) which is great, because she likes to eat veggies too, and not just junk.

Here are some of the "99%" Protesters.. they were seriously taking up like 5 blocks... they should maybe try looking for a job.. I don't know though, that's just me.

Here is one shot of down town Boston, next time we go, hopefully it wont be so cold, so we can walk around down there and really get a feel for it.

There were so many things to see, it was hard to get pictures of everything, but one of our favorite things was the huge tank in the middle, filled with fish, turtles, and sharks. The sharks were huge and scary, but awesome.
(These are all pretty blurry)

This was the penguin show they did, well really they just fed them, but Fae loved it!

They also had this really cool part where you could actually touch little sharks and sting rays, we all loved that, it was cool to feel how silky smooth the sting rays were, but how rough the sharks were. Fae laughed and laughed every time a shark or sting ray passed her and she got to touch it. Needless to say she got soaked!

And here is Fae being eaten by a shark in the gift shop.. no we didn't buy the hat even though I thought it was awesome.

It was a really fun trip, I think next time we go we will go to the huge children's museum, or maybe whale watching... in the summer that is.

Halloween

2011-11-06T18:39:00.001-08:00

This year, Fae and I went to two Halloween parties, both at church. She went as a cupcake, which was also the theme of her birthday party.. and also her favorite treat haha. Here are some pictures of her at one o the parties:

She wouldn't stop starring at this little ghost, it moved and talked, so every time it moved she would run away an then run right back up to it haha shes is so silly.

Our cousin Marlo came with us too, she is Fae's best friend :)

Mommy helped Fae make her craft, a fuzzy bat! (It's hanging in her room, she loves it.

Ok, then obviously, we took Fae trick or treating, and it was absolutely FREEZING, so we didn't stay out long, nor did we bother taking pictures outside since it was super dark anyway. But, here is a picture of all three of us. Jarom and I were bakers, and Fae was the cupcake... get it... like we made her hehe ;)

Then after, we let Fae have one lollipop, and one kitkat.. that was the extent of her halloween intake, we even gave the rest of her candy to my parents.

All in all I'm pretty sure Fae loved her second Halloween :)

Random...

2011-10-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

I got Fae a new hat, I LOVE it. Here are some pictures:

Ok, now, here are a couple videos:
This one is Fae dancing in her PJ's haha she is so cute :) (oh and her cousin Marlo raving on the said as well haha)

This one is just funny because jarom was eating chips and onion dip and fae kept starring at him like she wanted some, so we let her have a little and she loved it!

This one is just cuz she is awesome and sooo cute :)

I am grateful for...

2011-10-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

Jarom. He works SO hard, he is gone most days from 8 in the morning until 10 at night, and even when he is home he is doing homework. I am so proud of him, as well as his perseverance and work ethic. He is so smart, and is such a great example to me. It is very hard not having him around a lot, like I'm used to, but I know this will pay off in the end. I just want to say that I am grateful for him, I'm grateful that he makes me laugh and smile, and is someone I can fully rely on. He is my best friend and an AWESOME daddy. He is Fae's favorite, I get a little jealous when he comes home and he gets big smiles and laughs.. while I've been home all day with her and haven't gotten them.
I can't wait for us both to be done with school so that we can be on better, more set schedules, and be able to see each other more. I love my Jarom!!

Bowman Orchards

2011-10-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

(Disclaimer.. picture overload)
Today, Fae's actual birthday, we went to Bowman Orchards! We had so much Fun!

Shes just a little over 2 feet tall, what a cutie!

She Picked one she liked!!

This is Our Orchard, didn't you know that we owned an awesome orchard??

Fae and the cow... That's it, I'm writing a children's series, Fae's name is just too perfect. Agreed? good.

Fae and the Goat!

This Goat Struck a Pose haha... I love goats, seriously.

There was so much to do, just look at the signs!

There was a "Play Area" as well, so cute!

"The Apple of our eyes" She refused to look at the camera haha

The cute little store, where we bought delicioussssss apple cider doughnuts and AMAZING New York Apples.. you can't beat a new york apple.

Fae's Birthday Party

2011-10-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

We had Fae's Birthday Party on the 1st of October instead of the 7th because some of our family members wouldn't have been able to come otherwise. Her Party was a blast, I had so much fun decorating for it and planning it, she had fun just opening presents, eating cake and playing with her cousins!

This beautiful cake (butterflies included) was made by my extremely talented cousin Amanda! I seriously could not believe she really made it, it was AWESOME!

Yes, she even made smaller cupcakes with butterflies! I told you, amazing.

I am such a bad picture taker! but here is a picture of one of the tables, and the birthday banner.

This should be a title of a book "Fae and the cake she didn't know what to do with" haha

Opening Presents! She got such perfect, great present from everyone! ((THANKS GUYS!!))

Grandma Lorry and Papa Bob! Fae was so glad that they stayed a little longer than normal in NY so they could come to her party! (They left for Florida the next day)

After the party, she had so much fun playing with the balloons!

I didn't get a whole lot of pictures, but I promise to work on that... The good news is, she had a GREAT birthday party, we were sad that Jarom's family wasn't able to be with us.. since they live in Idaho, but they all sent great cards and presents!! (Thanks :) )

Something I liked...

2011-10-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

I don't usually blog about religious things, but yesterday I was able to hear one of the closing speakers of this years general conference (Saturday session). It was about children, and how many children couples should have. What I liked about it was that the speaker gave light to the fact that although we are commanded to repopulate and replenish the earth, that does not mean we can all have 6 or 7 children. Personally, I have been asked repeatedly when we are going to have another baby. I can't tell you how annoying it is. People who do not know me well, may think I have everything under control, but in reality motherhood is very challenging for me. I have to work at it every day. And although I have the most precious, sweet, good natured, happy baby, it is very very challenging for me to keep on top of things while also keeping me head on straight. The speaker went on to say that the number of children couples have is entirely between them and the Lord. I love that. It is a definite reality that being Mormon puts a huge pressure on women to have more than one child, however hearing from this speaker (in particular) made me realize that some people can handle more than others, and if one child is enough for me, then that's ok, and I shouldn't have to feel bad about it. (not that I really ever did)

My baby is almost 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-09-24T19:54:00.001-07:00

I don't know where the time has gone, honestly, I don't. Everyone told me that Fae would grow up so fast, and it was true, it was so fast, yet so continual and steady that I didn't even notice it was happening! Fae is just the most loving, sweet, happy, smart, beautiful baby ever. She talks and walks, and runs and jumps and falls down, gets bruises, gets back up and does it all over again. I love her little voice and the spunky personality that she is really starting to develop. She knows exacly what she likes and what she doesn't like. She will eat ANYTHING, and is slowly getting better at "digesting" and holding her food down, which is very nice for me-- and my wardrobe.

Heres a little update for you all, cuz I know you are interested: We finalllly took Fae to the Dr.'s, and she got all caught up on her shots and is VERY healthy. She is following her curves (on her charts) perfectly! She weighs 18.7 lbs, which the Dr. did not believe, and weighed her on 2 scales just to make sure because she insisted she had to weigh at LEAST 20 lbs.. what can I say, my girl only looks big, she isn't really that big :) shes so cute, I just love her! she is 28 inches long too! Growing like a weed!

Anyway, Fae is turning 1 in 2 weeks! It's so crazy to me! I can't believe my baby is nearly 1 year old! We are having a small family party for her, mostly because she doesn't have any friends yet, and we are still in the process of finding friends here ourselves! So, you guys can all look forward to seeing pics of her b-day bash! But for now, take a look at the adorable pictures we had done today in celebration of her turning 1!!!!!!!!!! (this is just a preview mind you, I will be sending out printed photos after her birthday) We love our GIRL!!!!!!!!!!

the woes and woahs! of parenting!

2011-09-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

Woah!- Fae started sleeping through the night at 2 months old.
Woe- Since we moved to New York she has gotten up at least 2 times in the night for no reason.

Solution?
Well, here is what we USED to do.. until we realized we were being kind of lazy parents: get up, let her play around, and let her take a bottel to bed with her.
Now we do this: She eats cereal about an hour before she goes to bed, and then has a bottle (with some cereal in it) right before we put her to bed. Brush teeth, and goes in her crib. Sometimes she cries, sometimes she plays, but either way, jarom and I do not get up with her. For example last night, she woke up around 2 in the morning, but I let her cry it out. It only lasted about 20 minutes, then she went back to sleep, and slept till 9:15 this morning!
Moral:
Every parent deals with kids differently, but I realized that we were totally spoiling Fae when we would get up with her and play during the night! She wasn't sick or hungry, she just wanted to play, and as much as I love her, she has to get on a schedule, a better schedule.. Because I will not be doing that crap until she is 5.
It is hard to listen to your baby cry, as every parent knows, but for us... it was a necessity.

Woah!- Fae is a serious walker, everywhere, all over the place.
Woe- she falls a LOT and has a perpetual red mark on her forehead.

Solution: Get her a helmet.

Moral: I let her get hurt, I know that sounds mean, but I truly don't baby her. I'm a true believer in experiencing (safe) things on your own. Yeah she falls down, yeah she hits her head a lot, and even bit through her tongue recently.. which was horrible and there was blood gushing everywhere and I freaked out because I had no idea where it was coming from... but I feel like she cries a LOT less that the average baby, and is way happier just doing her own thing and learning as she goes!

Woah!- She eats anything and everything, and knows how to chew and finnnnnallly learned how to take "bites"- which is so cute.
Woe- She throws up a lot.. she was doind very well with the puking, but the more we introduce table food, the more she thorws up. I always do bite size pieces, and always soft veggies and fruits, she just has a sensitive stomach.

Solution:
We only feed her one real meal a day, the other two are cereal, and in between are bottles. Contrary to what people are telling me to do, we will not be getting rid of her bottle by a year old.

Moral:
As far as food goes, I am Fae's mommy, and I feel like I know what is best for her. Table food is not that important right now, the important nutrients she needs comes from her formula. Cereal and soft veggies will take the back burner for a little while longer. As far as taking the bottle away though, Sometimes I think parents take things away from their kids way too early, which stresses them out. For me, A bottle is comforting, and she will be allowed to have THAT for a little while longer also.

Anyway, those are some of the things we have been dealing with lately, all I can say is I try to be the best mom I can, but sometimes I don't know what I'm doing. This is not que for "give me your advice" haha! Just expressing my thoughts! :)

The girl I love most

2011-09-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

is a beauty queen,

a musician,

a princess,

a trouble-maker,

a blankie lover,

a momma's girl,

a tumbler,

and sometimes a little distressed!

I can't get enough of this girl I just love her so much!!

surprise!

2011-09-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Jarom and I have been having such an amazing summer, which came to an abrupt end today, because today is his first day of school! Yesterday he went to his orientation and came back telling me how excited he was to start! So that is some good news haha! anyway, I know that Jarom will do amazingly well, he is a really hard worker and pretty dang smart.

Ok, so enough about Jarom, no just kidding, I could go on some more about him if you want.. oh you don't, ok, i'll talk about me then haha! As some of you know, I have been planning to go back to school, I was enrolled at a local community college here to complete their paralegal program. However, after contemplating it, talking it over, pondering, and researching it, the only feeling I got was frustration. It wasn't that I didn't think I could do it, or even that I wouldn't be able to do well, but more that I wouldn't be happy. I was feeling very overwhelmed and nothing I did or how I thought about it would calm me down. I know, I sound like I'm making excuses, but seriously, I just didn't feel right about that degree path. It isn't me, at all. (Besides the fact that I love to write and research, that is).
So, after talking about it with Jarom, he and I decided that if I am going to do something, I should do something I love. Therefore, Austin School of Spa Technology, here I come!
I applied to the school, and will be completing their aesthetics program. I will also be taking some business courses to complete the certificate. I am very excited about this career choice, and also felt a huge relief after meeting with the teachers, taking the tour and working out the financial aid. It is also only 3 days a week, and very hands on, thus easy learning!

Anyway, I am so excited to start! I know I will just love it and will be so much happier :)

So, wish us luck!!

she walks, and other cute stuff

2011-09-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

Here are just a couple videos because I have been slacking on this blog pretty bad. I feel like I never really have time for it anymore, and once school starts, I really wont have time for it.

Anyway, Little Miss Fae is just full of personality. She is such a happy baby, and I love hanging out with her every day. She makes me laugh and smile, and also want to scream but she is the greatest little person to ever happen to me. I love her so much!!!

the great outdoors...

2011-08-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

I have decided that starting yesterday, we are becoming more "outdoorsy". There is nothing that bothers me more, than staying inside all day. I hate it. So, since we now live in the beautiful state of New York, where the people here are active, and outside either running, walking or biking all day, I decided we need to join them.
Growing up, my mom made us, yes, MADE us (my family) go hiking with her, I used to hate it, and pretty much complained the whole entire time.. however now that I am older (and a little wiser) I am starting to like it. No, I don't like the bug bites, the bears, or the potential of poison ivy, but the exercise is great. It makes my heart happy to get out of the house and do something. And so you ask "What are you doing this weekend Bowman Family?" (see, I knew you were interested) to that I say "we will be hiking sawyer mtn. in blue mt lake ny!" It's a 2.5 mile round trip hike, so not too bad with a baby, and we can take turns carrying her in the backpack. We are also in the market for a bike seat for Fae, I really am not a fan of the bike cart, its super annoying, and in New York anyone on a bike MUST wear a helmet so it just gets to be too much. There will be pictures of our Out Doors adventures to come.

And so, a post...

2011-08-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

I don't have any pictures at the moment, and probably wont have any for a while.. number one because I'm lazy, and number two because our camera is fussy, and only turns on when it wants to. So, anyway, this is what we have been up to:

First week of august we (yes, all three of us) flew over to Spokane WA, where we picked up our cute little silver car (that we had left there... about 3 months prior-- when we went there to visit Josh and Lindsay in April) We then made the 8 hour (I don't recommend this) drive down to Idaho Falls ID to visit with Jarom's family. Everyone was there, minus Requel and Eric, who we saw later that week when we drove down to Lava Hot Springs for our annual family "reunion". or "Get together" I duno, pick one and go with it. We were there from Thursday to Sunday, during which we went on walks, ate awesome food, swam in the giant pool, and floated down the little river. Also, Fae got extremely sick, and because her insurance is based in NY, the only place we were able to take her was the emergency room, so on Saturday night around 11:00 pm we decided that we were going to do that, so drove back to Idaho Falls, spent the night, and took her in the morning. Turns out she had Strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. So, I was glad we took her. She was pretty much miserable for the rest of the trip... which made me mad cuz no one got to see how happy and sweet she normally is. Oh well! Then the following Wednesday we left Idaho Falls, and started our huge drive across the country. Our destinations went as follows: 1)Laramie WY 2) Iowa City IA 3) Cleveland OH 4) Schenectady NY. It was a very long trip, with very long hours, but the good side to Fae being sick was that she slept.. a LOT. Which in turn helped her recover, and she is now fully back to normal. I sincerely hope we never have to make that trip again... it wasn't very fun, and there is literally nothing to see through Wyoming, and Nebraska and much of Iowa... earlier this summer we drove up the east coast from Florida to NY, and that was MUCH prettier and was more fun.

So, that gets us caught up to the present. We have officially moved into our new place, which is VERY cute I must say, although the bathroom looks like it time traveled from the 60's, and even though they replaced all the carpet and linoleum, and painted (not to mention the brand new appliances in the kitchen we so luckily received), it still has a faint smell of cigarette smoke. I am sorry, but I hate that smell, I think it is the nastiest habit, and the grossest smell. And for the record, I don't think anyone should EVER be able to smoke in other people's property.. apartments included, they are not yours to ruin. Sorry if I've offended any smokers out there, but seriously, get hip, it's gross.

MOVING ON, I love the kitchen, and the huge living room and the two huge bedrooms, all our stuff fits perfectly!! We also got a great deal on internet and cable, so now we have TV (Which we literally have not watched since April).

So that is that, I will try to update with some pictures from our journey if I ever find the time to do so. Jarom and I are BOTH starting school in the fall, so this blog is about to take a long hiatus. bye bye for now!

proof.

2011-07-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

can't get enough

2011-07-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, well here she is being so cute and funny in her tent. I LOVE HER! Seriously, she is beautiful and funny and sweet and perfect! Can you blame me for kissing her like 1000000000 x a day??

Fae will walk...

2011-07-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

This video is the only one I got her really doing it, i promise she even gets up by herself, but i really wanted to get in on camera and it took a little "encouraging"... Fae is growing so FAST! It is just crazy to watch her, she stands up by her self a lot now too, and tries to jump.. she loves to jump jump jump! Walking is going to be hard for her since she prefers to hop around haha :) Love this girl!

We joined a gym!

2011-07-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

And, it just happens to be the coolest place ever. Included in our monthly fee is:
EVERYTHING!
babysitting, a full work out facility, lap pool, splash pad, indoor track, gymnasium, water slides, and hot tub!

It is amazing! We have gone every night, we drop Fae off with the "sitters" which is really a giant room full of awesome, totally kid friendly and non-chokeable toys. there are usually only 3 or 4 kids at a time so Fae gets a LOT of attention! Then Jarom and I go upstairs to work out. Once we are done, we pick her up, and head over to the pool! It is so much fun! Fae loves it! Here are some pictures of it:

dear Idaho,

2011-07-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

I thought I was done with you. However, a certain number of events have transpired, and I will be returning to you.
Love,
Erica

And so it goes, Jarom, Fae and I will all be coming back to Idaho this summer to #1 Visit with family, #2 Get all of our things, and #3, so I can get my hair done by my favorite hair stylist in. the. world. At first I was really not into the idea of traveling with Fae again, I was looking forward to just relaxing this summer and not messing with her schedule, but I think this was the right choice for us. It saves Jarom's dad from having to make the cross-country trip, and lets us visit with family before our lives really begin this fall.
I am getting kinda excited and hopefully I will be able to meet up with some of my friends! (even though we wont be there for very long). I am excited for everyone to see Fae because she has grown A TON since we left.. and is doing crazy things (as noted in my previous post). So here's to the return to Idaho, and hopefully a safe and happy trip back to New York.-- which by the way, I love.

This is going to be one LONG trip.

Fae is very musical..

2011-07-11T05:10:00.000-07:00

Fae is 9 months old now! crazy how the time flies.. she is such an amazing little girl, she smiles and laughs ALL the TIME. She "talks" and talks and talks and talks.. I am not sure where she gets that from haha.. and if shes mad, trust me, you know it. She balls up her hands into fists and shakes them while she yells at you haha.. we are trying to "correct" this behavior.. but shes a little too young, the most we do is put her in her crib if she wont stop throwing fits.. but hey! it works! She is standing up on things, walking along furniture, walls, chairs, basically anything. she jumps.. no joke, her feet actually leave the ground when she does this. She has been letting go of the things shes standing up to and balancing for about 3 seconds before she falls-- shes a daredevil! She loves to be busy, and also loves to be the center of attention. She loves to go for walks, and bike rides, eat food.. EVERYTHING. She gets so angry if you are eating something and you wont share it with her. She is a chunk. Oh, and she likes to play the piano!

I know I already posted some of these..

2011-07-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

But, These are some more of the family pictures/ "Jarom GRADUATED!!!" pictures we had taken before we left Idaho... attention to family members, you may be receiving one of these in the mail soon!

Yay Jarom! We are so proud of you!

Ok, thats all Folks!

Universal Studios

2011-06-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is the post I will be doing about Florida.. The last three days we were in Florida were spent at Universal Studios. It was seriously cool.. but I have to be honest, I liked Disney a LOT more. The lines at universal were UNREAL like 2 hr wait times! At Disney we had fast passes so we got on rides in minutes! (The Universal fast passes were like $80 a person/day!)But, it was totally worth checking it all out.. and we all had an awesome time!

Here is a little show they did there.. it was in "Dr. Seuss Landing" IT was really cute to see all the characters come to life :)

Fae and I with the Grinch.. Fae was a little scared haha

Fae and Auntie cooling off.. we were all pretty hot

Baby Fae on a Tiger, obviously she wasn't scared of it haha... even though it looks ferocious!

Ok, here is the good part, the part we have all been waiting for.. HARRY POTTER WORLD!

Haha, we waited for hours to get in here... and let me tell you, it was SO worth it. I'm obviously a Harry Potter fan.. so to see "hogwarts" in "real life" was so stinkin cool. We got to go into the castle and everything! I don't have any pictures because it was dark in there.. you know because it is only really lit by candles.. but they had holograms of the characters walking around in the castle.. it looked like harry potter himself was there! It was seriously the second coolest thing ever. The first coolest thing ever is that we went into the castle solely to take the tour.. which was just a walk through the castle to see dumbledore's office, the potions room and some other "hot spots", but Jarom got to talking with one of the people who worked there.. who then took us to the front of the line for the new, coveted, harry potter ride and let us go on! (the line was a 90 min line) so THAT was the coolest thing ever. The ride was awesome, I actually felt like I was flying on a broom stick. Haha, all you non-potter fans probably think I'm such a dork but I don't care. It made my year.

This is Hogsmead.. and its where you walk into when you first go in. There is the wand shop and book shop and candy shop.. Everything! So cool... there is also butterbeer.. which we got a glass of, but I didn't really like it to be honest.. I was going to try the pumpkin juice.. but I didn't think I'd like that either haha.. I don't really know who would.

Hogwarts Express.. which was located (obviously) on platform 9 3/4 haha.. the train station was right next to it.

Here is the castle:

Ok, fine, I'll stop with Harry Potter..
I took Fae to a Barney show.. so here we are in Barney's backyard play house!

We did a lot more than these photos do justice for, the only thing was that at Universal, backpacks and bags weren't allowed on rides.. so we didn't have the camera most of the time... So of course we went on ALL the rides.. there were HUGE roller coasters and other themed rides.. All in All it was just great! We had a super terrific time!

Happy Fathers day

2011-06-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

I could spend this time talking about MY dad.. I suppose.. haha but this is my blog, and I already got MY dad a card, so this post is about Jarom. (Don't get me wrong, I have an awesome dad, but it IS jaroms first fathers day)

So, Dear Jarom,

I don't know what I would do without you, you are the sweetest, smartest, most passionate and loving person I think I've ever met. You are so kind to me, even when I don't deserve it. You make me laugh, and smile and feel like I'm worth a billion dollars. You support me when I'm feeling down, and you "ground" me when I'm being crazy. You are my support system and I love you for that. Last October we had a baby, and I can't imagine doing it without you. She has your sweet spirit and sense of humor.. not to mention your good looks... She adores you and laughs and smiles every time she sees you. I am so thankful for a man like you in my life, and a father like you in Fae's. Even though we have some tough decisions to make in the weeks coming up, I know that no matter what we choose, you will support us and take care of us. Fae and I have full faith in you and love you unconditionally. Thanks for being you! Your are the best daddy ever!

Love,
Bizz and Fae

EPCOT

2011-06-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

The last day at Disney we all went to EPCOT. It was more of a cultural place, so lots of different ethnicity's and cultures were represented by little "areas" dedicated to each of them. The park is set up in a circular way so you start with one place and end there also.. it was really pretty awesome! If we had the money, it would have been cool to try all the different kinds of food they had!

This is all of us in front of the big EPCOT ball, getting ready to go in!

Earlier that day we went to Blizzard beach, but its a water park, so here is the only good picture we got from there: Grandma Lorry feeding Fae! (She didnt really act hungry most of the time on the trip.. probably because it was so hot, but we had to make sure and keep this girl hydrated no matter how hard she struggled to get away and play!)

We saw another Nemo show.. which was AWESOME and when it ended it dropped you off at this AWESOME aquarium.. Fae LOVED all the cool fishies and sea horses!

A REAL Nemo!
And some other wierd looking super cool fish

We also went on a boat ride through the big giant EPCOT ball:

Inside this ball:

There was a giant aqua-phonics garden, in which scientists at Disney were growing all sorts of different plants, fruite and vegetables.. it was seriously cool to see everything growing vertically rather than on the ground, planted in the dirt! We couldn't take many pictures, so I don't have any to show, just take my word for it, it was pretty cool.

Like I tried to explain earlier, here is the Mexican "area":

They had tons of food, and gifts and things authentic to Mexico for sale in the mexico area.

I think this was Norway.. but I'm not sure:

Somewhere around that area we all decided to get a huge turkey leg and share it haha.. it tasted like ham though...

Before the turkey leg, we ate in Italy, because we are Italian haha, here is one of us:

Here is Lady and the Tramp made out of Bushes:

We went to all the different places, but as we were leaving, the EPCOT illuminations started, so we decided to stay:

Ok, thats all for EPCOT! It was just so amazing there, I loved it! On another note, I'm not sure if I blogged about this, Jarom and my grandma were the stars of a show! It was called Disaster, and what they did was simulate some disaster scenes from movies, and how you how they do it... so Jarom fell off a cliff or something, and my grandma got blown up! haha It was pretty cool:

Animal Kingdom!

2011-06-18T04:58:00.000-07:00

Animal Kingdom was so fun, there was so much to do there, seriously, we could have gone back three more days and STILL not finished everything! We did three nature hikes and one safari ride, we video taped the safari, but it was super bumpy so I wont put it up here.. but here are some pictures:

We spent a lot of time "waiting" for the rest of our group to catch up haha.. but it was really cool when we saw things like this:

The tree of life:

This guy looked like the heat was getting to him, too! It was blasted hot that day haha I remember dripping with sweat after one of the hikes! But, We gotta LOVE FLORIDA!

OK, I could go on for like 5 more posts of picture of animals, so I'll stop for a second..
here is one of baby Fae being eaten by.. a Sabre-toothed tiger??

While we were waiting to enter the tree of life to see the bugs life show, Fae wanted to do some rock climbing! She needed help though..

OK, we mostly got picture of animals.. so here are a few more..
And this is what Fae looked like the whole time.. haha she loved the animals!

A komodo dragon!

And Lastly, A tiger! We weren't able to see the lion, because he was hiding, and they have an open range territory for the animals, so they have miles and miles of land to hunt, and play and hide.. oh well!

We also went to a NEMO show, and a little mermaid show, and down to Asia and Africa.. which were super cool and had awesome rides.. One of the roller coasters seriously made me sick for the rest of the day.. but after some good Chinese food, I was feeling a little better :)

I guess I can't do anything in order..

2011-06-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

But I haven't gotten around to putting more pictures from Florida on here, so I figure I better update with a few more things:
Jarom and I are currently staying with my grandparents (in the upstairs of their house which is like a giant suite hotel room) in New York. So far the weather has been awesome, super hot and sunny and just beautiful... well it did rain a few days.. but still. Jarom is working hard to earn some money before we go to grad school.. laying mulch, cleaning windows, and painting decks.. there are other odds and ends as well. I'm glad he is so dedicated to us, because if I had to work out in that heat (like 94 degrees) I would probably quit,
I have been taking care of fae, remodeling my parents bathroom, and I even picked up a few hours of work at my uncles bakery. (Pereccas). I have been having so much fun being here by my family, it honestly makes me never want to leave. I keep begging Jarom to re consider coming to school here, but that is mostly because of the scary weather they had over in Missouri. I really am getting pretty scared about that... for some reason I have always feared tornado's over any other type of storm ( I know they aren't as scary as other things like tsunami's) but I am very scared of having to go through something like that.. especially with Fae!

Jarom, Fae and I have also been going on a a lot of family walks because of the nice weather, and we also have a bike trailer so we can take fae on a bike ride! (I don't like to ride bikes that much, but it will give me an excuse to go a little slower).
Speaking of Fae, she is just a monster! She gets into everything! I mean evrything! she opens drawers, cabinets.. bottles of juice etc. She is SO fast, I can't even turn my head for a second! We got her a kiddie pool, and I have been sitting in there with her, so absolutely LOVES it. I put about 4 inches of water in it and let the sun heat it up and then around 1 or 2 we go play in it! she splashes around, crawls in it, and plays with her toys.. its probably her favorite thing to do.. but me being the freak I am, I have to sit right in there with her.. just in case she face plants it.. she hasn't done that yet.. but just in case, I'm there. Contrary to my earlier post, this week she has been a lot more needy, and really only wants me to hold her. This is getting hard for me, because I have a lot of things I want to get done, and a screaming baby that wants me to hold her is really cramping my style. Oh well, she is so cute it doesn't matter in the long run whether the bed gets made or not.. right??

She has also been eating more foods, I was very hesitant at first to start her on solids, but little by little we have beenadding things to her menue. These include:
Peaches
Pears
Apples
Chicken
Green Beans
Sweet Potatoes
Watermelon
Squash
Green Beans

She likes most everything, and NEVER turn her nose up to anything you try to feed her. It's so funny, she will seriously start drooling over food! She is getting SO big, long, thick and beautiful! I love her chunky legs and her chubby belly. Her huge cheeks make me so happy and her beautiful blue eyes just melt my heart, I love my girl! I'm kinda sad because everyone has been saying that since shes started to craw and stuff, she will probably slim down a little.. but I hope she doesn't. You can't get away with baby fat forever, so she really needs to keep it as long as she can! I also have this little meshy ring pop looking thing that I put things in like bananas, apples, watermelon and ice. I also put a popsicle in one time, but she made a mess, I don't know what I was thinking giving her a RED one. She has two teeth on the bottom, and she shows them off all the time, they are the cutest things.. she does this super cheesy smile all the time and it includes clenching her teeth and grinning at you.. haha I love that girl!

Anyway, here are a couple cute videos, to tide you over, but I promise I will finish blogging about our vacation, and try to catch up until now!

She thought this was pretty funny.. don't worry, its just a ball made out of yarn and stuffed with cotton... it didn't hurt her haha

And this one is just to show how fast she is and how she really can get into anything because she can stand up!

A littl bit...

2011-05-20T05:50:00.000-07:00

About Fae:
- She is 7 months old
- she weighs about 16 lbs
- not sure on the height
- I havnet given her her second set of shots because I havent felt right about it yet.
- she eats (or rather TRIES to eat) EVERYTHING
- she crawls everywhere, and shes very fast
- she pulls her self on top of things and can almost pull herself up stairs (she did it once.. it was scary)
- she hits her head probably 6 times a day-- not for my lack of trying to stop her, she is just too fast for me!
- she loves apple sauce
- I still only really feed her formula
- she hardly ever cries
- she smiles and laughs all the time
- since we've been traveling and stuff she wont sleep through the night-- she wakes up around 4 am to eat every day and then falls back to sleep.
- she isn't so much a mommy girl but she gets super happy to see me.
- she love to play with daddy
- she has 2 teeth! they sre so cute and are the bottom front two.
- she sits up
- she screams for attention then gives you a big smile
- No more swaddling for her! shes a big girl now and she sleeps on her belly :)
- she is the cutest baby I've ever seen!!!!!!!!! :) oh and we love her duh!

a little out of order and a little late..

2011-05-19T07:36:00.001-07:00

Sorry to interrupt the disney/universal blogging again, but here are two very important, and super cute videos I havent been able to upload for a while:

Fae Crawling under a coffee table:
(She is so fast.. its unreal I have to keep my eye on her every second, or else she into things that she shouldn't be into, like books, movies, dirt etc... its getting exhausting!)

Fae standing up!

Do things like this really happen?

2011-05-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

Obviously they do.

To those of you living in Idaho Falls/ Rexburg Area, please read this:

((((So SOMETHING CRAZY happened friday. The store owner of Lyn's boutique, publicly HARRASSED AND HUMILIATED ME for browsing at her store previously but buying an item on AMAZON instead. It started by with this snarky conversation: "Did you buy the bunny you were looking for last time?" Yes. "Where did you buy it?" AMAZON. "OH..are your baby's shoes and shirt from amazon too?" NO. "WELL I'M SURPRISED SINCE YOU'RE CHEAP ENOUGH TO BUY ON AMAZON." seriously!...that's what she said!! She continued to offend me in front of customers saying "THAT PEOPLE LIKE ME DIDN'T BELONG IN HER STORE, THAT DOWNTOWN BOUTIQUES WERE NOT THE PLACE FOR MY KIND OF PEOPLE. THAT I WAS RUINING HER STORE, ETC." I honestly couldn't believe this was happening.. ISN'T SOMETHING LIKE THIS SUPPOSED TO BE ON TV? Did she think that she could talk to me like I was nothing simply because I had bought something elserwhere? on AMAZON? HOW DARE I? Anyways.. I walked out to get my phone because I was hoping to video the way that she was mistreating me which then started this argument from her. "How I was probably going to take pictures of her items to search for them online~that's like stealing artwork from a gallery." (what the ?) So I told her how it was to record how she was yelling at me. I TRIED TO STATE the fact that her remarks were uncalled for, especially since I'd been a customer and I WAS HOLDING MY DEBIT CARD IN MY HAND..so if I had no intentions of buying something in her store, I wouldn't have that! duh!? Anyways, not thinking~ I went to the back and said you know what?~ I'm going to look for what I came for because I don't deserve this. (why would I even consider shopping there and supporting that store? yeah not thinking, I was just so upset that she was treating me like scum because I supposedly couldn't afford- or belong at her precious store. So I put a pair of shoes on my little boy. (who doesn't even walk! he barely sat down to crawl) When she came there and said: "You can try and item on, but you can't RUIN THEM. He's soiled those shoes. (they were in mint condition, after all he'd had them on for 5 seconds on her CARPET! she grabbed the box from my hand and said I'm going to box these up for you since they're ruined. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME? MY VOICE CRACKING AND ABOUT TO SOB!) I'll go ahead and ring these up for you, so you can leave. She took my debit card with the pair of shoes that my baby had "SOILED" and threatened to not let me leave til I HAD BOUGHT them, or she'd call the police. She continued to insult me saying that it was people like me that were driving such stores out of business and that we shouldn't be there. ! She purposely ridiculed me in front of her friend and customers. I couldn't get my debit card, in all this chaos it somehow WAS MISPLACED... I HAD TO CALL officers to come and clear up the situation. I couldn't get my card back because it was nowhere to be found. Those poor officers that seriously had to deal with a lady on a TRIP about loosing business to AMAZON? and who was unfairly insulting and forcing me to buy a pair of shoes??? I'd never felt so embarrassed in such an unjust situation. In all things that have happened, this one of the worst belittling scenarios I've been involved in because I HAD DONE NOTHING WRONG! I had honestly done nothing wrong! ( but maybe come in at a bad time wearing my scroungy work out clothes?) Am I not allowed to browse anymore? is that illegal? Is it not my personal prerogative to choose where I would buy something? WHETHER OR NOT IT'S TO BE CHEAP OR THRIFTY??? what the heck!! Anyways, this was a really sad experience for me especially since I am someone who grew up in poverty and do everything I can now to be wise financially and be responsible. I may not be someone who can afford everything in fancy store, but does this give the right for me to be treated this way? I know that a lot of people face discriminating issues everyday and this is just something small. Nevertheless, I hope this doesn't occur to anyone. It felt terrible and I hope that word spreads about people wrongly judging and mistreating others. Please think of what this would've felt like or what that kind of ridiculing criticism feels like. IT'S NOT OKAY TO OFFEND OTHERS OR JUDGE ANYONE ACCORDING, TO RACE, RELIGION, ORIENTATION, APPEARANCE, INCOME, ETC. Please pass this along to spread awareness of an unfair circumstance. REMEMBER "TO BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER")))
lots of love,
Karina

done

2011-05-14T20:01:00.001-07:00

I'm tired of having a private blog, I know its safer, and yes I do values the life of my child.. but it's insanely annoying and so therefore I'm done! I feel liberated.. i really do! So to all those blog stalkers out there, who were too embarrassed to give me their email addresses.. this is for you, enjoy!

and honestly we move so much it would be impossible for anyone to know where we lived at any given moment haha!

Day 2

2011-05-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

On the second day at Disney, we all went to Hollywood Studios and Typhoon Lagoon. It was a BLAST! Hollywood Studios is a lot of Broadway plays, singing dancing, and a few "entertainment" type rides. My brother, sister, cousin and Jarom all went on the Tower of Terror, which I would NOT go on. It like a 30 story elevator that free falls. NOT my kind of ride. But they said it was awesome and I think they even rode it twice. There were also a bunch of roller coasters and little shops!

Here is a picture of all of us trying to get into Hollywood studios!

This was the Aerosmith Rockin' Roller coaster:

Here is Fae, Marlo and I waiting to watch the play Beauty and the Beast:

We all really loved it, Disney is just amazing, their actors are awesome, all the plays we saw were just perfect!

After spending the morning and half of the afternoon at holywood studios, we packed up and drove over to Typhoon LAgoon, where we DID swim with sharks, (they were not under plexi glass) rode ALL the water slides and took a snooze on the lazy river. There was also a super awesome wave pool that generated the biggest waves I've EVER seen. No Joke. HUGE, I got pulled out to the deep part and got so scared I high-tailed it right out of there. Jarom and I had an awesome time riding rides together while my mom watched Fae.. and then we also took Fae on some kiddie slides and of course the lazy river.

Fae loves her daddy!!

maybe its been a few weeks.. or months haha

2011-05-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

DAY 1
So Jarom Fae and I have been on QUITE the Adventure this past month or so. After Jarom Graduated on April 9th, we packed up all our things and moved them to his parents basement. All our stuff (basically) fit into one bedroom of the basement, thus saving us a TON of money because we didn't have to get a storage unit. Once our stuff was packed away safely, we left for the LONG 8 hour drive to Spokane, no offense to Josh and Lindsay but that drive was the WORST haha! no, it wasn't really that bad, but Fae had started to get a cold, which made it so that we had to stop every two hours or so. It was such a relief when we finally got there, we even got our own bedroom for the few days we were there which was awesome cuz it made us feel more at home. It was awesome to see the City of Spokane, and was really fun to walk around and see everything. The following Friday we flew out at 5:45 AM and made it to Orlando at 6:30ish. We were FINALLY in Florida!! I can't even begin to tell you how much fun Disney World and Universal Studios were. It was incredible! I am going to up load a few pictures just to make you jealous haha ;)

After a Long day of Traveling, and lots of throwing up and drooling, I HAD to give Fae a bath ASAP. (If there is one thing I cant STAND it's when Fae is dirty.. I'm neurotic about it a little)

The first night we hung out at the hotel and ate pizza. We were all super tired from traveling. Even though he didn't get to come, my dad is the best grandpa ever! Baby Fae even remarked casually how much she enjoys his witty conversations and reparte. My mom, aunt, brother Colin, Sister Stephanie, Cousin Marlo, and Cousin Anthony all came from New York and met us right about the same time. We all tried to go to bed early so we could get up early the next day and get to Magic Kingdom. My little cousin Marlo (shes almost 4) went to a very special character breakfast. She was super excited and looked so cute in her ballerina dress (although she REFUSED to smile for the picture)

Later, we all met at Magic Kingdom:

Fae had so much fun that she fell asleep:

She even missed the Toy Story Ride!!! (she looks a little squished but I promise she was fine haha)

I don't know how she slept through it because it was super loud and very fast! But Definitely a MUST DO!!

Magic Kingdom was one of our favorites, it had some seriously awesome rides like space mountain, and toy story! It was so cool! ** At night they do an electrical Parade, which we went to on our last night in Disney.. therefore pictures will be on DAY 4)

Hurray!!!

2011-04-08T15:14:00.001-07:00

Today is the day my husband GRADUATES! He's worked sooo hard over the past few years getting straights A's and finishing up all his classes. I am so proud of him he is such an inspiration to me, I hope someday I can finish my classes and get a degree too! I am glad he has family here that are coming to support him tonight! and to those of you who live too far away, it's ok we forgive you :) So Congrats Jarom you are an awesome husband and father! We love you so much!

preview

2011-04-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

the easter bunny

2011-03-26T21:39:00.001-07:00

mom spiked my hair and i refuse to smile about it.

2011-03-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

But, on a happier note, I do love bunny, and my cute outfit whether or not I look like it :)

Also, I do flips.... quite often...

A few videos...

2011-03-16T22:34:00.000-07:00

Fae Trying to crawl.. and mostly burying her face into the carpet... haha shes pretty much awesome.

Enduring some Kisses from daddy, as well as a little robot dancing.. and some other stuff haha.. she loves her daddy! thats all I can say.

Fae jumping around!!

The cutest baby in the world.

2011-03-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

FACT: I have the cutest baby Fae Marie in the whole world. End of Story. Oh, and I love her.
Oh, and she is wearing Hurley jeans because she is a little punk-rockin baby. haha my favorite.

Future: Decided.

2011-03-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

After many talks and prayerful conversation, we decided then best thing for us is to move asap. So After a quick visit to Florida with my family, and another visit with Jarom's we will pack up all our stuff and move to St. Louis!(Jarom says we have to be where ever we decide by May 1st.. so thats not much time considering we get back from Florida the 23rd!) We are still debating whether or not to sell, or go to NY, but at least the real stuff has been decided. We are just so ready for a change, and have a fresh start. I think that we will be so happy and have so much fun in St. Louis.. although it is going to be tough.. for Jarom because he will be in school, and for me because I wont have anyone around to help me with Fae. Either way though, it is time to take that next step together and I'm glad to be doing it with him..

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but pictures are coming, don't you worry your little heads about that.

Things I don't talk about often...

2011-03-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for Jarom's Family. (This is not to say that I'm not grateful for mine, because I am... I really am). But I think that I should take time right now to say what I want to say. I complain a lot, mostly because I feel it’s unfair that we live to close to Jarom’s family, and I'm jealous because mine is so far away. However, I think that it has been a blessing to have had them so close. They have helped us in so many ways, and have taught me a lot about the importance of family relationships.

Even though Jarom and I grew up in different parts of the country, and in completely different families, I think the things we learned from our parents, sibling and associates are an awesome benefit to our own family.
I'm not going to lie, when Jarom and I were first married I was extremely frustrated at how close he was with his family. We "discussed" it all the time... more recently however, I've realized that I was the one that was wrong. Of course there were things we both needed to change... but for the most part; I needed to take a step back and stop being so jealous. Which was reallllllly hard for me, REALLY hard. But so worth it. Since I've come to know his family better and better over the past few years, I've grown to truly appreciate and love them.

So here’s to things I don't often talk about, but sometimes need to be said.

This is the life..

2011-03-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

How would it be?? (Pardon the sexy guy in the background haha)

She is SUCH a princess... seriously. And the smartest cutest, loveliest baby ever...
She holds her bottle, puts her binky in all by herself, can ALMOST roll from back to front (which will be on a video I am uploading soon) and is getting REALLY good at eating her cereal! Plus she knows her name, as well as "princess" haha.. I told you she really does think shes a princess.

Ok, here is the video (its a little long, but hey! shes my baby and I love to watch her!):

She also REALLY likes to yell... I think she thinks shes not being paid attention too, which of course, is RIDICULOUS. :) Love this girl!

The pants..

2011-03-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

Jarom has this pair of pants that I hate. Yes, I bought them for him, however, this was over 2 years ago.. and they really need to be retired. He thinks they look classy, and I think they look like he is expecting some sort of flash flood. I really doubt we would have a flash flood here in Idaho, but i guess you never know right? (hence FLASH haha) If we do though, he is prepared to not get those "classy pants" wet!

He is pretty cute though, don't you think??

My progress...

2011-03-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

This is what I looked like when we started this "challenge"

Remember??

This is now:

My baby is a Koala Bear

2011-03-02T10:00:00.001-08:00

First of all my baby is huge.. she is 15 lbs right now and I can't believe it. Really, I can't!! She is getting SO big so fast! She has basically out grown everything she has, and we are out of hand-me-downs.. so if you know anyone who wants to give away little baby girl clothes 6-9 months.. tell them I am in need!! haha.. seriously though, we've been feeding her cereal more often and she is getting reallly good at it! Today, she only spit it out once! I was so proud, yet kinda sad cuz' this means my baby is growing up.. :(

Anyway, heres a funny things she has been doing.. I know its normal, and a milestone or whatever, but shes been grabbing at her feet and trying to eat them! I think its so cute! Jarom says she looks like a koala bear.

But here are some other pictures..
Have you even seen a butt that looks more like a heart in your whole life?

And look how huge she is!! Those are size 2 Diapers!!! What a monster!! She has been talking and talking and YELLING and throwing fits and just being the sweetest most perfect precious baby in the world! I legitimately think she is kissed WAY more than the average baby.. One day Jarom kissed her 50 times in a row.. but he usually does this anyway.. and that was just at one time! He still kisses her all day long too!

And this is a picture of her in a super cute onesie that my friend Christine made for her for her baby shower.. it says her name on the butt! haha I love it!

Ok one more just cuz I love her face, even when shes not smiling!

Also, we are still unsure of what to do over the summer, although Jarom has been really considering selling for APX this summer.. there are a lot of pros and cons to that.. but since Jarom is always good at everything, I'm sure we will come out on top. We are really happy about moving to St. Louis. I know it's going to be hard for Jarom, since he's never left his home town.. but it will be an awesome experience for us. I have never really been a homebody, but St. Louis is a mere 17 hr drive from NY which is a heck of a lot closer than Idaho, so I'm pretty excited about that. However, I have been thinking about poor little Fae! Her first birthday will be so lame! We will have been in St. Louis a month and we probably still wont know anyone so poor baby will just have to have a small party with mom and dad haha.. she wont remember anyway.

We just worked out...

2011-02-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

I like to take Fae to the gym with me.. we usually go in the afternoon around noon or so.. unless I work.. then we go around 4. Anyway, She was in a happy mood today so here is a sortof blurry picture of us after we worked out together!!! (Well she didn't do very much working out.. unless you count chewing her toys to death...)

Idaho...

2011-02-27T08:31:00.001-08:00

As most of you know, I am beyond, BEYOND excited to get out of here. With me having been here for 5 years and Jarom having grown up here, it is really time to move on. But, before we leave I thought I would try to leave some sort of a mark.

On Saturday February 19th, Jarom and I left Idaho Falls to come back home to Rexburg. Its generally a half hour drive, yet this night it took us over an hour. Why? you ask.. because it had snowed about 6 inches. There was 6 inches of snow on the highway. Not fluffy snow, it was wet, slippery, heavy snow. Cars were sliding off the road left and right, and it was especially slippery over the two bridges we cross. I honestly feared for our lives. No Joke I kept envisioning us falling over the bridge into the ice cold snake river. It was terrifying.

It had started really snowing around 9PM that night, and by the time we left at 11, like I said, there was about 6 inches of snow. thats 2 hours!! 2 HOURS! There was not ONE plow out on the road. I was furious when we got home, and wrote the governor a letter.

I explained my frustrations and my expectations. A few days later I received a letter back. He tried to tell me that there are 78 readily available maintenance employees and 70 plow trucks just in that district. He then proceeded to give me an Idaho weather report. Guess what Butch?! (thats his name

) I don't care!!
I wrote him yet ANOTHER letter explaining my doubt that there is even one plow owned by the state and that there is no way there are 78 readily available employees when I didn't see one that night over the course of 2 hours of heavy snowfall. I also told him that I didn't much care about an Idaho winter weather report. I told him it really shouldn't matter, and that the plow employees shouldn't wait for the snow to stop falling, they should be continually plowing. I ended a little dramatically saying I was disturbed by his lack of concern for the Idaho citizens and their safety.

Anyway, I doubt anything will actually change, but SERIOUSLY I can't believe people live like this. Its not abut learning how to drive in the snow, or buying a huge truck, its about safety. Also, we pay taxes for this... well those of you who work... and I for one want to be SAFE when I drive, not stuck on the side of the highway waiting 3 hours for help to arrive.

It's a love hate thing...

2011-02-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

Fae has a TON of toys.. like way too many.. but her favorite one right now is this little "frying pan" its made of cloth, so don't worry.. but she LOVES it and then she HATES it, but if you take it away she cries! haha its pretty funny actually... this girl has some attitude and I just love it :)

Sometimes she gets so riled up I have to put her in time-out until she clams down... cuz' its gets pretty bad!

In case...

2011-02-21T22:33:00.001-08:00

you don't read my other blog, Jarom got into St. Louis University!! I am sooo beyond proud of him! He is so smart and pushes himself so hard.. I am so lucky to have such a die-hard guy as my husband.. I look up to him so much, he is just so smart and strong willed when it comes to school (and many other things as well, but I'm trying to make a point here). He works super hard and deserves to go to his #1 choice for grad school!
Congrats Jarom!!! We love you!!!

Look what we caught...

2011-02-21T22:25:00.000-08:00

a pretty cute 12 pounder! I think we'll keep this one!

(don't worry we only kept her upside down for about 3 seconds to take the picture... don't go calling child protective services on us)

fae's first

2011-02-21T15:10:00.000-08:00

time playing in the snow!!!

getting ready to go!!!

not sure if she likes it, but sitting in it regardless!!

back home...

exhausted...

eating

2011-02-18T17:36:00.000-08:00

ahh I can't stop, I will never stop

2011-02-18T17:10:00.000-08:00

I can't stop myself from taking pictures of her all day long, I mean I literally walk around with my camera and video camera, she is just too awesome!!

I love her..

2011-02-18T10:21:00.000-08:00

LAUGH!

she bounces

2011-02-18T09:49:00.001-08:00

by herself! although, she doesn't really like it.

Other blog

2011-02-17T09:48:00.000-08:00

http://eandjpencil.blogspot.com/

I started this blog to write my daily thoughts.. I think I am going to start featuring other peoples blogs, as well as some other things, and include some of my writing... hopefully this interests you as much as my family blog haha... I know you only look at the family blog for pictures of the baby, you aren't fooling anyone :)

I'm so confused

2011-02-15T22:20:00.000-08:00

I should probably type this on my other blog, but I don't really care right now. It's late, I'm tired and for some reason all I can smell is Fae's pee diaper that I honestly haven't thrown away yet and it's sitting right here on the desk by me. Gross, I know.. and just because I publicly said that I'm going to have to lysol everything.

Anyway, How was your valentine's day? Mine was alright, we kinda celebrated it on Saturday because Mondays are pretty busy for us. We did the usual (kinda) and went out to eat... but we actually went to a different restaurant for dessert! It was sooo yummy. We brought Fae with us, because hey! it was her first valentines day! I would have given her some of my cheese cake, however she has a thing about dairy products. Jarom gave her YOGURT the other day and she was sick for 2 days. Sometimes I don't know what goes through his mind.

Anyway, On Monday Jarom came home with a dozen pink and orange roses (my favorite colors)and one single rose for Fae. How cute is that, he also bought me a new bag (mostly because he broke my old one) and I got him a new pair of shoes.. since his old ones had holes in them.. yes we are pretty classy what with our broken bag and holey shoes haha. Either way it was a very nice valentines day.

But The thing I most want to talk about has nothing to do with valentines day, or bags or shoes.. the only problem is its like a private marriage thing.. so I can't blog about it.. but what do you do when your husband wants to do something you aren't sure you want to do.. no this is nothing gross, seriously it has to do with our future.. and school etc. What do you do when he says "why don't you have faith in me?" or "Why can't you trust me to take care of you and Fae?"

I'm stuck.. I have no answers.

ok this is the last I swear...

2011-02-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

Did I mention my baby is 4 months old!!! Holy cow!! she is huge to me!!
The last time we went to the Doctors... she weighted 11.4 lbs and was 24.5 inches long!
I just love this girl!

courtesy laugh...

2011-02-14T08:32:00.000-08:00

One more because I love this face!

2011-02-14T08:13:00.000-08:00

Bumbo.. TRAY!

2011-02-14T08:04:00.000-08:00

Because we live in a small apartment, and because we are moving to probably a smaller apartment for Grad school, we opted not to get a highchair (just yet). So, we bought a tray for our bumbo seat.. this will last for a little while, obviously not forever.. but it works!
She likes it because she can sit up and play with her toys!

Walk to the garbage

2011-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ha Ha, Last night we decided to take the 200 yard walk to the garbage dumpster as a family! Riveting, I know, but look at how we brought our little babe...

Rice Cereal...

2011-02-14T07:52:00.000-08:00

I wasn't planning on trying to feed Fae rice cereal until the end of this month, however we were bored on Sunday and thought we'd give it a try! Turns out she wasn't a huge fan, so I am going to wait a little longer to really start feeding it to her.

The Saddest Face I've ever seen...

2011-02-14T07:50:00.001-08:00

I just love my girl, but this face is so cute! I know shes crying but come on! Don't you just want to kiss those pout-y lips?!

Ski Resort

2011-02-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

No, we didn't go skiing, but I felt like Fae looked like a little ski resort baby in this outfit. I love her thermal PJ's and cute cute hat!! :) Course I love everything she wears cuz' shes my baby!! (and i dress her)

I might love her...

2011-02-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

I look a little psychotic but i LOVE my girl!!!

she talks... and talks

2011-02-03T07:36:00.000-08:00

mittens

2011-02-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

oh look at me being cute in my hat and mittens... cuz' brrrr its cold outside!!

shots...

2011-01-27T16:17:00.000-08:00

Poor baby Fae had to get her 2 month shots today (yes, I know shes almost 4 months old.. but I don't like shots! and I didn't want to give them to her any earlier because she was so little!)

She did pretty well.. I mean of course she screamed bloody murder after they did it, but now (2 hrs later) she is happy and smiley again :) I love my girl!

Here are her little leggies...

sad day...

the last one

2011-01-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

Just as a side note, to see ALL the posts, you may have to click "older posts" at the bottom of the page because I updated so many times...

Anyway, on with this post. I just wanted to take a minute to talk about this things I am grateful for.
1. Jarom, I love him so much, he make me so happy and take such good care of our little family. He is so smart and is going to graduate in April, and then we are off to grad school. He is an amazing father, and helps out way more than I could ever ask for. HE is kind and generous with me and is always patient... which I need. He is my best friend and I couldn't live without him! (well I could, but it would def. suck).

2. Fae, what can I say. my little girl has such a sweet spirit, she is tender hearted and doesn't like loud noises.. or yelling. she smiles all the time and her happy face just melts my heart. Sometimes I cry just looking at her because she is so perfect and beautiful. I am so excited to get to know her personality more and more.. she is such a blessing to me and to our family.

3. (#3 ties with number 1) The gospel.. I know it sounds cliche, but without it I wouldn't be able to be with my family for forever. I can't imagine that. I love them so much I want to always be with them! I love that the church helps us to be better people, and that God is always there for us. I'm going to get a little preachy here, and for those of you who aren't LDS, bear with me.. I have a firm testimony of prayer, and I know that God listens and answers them.

4. Air Planes. Without them, I would hardly EVER get to see my family... and that would be the WORST!

5. (#5 is in the middle of #2 and 3) I am so grateful for my parents and siblings, aunts and uncles, and grandparents and cousins. I couldn't ask for a better family, they made me who I am, and lets be honest.. thats pretty awesome ;)This goes for Jarom's family as well.. because without them, I wouldn't have my Jarom, and I don't think anyone would be as perfect for me as he is.

6. My job, and babysitters.. as much as I love Fae, I love "me time" and I love my job. I am so thankful for it!! I am also thankful for willing babysitters that I trust to give Jarom and I time to be alone.

7. And maybe this ties with number 1, but Fae sleeping through the night.. she has been doing that for about 2 months now.. its the best!! ;) swaddling is key ;)

There are a million more things I am grateful for, but thats it for now!!!

basketball game

2011-01-26T19:58:00.000-08:00

My sister plays Varsity basketball on her high school team, we went, I took some pictures but they didn't come out very good, my camera isn't really built for speed shots.. but here they are anyway:

Stephanie is the one sitting to the left of the coach getting ready to go in...

Then here is a funny picture of Fae, and also one with grandma and Grandpa!!

I also went to Colin's wrestling match (both my brothers wrestle, but Kevin's match was like on the day I was leaving and kinda far away.. ) AND they are both really good! Colin won his match, and unfortunately I don't have any pictures, I thought I did but I must have taken them on my mom's camera! oh well! (he pinned his guy.. in case you were wondering)

Fae's First time swimming

2011-01-26T19:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, this post is about traveling with an infant.. not the most fun thing I've even done, but worth it all the same. As many of you know, Jarom, Fae and I went to New York this past week to visit with my family... like in the previous post. But I wanted to put some of the travel pictures on here too.

This is Fae in the hotel! We took the shuttle to Utah the night before and stayed at a hotel so we didn't have to rush the next morning, here are some pics:

This is Fae's first time in a pool! It doesn't look like she liked it much, and honestly I'm not sure if she did haha, but she didn't cry at all, but I did take her out when she seemed to be getting cold..

Here she is with daddy getting nice and warm after we took her out of the pool!

Then here we are in the hotel room getting ready for bed!!! She is such a good girl, and always ALWAYS sleeps through the night!! I think I'm pretty fortunate-- with that--

here we are at the air port!!! she looks super nervous about getting on the plane huh?? I know we were! but she slept the entire time!! it was awesome!! (wish i could say the same about the way home)

watching the airplanes come in...

all in all she did great!! it was a fun trip home!! love my family :)

The new toy (s)...

2011-01-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

My brother Kevin bought Fae this AWESOME exersaucer.. it is so cool! I put it together on Monday and she LOVES it! Thank you Uncle Kevin!!!

then, like I said before we got her a johnny jump up, and she looks so small in it! If you are wondering, which you probably are, why she is in a closet haha, its because the door ways in our apartment don't have room on the top for the clip to hang from, so the only option was jarom's closet! It's kinda messy but don't mind it.

BYU-I Sucks

2011-01-24T18:21:00.000-08:00

It really does. I'm sorry if you are offended by this post, but I hate that school. They are so cheap! and I don't mean their tuition.. I mean they feel like they have to get right with everyone! I'm so sick of it!
First I have some people tell me we can't take our trash out because the garbage bins are full, so I'm supposed to store garbage IN MY HOUSE. Ok, I pay to be able to take the garbage out. I pay for that service! What is that matter with people!
Then, I can't use the gym because I'm not a student, and it doesn't matter if my husband is a student either, it will cost us $100 A MONTH to use that homely gym, ARE THEY JOKING!
Not to mention that when I went back to school a couple semesters ago, I had to RETAKE ALL OF MY CLASSES because they switched to foundations... (then come to find out, my counselor was wrong and I didn't really have to do that)
THEN! Jarom's financial aid just didn't come in and we had to pay for everything UP FRONT until they could reimburse it.
I am SO annoyed right now! can you tell??

The baby shower

2011-01-20T19:17:00.000-08:00

My family is amazing. That's it! Amazing! one word. They made Fae's baby shower absolutely amazing!

First I just have to recognize the amount of work and time that was put into it by my mother, cousins, aunts, and grandmas! They made everything so beautiful and I appreciate them so much!!

Here are some pictures:

This is the cake, it was an Almond sheet cake.. I didn't get to have any, but I heard it was DELICIOUS! My cousin Amanda wrote Fae's name on it.. she is just so talented! Wait until you guys see the stinkin' cupcakes she made oh my gosh, I told her she needed to minor in the culinary arts!

Here are the cupcakes (They were all in the shape of baby rattles! and each and every single one was different, they were SO CUTE!):

Then, Amanda's mom Toni made this beautiful Diaper cake which I'm sure took forever since every single diaper had a tiny hair tie around it!

My Cousin Jody made the cutest party favors I have ever seen! she made like 30 of them, all perfect, but here is a close up of just one of them:

And she also made a DELISH fruit platter... with my favoriteeee FAVORITE fruit dip! (Sour cream and jelly)

Then, my Aunt Binny made such a yummy soup, it's my favorite! Its called Italian wedding soup, yum yum yum!!!! Toni and Amanda also made pulled pork which was by far the best I've ever had, no offense Jarom!!! (I love yours too)

My moms Friend Dianna made a squash soup that I didn't get to try but heard was wonderful,and my mo made a mexican corn chowder soup which was really good also!
Oh and also, thank you to my grandma Selin for letting us have it at her house!

AND THANK YOU ALL for the beautiful, thoughtful, spectacular gifts! Little Fae is pretty much a fashion queen now :)
I really hope I didn't leave anyone out, if I did, let me know, it's just hard for me to remember everything!!!

If you click on this link: http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a497a4d44417a4e544e384d546b314e4441324d7a4d3d0d0a&sb=1 or copy and paste it, you will see a cute slide show of the whole event!

I love my family!

This is Fae enjoying her time with the family!

pictures of pictures

2011-01-19T21:00:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I decided that I wanted to have pictures done again of Fae in her blessing dress, and JC Penny is smart, unlike sears and blocks their pictures from being saved and copied... so, here are picture of pictures, they aren't super clear, but as soon as I get the real things, I will scan them onto the computer. For now, here is a preview of the beauty queen.

Oh and one more... I also did some of her just in her diaper cuz' shes so stinkin' cute:

For those of you who don't know what a baby blessing is, in our church, when a baby is born they are given a name- the same name that is written on her birth certificate, and are basically blessed to have a prosperous life on this earth. Jarom did a beautiful job bestowing the blessing. I had tears rolling down my face.. which doesn't happen often.. he is such an amazing husband and father, and i know that we will have the best time raising this little girl together. I love you Jarom!

New York...

2011-01-19T20:20:00.001-08:00

My posts are going to be a little out of order, because Jarom took the camera home with him, and I do want to post pictures of Fae's traveling experience.. but I guess you all will have to wait.. terrible, i know, I feel your pain. Haha anyway, here is some of what we have been up to in New York!

Of course everyone just LOVES little Fae (who isn't so little anymore) They all fight over who can feed her, hold her, change her etc. Which honestly couldn't be better! Not that I don't absolutely LOVE taking care of this little princess, but I could use a slight break every once in a while.
This is Stephanie and Marlo feeding the baby... how cute :)

Even Kevin has a soft spot for her...

And she LOVES him, especially when he's feeding her haha.. this girl loves her a warm bottle!

Recently I bought a jumperoo or whatever you call them, I haven't gotten it in the mail yet, but my mom borrowed one from a friend to see if Fae liked it.. she didn't complain too much although I think she is a little too small for it just yet.
PLEASE don't study the picture too much, my brothers room is a MESS behind there... don't worry my mom keeps a very clean house.. Colin's room however is an uncharted territory.

Oh, here is one of momma and baby! Gotta love this girl! she is so sweet!

Great, yes GREAT Grandma Lorry (Great Grammy)with the little love bug...

And here is one of grandpa and Fae...

And here is what we like to call "Scholarly Fae" well, you can't tell from the picture, and I know it looks like she is nearly asleep, but as I read her this book, she babbled on and on and on right along with me.. this girl is SMART! oh my gosh, I LOVE HER! (duh)

I want to make a post about the baby shower,as well as her baby blessing however I don't have all the pictures yet, so I'm waiting on those, and then there will be another post, and probably one that follows that one.. so stay tuned! My family did such an amazing job on everything for the baby shower, I just have to make sure and get pictures of everything... I love them so much! thanks guys!

take 2

2011-01-11T20:51:00.001-08:00

Some people (mainly mom mother) didn't believe Fae rolled over by herself, so here is take 2! PROOF!

D.I

2011-01-10T22:37:00.000-08:00

I went to the D.I today to find Fae a bathing suit for when we go to the hotel tomorrow...

I am planning on getting her this bathing suit:

when we get to New York.. for when we go to DISNEY WORLD in April!!

It also comes with a matching cover up:

She will be the sweetest Strawberry shortcake there is!

bumbo

2011-01-10T12:22:00.001-08:00

One of our friends gave us a Bumbo before they moved.. and Fae is just starting to sit up in it without falling over!! Shes my strong smart lovely girl! I just need to get a tray for it so that I can use it as a high-chair... :)

I LOVE her ears. They are the BEST!

Happy, happy, happy :)

Awesome.

ok ok ok I know!

2011-01-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

One more, I'm sorry but I have to post this! she is so smart, she usually has her hands on her bottle, but doesn't really hold it up or anything, but today she is being a BIG girl :( yes, thats a sad face cuz my little baby is growing up, and is holding her bottle all by herself! AND is lifting it up to make more milk come down.. oh my gosh what am I going to do with her?!

Roll over, roll over...

2011-01-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

I know it looks like Jarom is helping her roll over, but he wasn't! I promise this girl will roll over any time you put her on her belly cuz she hates it!

church

2011-01-09T15:32:00.000-08:00

We are all dressed for church!!!

Apparently Fae was excited to go to church today.. but when we got there, she wasn't as happy haha..

ok one more cuz' shes cute

2011-01-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

yes, she's wearing a robe haha isn't it cute :) shes the best!
LOOK AT THAT FACE!! don't you just want to eat it up?!

she laughs.... yes, she does!

2011-01-06T10:11:00.001-08:00

Before the video, I would like to announce that Jarom got into UNION COLLEGE!!! (we are not sure we will be going there, but still) YAY!

The cutest things...

2011-01-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

Fae is just growing so fast!! I don't even know what to do with her any more!! It's like once we've figured out how to deal with one thinng she changes and starts doing something new!! We just love our girl so much and can't get enough of putting her in cute clothes, kissing her chubby cheeks, which I hope never go away... and taking her out on the town just to show her off haha.. ok maybe I just do that... but shes so CUTE! I have to share a bit of truth right now: When I was pregnant, I was so scared that our baby wouldn't be cute, not just of that, I was scared that she wouldn't be cute but I would think she was!! haha that probably sounds so stupid but seriosuly!!! Once I saw her sweet little face and her huge cheeks, I knew she was cute haha
So anyway, here are some cute pictures:

I was going through her "big girl clothes" and came across this 12month tank top, I thought it would be a cute dress!! haha in the second picture she is making a funny face haha she is sucking in her lips! I tell her not to do that all the time, but she just doesn't listen:) silly girl!

She now loves to "talk" to herself i the mirror, it's probably one of her favorite activities!! What a girl haha... I wonder who she takes after... not meee ;)

For Christmas she got a baby doll.. and she likes to eat it!! she will eat the baby.. well I call it "giving kisses" for like an hour at a time!! she loves her!!

She is also SO smiley!! sometimes I'll creep up on her while shes playing to discover that she is smiling and laughing at her toys!!! She is the best!!! Maybe I'm speaking out of love here, but my baby is DANG cute!!

Jarom loves to take baths with Fae.. and she loves it! she has toys and stuff and just plays and plays until big bad mommy comes in to take her out haha.. that, she doesn't like so much. But if any of you were ever wondering whose kid she is.. it's pretty obvious don't you think?

WE LOVE HER!!!!

On a side note, our time here in Idaho is coming to a close, last Sunday JArom's brother (and best friend) Josh and his wife lindsay and their cutie pie baby Lucy moved to Spokane Washington for Grad School. Jarom is still sad about it, but I told him not to worry, we will be seeing them soon! In April actually.. Jarom Graduates April 9th!! WOOHOO!! He is so smart, and I am soo proud of him!! I am excited to see what our next big move brings!
So far here are the Grad schools we are applying to:
- Union College (In NY)
- University of Florida (Gainesville FL)
- University of South Carolina (SC)
- One in Kansas... not sure of the name, and
- One in Oklahoma...
- oh and his Number one choice.. my number.. LAST choice= Saint Louis University...

So, it's pretty obvious that we will be saying goodbye to the west coast for a while.. but I am totally okay with that! :) I really hope to go to NY or Florida.. but it all comes down to the best education.. so we will see and I Will keep you all posted.