Baby wiggles and a big change

I felt the baby move for the first time!
Up until yesterday (19 weeks, 4 days) I hadn't felt anything at all, which was a little concerning for me since I felt Olivia at 17 weeks and by 19 weeks full on kicks and wiggles. And most people say you feel the second one much earlier than the first, but it's also normal not to feel baby till much later especially if the placenta is in the front.
In two weeks we have the anatomy scan (we are still planning on not finding out the gender) and I'm excited because Olivia will be there with us and I'm hoping that seeing the baby will help her understand better that we are having a baby! Though, today she was saying a prayer and she said "thank you for baby". It was the cutest, she is going to be such an amazing big sister,she loves babies so so much.
We've narrowed down our name choices to just a few for each gender so that's exciting and a relief! I've been feeling ok. I can finally drink water (if it has lemon) without gagging. I still have to take my medicine at night or the next day is bad.
John took his first final and has two left and then our 3 week Christmas break starts, which is going to be so busy!

We have the anatomy scan, then that weekend is Christmas. We will be spending it at John's grandparents here in Utah with John's whole immediate family. Which is exciting because we haven't all been together at the same time since I think our wedding! Then, the next week John's youngest sister is getting married!

And the big news, the first week of January we are moving up to Salt Lake county. We were going to wait till after the baby is born but we decided that would be way too stressful and hard since John will need to start studying for the bar and then brand new baby. So, we decided the best time would be before I get huge and before John goes back to school I don't have to do it all on my own. It's a big change. Not in the move because we have moved so much and to different states but the place is huge, recently remodeled, has a garage, a laundry room, a back yard, tons of storage space, and will cost more (salt lake county is surprisingly expensive!). Oh and it's only 10 minutes from the firm John is working at! It's a little scary, but John will be done with school forever, starting his first career job, and we won't be moving till we decide to buy a house in a few or more years from now. So, hello real adulthood.

2nd trimester

I realized I wrote a bunch of pregnancy posts and never posted them so I just went through and posted them all! They are all super out of order and the last one was when I was 11 weeks. I'm 17 now.
So, a super quick update on the last 6 weeks.
It has been a rollercoaster. My sickness keeps coming and going. I had days that were so awful and days that were ok.
Now, most days are good (still nauseous throughout the day but not as bad) but I usually feel pretty bad in the evenings. I still have to take my medicine at night or I can't keep anything down the next day, but it's an improvement and I'm hoping at least by Christmas I'll be over the sickness for good.
I started having really bad hip, neck, and back pain. Some days it was so painful that I couldn't walk without almost falling down. I have gone to a chiropractor twice now and man oh man has it helped so so much! He even found the root of a problem I've been having since I went off to college 8 years ago (has it really been that long?)!

Now for what's going on currently.
We are still planning on waiting till the birth to find out baby's gender, though it's mostly because of me that we are waiting.
We are looking into cars, most likely used, and trying to make a decision on what we should do for a second one sometime before April.
We are freaking out about the ridiculous cost of rent in Salt Lake County compared to where we are now.
Olivia has gotten so good at her colors and counting. She LOVES other kids and can make friends so easily. Also, she loves to write/draw, that what she does pretty much half the day.
John is starting to get ready for finals and has begun worrying about taking the bar this summer.

We are heading down to California to spend Thanksgiving with my family (and get some real Mexican food at my favorite place in Long Beach). And Christmas we will be in Utah with John's family. We are so excited to see Olivia experience the holidays this year!

President-elect Trump

Over the past few days I have struggled with whether or not I would write this post. I have struggled with the words I would use and how I actually feel. Since the main purpose of this blog is to be my journal I decided to write it and I hope that I can make sense of my thoughts, that others will understand and not judge me on them based on their personal feelings on the matter, and to know I do not judge you based on the choice you made.

This election has been brutal. I feel like at least in the two other times I voted in a presidential election it was not this bad. Though that may not be the case, I really did not care about politics during those years. I was young and naive and honestly the couple days before I read the two sides platforms and made a very quick and not well thought out decision on who I would vote for. Part of that was because there were so many things I didn't really know anything about or understand, and because I truly did not comprehend how it all affected me.

This time it was different. For one, I'm older, though still definitely young and I still do not comprehend it all. I have a husband who is very civic minded and is in law school and can answer lots of my questions. And lastly, probably the reason I care as much as I do is that I am now a mother. And I see how who the President is does indeed affect us all.

As I watched the results election night, it started to sink in that Donald Trump could actually become our President. At first I thought it was a little comical, because really he is Donald Trump. And then it was real. He is the President-elect. I comforted myself with the notion that those in his cabinet, who would advise him on different matters, would help level out some of his extreme plans. And though he hasn't actually chosen anyone yet it seems that his top picks are more extreme than he is.

I worry that the man that will be the leader of the free world, the commander and chief, has absolutely no political or military experience. (And while that is comforting to some because it is such a change, I do not believe someone with such an important job should be so unqualified).

I worry that a lot of progress this country has made will be destroyed. I worry that countries that are allies or at least not enemies will become enemies. I worry that discrimination against those of certain religions, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, genders, and abilities will begin to see an influx of discrimination.

I worry that violence will increase. I worry that fear will become a more normal part of our daily lives.

Now many have said that these worries I have, that others have publicly shared on social media over the past few days, are for not. That who the President is doesn't really affect us much, that many of what he wants to change has to be voted on a state level, that people are being poor losers, and whatever else has been said. To that I say, those worries may not be real to you, those worries may not affect you, but they are real, they are valid, and they do in fact affect the daily lives of many.

As far as those things that must be voted on by state. Well, I live in a state that almost 50% voted for Trump and more probably would vote for many of the changes he wishes to make. Though, I am not ignorant to the fact that many voted for him based on party loyalty, or just one of his positions, and not many of the things I fear.

I have talked to those that work in schools that have high Hispanic populations and young children are in fear. They are terrified that their parents, grandparents, other family members, or best friends may soon be deported. Others in schools less dominantly Hispanic have dropped their children off at school to hear other students chanting "build a wall". No matter your feelings on undocumented immigrants these fears are real, they affect many, they affect children, and they affect citizens as well as immigrants.

I know some who are youth leaders, and some of those youth are part of the LGBT community and they are scared that they may begin to be discriminated more. They feel, at least where they live, people have become more accepting and they do not fear "coming out of the closet". But the fear of being judged has returned, with a Vice President-elect who is very extreme in his Christian beliefs.

I have seen videos online of Muslims who are terrified. One of a little girl who when her dad told her Trump would be President began crying uncontrollably, saying, but he hates us.

I have heard of many remarks men have made to women, that are word for word comments that Trump either said during his campaign about women or has said in the past. And while I know men making inappropriate remarks towards women is nothing new, having been at the receiving end over the years, his behavior seems to have set a tone.

It has set a tone that the discrimination to minorities is more acceptable. And while some may say he cannot be held responsible for the actions of others, or that he has apologized or taken back some of his actions or words. The thing is, he said/did those things (whether he apologized or not) and he was elected President. He was still popular enough to win. And if he could say those things and become President, why would it be unacceptable for any other person to act the same?

These are my concerns. They are real, they are valid, and they are shared by many.

I am working on accepting that for the next 4 years he will be President and there may be much that I do not like but hopefully there will be some good as well, and hopefully many of my fears won't happen. I am nowhere near acceptance but I'm trying. And I am holding onto the hope that next election the choices will be better.

Until then, I will teach love and acceptance in my home.

Since this is a blog post I am going to add a little disclaimer. First, I do not judge or blame anyone for the decision they made on election day. I know that there are so many different reasons that people made the choices they did and whether or not I agree with the reason you voted for whoever you voted for that was your right as a citizen and you rock for exercising your civic duty.
Secondly, I do not under any circumstances believe that violence and destruction is the answer. I do not support and am absolutely appalled at those who have chosen that as a route to voice their feelings towards the results of the election. I do support peaceable protests. Along with this I do not believe verbally attacking others for their position is the answer either. No matter how much we may think others are wrong, we all have the right to our opinions and beliefs.
Lastly, I do not believe this election gave us very great options. Although, with Trump I have a lot of worries that make me pretty emotional when I think of them, I would also have had worries if Hillary would have been elected (I guess that's the downside to being very moderate and not feeling comfortable identifying fully as a Republican or a Democrat). I think one thing we can all agree on is that our options were slim pickings.

And now that I put all of this out there, I can officially get back to posting about the yummy food I make, our adorable and sweet daughter and baby in the making, and my super awesome and attractive husband.

From 1 to 2.

We are pregnant! And the timing is going to be CRAZY. Baby is due April 29th, Olivia's birthday. It is the day after John's graduation from law school. We will be moving up near Salt Lake fairly soon after that depending on timing of finding a place. Olivia was a few days early and I was in labor for 2 weeks before she was born so it is very likely baby will come during finals or will be late and miss when our families will be in town. It's going to be insane!

I've written several posts about the pregnancy so far but I figure I'll give a little recap so you don't have to read them all.

We found out the end of August and since day one I have been super nauseous and my sense of smell has been crazy. A few weeks later I started throwing up and it got to the point that I wasn't keeping anything down and waking up all night long to throw up. I ended up going to the hospital for IV fluids and anti nausea medication but it didn't help at all and was in the ER the next day and prescribed 2 different types of anti nausea/vomiting meds.
Those helped, but my nausea was literally debilitating. All I could do was lay on the couch all day. My OB prescribed me a different version of one and I stopped taking the other and as long as I take my meds and eat constantly I do ok. I'm nauseous all the time but it is manageable.

I was still running in the beginning but haven't really exercised at all since I got really sick because when I do too much I throw up. So, I'm super looking forward to feeling better and being able to workout and hopefully start running again, though it's going to start to get too cold to go running with Olivia in the stroller.

I feel like I eat horribly right now because not much sounds good. Basically, I eat a lot of plain turkey sandwiches. I can't really handle vegetables and I can't drink water. Eggs, I cannot eat them anymore which is super sad.

Also, we are planning on not finding out whether baby is a boy or a girl! So, birthday is going to be fun.

Right now we are both hoping for a girl, though because of how different this one has been I feel like baby is probably a boy.

October has begun.

Written October 7th, 2016
It's been a few weeks since I did an update. I have been feeling pretty awful, but luckily I have good days.
I am down to one medication twice a day rather than two 8 times a day! One of the meds I was on was actually making my nausea worse (so glad I figured that out!) and I switched to a different version of the other one and it works WAY better.
As of now mornings and nights are usually pretty awful, and sometimes the whole day is bad. But usually as long as I eat pretty constantly I'm ok. I'm still nauseous all the time but I can leave the house and do stuff.

This pregnancy has been pretty different from Olivia's. With Olivia I threw up all the time and lost a bunch of weight but I only felt nauseous right before I threw up. With this one, with the help of meds, I don't throw up very often, but I am nauseous all the time! I can't decide which one is worse.
With Olivia I never really had cravings and smells didn't bother me. With this one, before I got super sick, I was having crazy cravings all the time. And by crazy I mean I would crave something and it was all I could think about until I got it. And my sense of smell is out of control, everything smells, even things that don't. It sucks.
With the help of medication I am almost back up to my pre-pregnancy weight, which took a long time with Olivia so that's good!

Overall, it's been rough but better than I expected and I'm hoping since I am 11 weeks that in a few weeks I'll be feeling normal again, or I'll be like my mom and be sick the whole time (please no).

It has begun

Written on September 21.
Last week the awfulness all began.
From Wednesday night to Saturday evening I didn't keep anything down at all. Friday I went to my ob and he sent me to the hospital for IV fluids. After the fluid and some anti nausea meds through the IV I was still feeling worse than ever but I was sent home. (Luckily, Molly came Friday morning and took Olivia to stay with her over night. She pretty much saved my life).
Saturday afternoon I went to the ER because I still wasn't keeping anything down. They gave me more fluids and two different meds through the IV and I was able to keep down a whole thing of cranberry juice!
Since then I've been taking the two meds they gave me. I still am so unbelievably nauseous most of the time and I still throw up a few times a day but I'm able to kind of eat and drink.
The other night I told John I am allergic to pregnancy and he agreed.
P.s. on Saturday I was 8 weeks (about a week farther along than I originally thought).

Goodbye summer

Written September 8, 2016
August is over and we are back in Provo. August was so busy with a trip to California, moving back to our Provo apartment, and John starting his last year of law school. (So excited to be done!)
We have pretty much settled back in, which is good because this pregnancy is seriously kicking my butt.

I have been nauseous since the day I tested positive, which was super early. Today I am 6 weeks and I haven't thrown up yet but the nausea is pretty debilitating. I'm not excited for the next few weeks/months. And this being about a year sooner than we would have liked it's a little hard to accept but I'll get there.

Olivia has already started to cling more to John, which is good for me, but when he's gone during the day she is pretty fed up with me not being as energetic as I usually am.

But she LOVES babies, like she is obsessed, so once she realizes what is actually going on I think she will be super excited.

Also, I've been craving salty things, which is weird because with Olivia I had pretty much no cravings especially not in the beginning.

Edit 9/9/16
I threw up for the first time this morning

Edit 9/10/16
I stopped taking my prenatal because it's what was making be so nauseous. I'm still a little nauseous, but it's manageable, and I still threw up first thing in the morning, but it's probably because of not eating/drinking all night. Fingers crossed this pregnancy doesn't send me to the hospital severely dehydrated like with Olivia.

New Adventures

Written August 23, 2016
In the 2+ years since Olivia was born life has always been changing.
She has lived in 5 different apartments/houses and 3 states (6 moves)
She has experienced living near the coast, right next to mountains, and out in the country.
She's lived in moderate, dry, and humid climates.
She's been there through 3 cars, law school, several jobs.
She has been on so many flights, I've lost count.
She has been admitted to the hospital for VUR and had countless awful check ups for it, and built a resistance to an antibiotic over it, and is on her way to growing out of it.
She's overcome a sensitivity to eggs, deals with an allergy to dairy, and discovered an allergy to amoxicillin.
She has accompanied John and I on many dates, left with family and friends so we could go on dates, and many nights away from daddy and had her first night away from mommy.
Her life is always changing and I think she has gotten used to the fact we never live anywhere more than 8 months.
Through all the changes in her life the one constant is John and I. The three of us together.
A new change is coming and it's probably the biggest one of yet, for her.
When John and I first talked about having children we originally wanted them fairly close together, we wanted between 4-6 kids. Then I got pregnant with Olivia and as many know it was no walk in the park. I had hyperemesis gravidarum and was so so sick. So, our number went down, our spacing grew and both of us wondered if we ever would truly be up for going through it all again and this time with Olivia to take care of on top of it. We talked a lot about adoption.
We finally decided on trying again after John passed the bar (so about a year from now).

Well, as most of us know life happens when your busy making other plans. And in this case life is a new baby coming to our family, just in time for Olivia's third birthday!

July.

John and I were talking about how when he was starting high school he remembers thinking about his life thus far and thinking how long he had been alive, and how it seemed to be forever. And now looking back, the same amount of time has gone by and it seemed to go in the blink of an eye. We then discussed how the older you get the faster time seems to go when you look back at your life.
I can't imagine life going by faster than it is now! I made a decision at the beginning of the year to do a blog at the end of every month, and each month I almost forget to write one because I feel like I just did the month's before.

Anyway, on to July.
It has been a busy and hot month! We kicked it off with 4th of July. We spent some time up at snowbird, walking around and taking the tram thing up to the top of the mountain. The view was amazing! After we headed straight down to Provo for a friends party. It was so fun! Yummy food, fun games, and of course it ended with fireworks! Olivia went bobbing for apples, it was so hilarious! There was a pie eating contest and John came in second. And Olivia and John enjoyed running around looking for the direction fireworks could be seen from. Oh, and I forgot one thing! We went to the mall to see if there were any sales, so John could get more work clothes. We ended up in H&M, Olivia saw this sure cute strawberry dress, she LOVES strawberries and calls them "awbrries". Well, she pulled it off the rack and would not let go! Since it was on sale for only 5 bucks I caved and bought it for her. She would not let the thing go until we put it on her!
The next weekend we drove down to California and went to Lake Arrowhead for a friend reunion. Luckily, John's friends from high school live in Las Vegas now so we were able to split the drive up into two days. Olivia did so well on the drive! It was awesome. We got to the cabin Friday afternoon and left Sunday after church, the chapel was so cute! Saturday we went to Lake Gregory and played. The whole trip was fun! It was so good to see my friends and have our kids play. It is a little weird that we are not silly high school kids anymore and are like real adults, whatever that means.
The next weekend was my girls trip to Denver to see Adele, my first night away from Olivia! We left Saturday morning, the concert was Saturday evening, and we drove back Sunday morning. Super quick, super fun trip! Adele is seriously so amazing live. She is adorable, funny, and so real. Also, hearing her songs live and with the background of why each song was written, I totally cried moat of the show. (Don't judge me, you had to be there to get it). Olivia did so well with John while I was gone, too, and I'm so grateful for that because I was super nervous!
The next few days there was family in town so Olivia had fun playing with her second, third? Whatever cousins.
Then it was Pioneer Day weekend. It's a Utah holiday. On Saturday we went to a friends yard sale and scored some awesome stuff! They are moving to Hawaii! So fun. Then we left and realized the AC in our car wasn't working so we went straight to our mechanic. We then spent the next few hours walking to the mall and chilling, then walking to a breakfast place and eating,back to the mall, John scored some pants for work for $12! And then back to the mechanics. Turns out they sent out for the wrong parts and quoted us incorrectly. They had our car in their system as a 2001 and it's a 2008, he said the parts were way more expensive but he would charge us what he originally quoted us! But the car wouldn't be done for a few more hours so John's sister saved us and took us home. We chilled, eventually went and got the car and then went to a Pioneer Day festival thing. We walked around, got some shave ice and laid out blankets for the firework show. This firework show was seriously legit! The fireworks were right above us and so big! Olivia kept burrowing into John because they were so bright! It was loads of fun! Sunday we went to walk around the Bountiful temple after church. It ended up being closed, for cleaning or something, so we chilled in the shade across the street and went to a friends for dinner. Much fun. Monday John had the day off so we went to this really awesome splash pad that had like a little river through it.
This last weekend in July we are just chilling, we are probably going to go swimming and enjoy our time together.
Crazy, fun month!

June, no gloom.

OK. Clearly I missed June.
June was great, so many days at Wheeler Farm. Olivia LOVES the animals, especially the horses (she actually touched one!), And throwing leavings in the stream.
We went to the zoo and that was so fun. It was a little rainy, but we went first thing in the morning and saw so many animals up close. We got splashed by a seal, which was hilarious. Also, we saw the new lion cubs. Olivia's favorite part was the bird show they have, so many birds flying just a few inches above our heads, it was great. Oh, and she hated the carousel.
Olivia and I went to This is the Place Heritage Park and had fun exploring old pioneer homes.
John almost broke his thumb moving a crazy heavy dresser down stairs, he acutually might have messed up the nerves or ligaments because he still can move it much.
My parents came into down and we went to the Dinosaur museum, discovery gateway, up to Logan, and the Great Salt Lake.
John's parents came as well and we enjoyed time with them. Olivia loves all her grandparents!

It was a busy busy month and July is going to be even busier! Summer is going by so fast!

May

I cannot believe how fast this year is going by.

We have been in Salt Lake for about 6 weeks, John has been at the law firm for 6 weeks. And it has all been pretty great! John is doing so well as the firm, he's loving it and it seems like they all really like him!
Olivia and I have been enjoying going into Salt Lake, visiting temple grounds, a farm, hiking, swimming, and playing outside in the sand box and trampoline.
Weekends have been spent together as a family. We went hiking for memorial day, we went to a refugee festival, BBQ a lot and go on tons of walks and go hit the splash pad at the park! 
Olivia has finally started sleeping through the night most nights! And she is working on potty training. She randomly decided she loves sitting on it, I think it started as a way to get out of bed time, but she asks to sit on the potty all the time! It's slow going but it is exciting!

Stubborn. Hard-hearted. Lacking of Faith.

All those things have one big thing in common; a lack of trust in Heavenly Father.

I definitely have had my areas of not trusting in Heavenly Father. In making excuses, some of them very thought out and logical when it comes to certain things.

Recently, I got a very loving chastisement from Him, through a story of a family member. It seriously hit me hard. It actually kind of made me laugh because in an instant I realized how stubborn I have been and how blind I have been to what really matters.

Sometimes good choices come with trials, even trials you know will happen. Which is where the hard heartedness comes in. Why would you ever willingly choose to go through something that you literally cannot handle, even if the end result of that decision is the best thing ever?

One reason. Trust. Trust in a Heavenly Father who loves you and has your and your family's beat interest in mind. And trust in a Savior who suffered so you don't have to go through the suffering alone.

And so my heart is opened. I am willing to obey. And trust that He knows best.

(A friend posted this quote and I thought it was perfect.)

"Challenges are at times an indication of the Lord’s trust in you. He can help you, directly and through others, to deal with what you face." -D. Todd Chistofferson

April showers bring May flowers.

April was crazy.
It started off with my birthday. John and I went out and had dinner at Aubergine. It was seriously so so so yummy! They have these pita pockets that were so incredibly filling and delicious! And we found out there is one in Salt Lake! My birthday present was the Adele ticket. So excited for that trip!
The month was busy, with the last few weeks of school and finals for John.
Packing up and moving up to Salt Lake for the summer.
It was crazy.
John started his summer (hopefully after graduation) job at the law firm Bennet Tueller Johnson and Deere. He was super nervous for his first day, but of course it went awesome! He got there WAY too earlier and got adopted by one of the litigation attorney's (he wants to get into business law) but after almost a week he has projects with litigation and business, he is keeping super busy at work and doing well thus far! And he's home by 6 :)
And finally, Olivia turned two! Super mixed emotions about this! I love watching her little (huge) personality grow. I love seeing her get excited about new things she can do. She loves pointing out pictures of Jesus and temples. When we go on walks she points out birds, dogs, flowers, and trees. She loves to say "bye bye" to cars that pass by and then she laughs about it. She doesn't give kisses as freely as she used to, so that's a little sad for us. She loves loves loves to dance and constantly asks for me to play music for her. She hates being home alone with me, she loves playing with friends, cousins, pretty much anyone that is more exciting than me haha. She talks so much and her vocabulary is growing like crazy. She can say little sentences and communicate more easily each day. She also throws crazy tantrums and says, "no thank you" over and over and over if she doesn't want to do something, like go to bed. She is such a sweetheart and I love her.
On Olivia's birthday her and I blew bubbles outside, went for a walk, went to Costco to get samples and a churro. Then when John got home we had one of her favorite meals, dairy free rutabaga kale lasagna, went on the trampoline (she hated it), and went and got waffle love!
Originally, on Saturday we were going to go to the zoo for her birthday but it was supposed to rain so we changed plans and decided on Discovery Gateway children's museum instead. It was a blast! We went with family and friends and Olivia loved it and was sad to leave. Then we went back home and had Costco chicken salad croissant sandwiches, salad, strawberries, and I made a strawberry dairy free cheesecake.
Olivia got books, blocks, a baby, and bubbles (among a few other things) for her birthday. And I'm pretty sure the bubbles were her favorite, but she loved everything.

I love my little family. I love John, I love Olivia, and I love the time we spend together.

Where did March go??

Well March flew by!
We were flirted with the warmth of summer for about a week. It was warm and amazing and no sweaters or jackets were required. And then the rain, hail, snow mixtures of Spring appeared. Needless to say we are ready for summer days.

But this month was filled with LOTS of sickness. It seemed like as soon as we got better we were sick again, super annoying. But we made it through!

John's sister Savannah who came home from her mission in January moved back to Utah and is staying with us right now. It's lots of fun!

John is almost done with his 2nd year of law school, which is crazy. We are almost done! One more year!

I bought my first text book in like 3.5 years. 😉

Olivia is talking more than ever, eating more than ever, and is the biggest goofball. Also, recently she is going to sleep without me. Up until like a week ago I was still nursing her to sleep, and that's still the only way to get her to take a nap, but now John can take her into her room lay her on the bed and rub her back for like a minute, say goodnight and she'll fall asleep on her own 😢 my baby is growing up, and I don't like it. Even though getting her to sleep in less than 5 minutes is nice compared to 30 minutes to an hour it takes me.

Also, tomorrow is my birthday and I'll be 26! Crazy stuff. But tomorrow being April, means finals are around the corner, moving to Salt Lake is around the corner and Olivia turning 2, TWO! Is around the corner.

An extra day in February

So, February has been kind of crazy.

It started out so cold and honestly I was so ready for some warmth. Ready to be able to play outside and not have to take forever to bundle up.

Despite the cold, Olivia and I did our vest to have fun. Lots of indoor exercising, library and museum trips, spending time with friends, and making yummy treats.

The law school has a week off mid February, the purpose being for them to go on interviews but luckily John already has a summer job lined up so we decided to go to Southern California! The trip was amazing. It was hot, we played outside in dresses and bare feet (well Olivia and I in dresses, John in shorts haha). We went to Seal Beach where John proposed, spent time with friends and family, ate yummy food, and had the best and much needed family time ever!

After the week was over John left and Olivia and I, went with Lauren and her baby, Jake, to visit Kelsey and her little one, Cory.

The drive to Arizona was a bit bumpy. Olivia had signs of an ear infection and we pretty much thought we were crazy to make the drive but we made it and it was so much fun catching up with Kelsey!

We drover back to California a few days later and Olivia and I flew back to Utah the next day.

That day, last Thursday, Olivia threw up a few times. I thought maybe she had another kidney infection. She did great on the flight and ride home. As I was putting her to sleep she threw up and the next morning as well.

So I took her into her doctor. Double ear infection, and pretty bad ones at that. I was shocked. She didn't fuss at all on the plane and she had been a bit grumpy but nothing too bad and I chalked it up to traveling.

Then Sunday she broke out in hives. Sunday night she had the worst tantrum ever. Full on freak out. I noticed her top molars were coming in. So double ear infections hives, top molars, and a horrific cough, which meant horrible sleep. She woke up a ton and was up basically screaming from 2- 4am.

Today I took her back to the doctor. The hives were an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin for her ear infections.

A crazy crazy way to end the month and another thing to add to the list of things Olivia has to deal with.

Being a parent can be so stressful at time but Olivia makes it all worth it.

January end tomorrow.

Where in the world did January go?? If how fast January went by is any indicator of how this year is going to go I think we are in for a whirlwind of a year.

January has been pretty awesome! Here's a little recap:
-My parents came to visit. They were here over new year's. We went to the aquarium, visited the Krishna temple, went to the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the BYU art museum, the Bean museum, Ate at Tocanos and Waffle Love, and it was all so much fun! Olivia loved Pop Pop's mustache kisses and somehow made a video montage with music on Grama Noodle's phone.
-I started working out a again everyday. Winter, the cold, snow made it hard to get outside and exercise like I had been and so I just kind of stopped. But I'm back at it! Using fitness blender videos. They are seriously awesome and kicking my butt and I can already do a pushup!!! OK this is huge! I have no been able to do a real push up since probably middle school. And it is SUPER hard and takes everything I've got but I can do 1! Which is pretty great because that was one of my end goal for my fitness this year.
-Olivia is still allergic to milk. We tested it with cheese. She threw up and kept throwing up and got the worse diaper rash ever and so we are back to 100% no dairy, including me because breastfeeding is still going strong.
-We've all had our first cold of the year. It kicked my butt and sleep duck for all of us but we made it through.
-We went to the Midway Ice Castles. It was beautiful and magical. It was like being in Frozen and I loved it.
-We went to the free day at the U's natural history museum with Molly and Ellie. So fun, so awesome. Everyone should go because it was legit and following (I.e. chasing) the girls around while Olivia said "Ellie, Ellie" over and over was pretty much the best.
-John's sister Savannah came home from her mission! We haven't seen her yet but she comes back to Utah next month so we are excited for that. She's awesome and semi awkward, as every freshly returned missionary should be and its going to be so fun to get together with the WHOLE family whenever that happens.
-Those are the biggies for the month. Besides that we have had lots of library days, museum days, fun at home and around town, random dinner at friends and grandparents and basically lots of fun.

One last thing. Snow. This was my biggest fear when moving to Utah. All my friends who lived here and pretty much every one hear talks about how its nice for the first month and then it gets old. Well, last year we basically had none so I thought I was lucky to have escaped it. But let me tell you, I was not. Because I have realized I have a crazy obsession/love of snow. It's amazing and magical and every time it falls I just get so excited! Olivia loves it so much too! When it starts snowing to points and says, "snow!" In the cutest voice ever. And somehow as a socal girl I have adjusted to the cold super fast. So bring on the snow!
Side note: my love of snow in no way means I miss or live California any less. Because for real California wins every time and the beach and the food and the people and California.

The end.

The first weeks

Last weeks goals went well!
I worked out every day!
I cheated on the sugar. Saturday John and I went and got a piece of See's chocolate. But that's OK because the purpose of the no sugar was so that I wouldn't be eating sugar everyday like I had been, so I still count it as a success.
And I read scriptures and listened to talks everyday!

So this week my goals are:
Workout everyday and introduce weights
Eat lots of veggies
Continue reading every day and go to the temple
No Netflix during Olivia's nap

2016 a new year

I HATE new year resolutions. I don't know what my life is going to be like in the coming year so I feel like making goals not to do certain things and to do certain things every day in the coming year is completely unattainable. I have no desire to set myself up for failure, and a year from now look back at how I did not succeed. It messes with my self worth and self esteem and I want nothing to do with that. I also don't like goals that are super vague and just end up being empty promises to myself. So, this year I have a plan.

A plan to actually change over the course of the entire year. A plan that will allow me to come out of this year more physically fit, eating better, spiritually stronger, a better wife, mom, and person.

My new year's resolution for the year is to take each week at a time. Every Sunday I will make goals. Fitness, nutrition, spiritual, and personal goals. These goals will be just for the week. And at the end of the week I will assess my progress, see what was lacking, where I struggled, and where I succeeded and make adjustments for the next week.

By doing this I will be able to take into account any plans I may have for the following week. Maybe that week there's a wedding or a birthday or some special occasion, so I won't have eat no processed sugar as a goal for that week. Or maybe I'll be traveling and won't be able to workout everyday.

So every week I will be setting myself up to succeed. To accomplish clear goals and become a better me.

Week 1
Fitness: workout everyday Monday through Saturday
Nutrition: no processed sugar, vitamin everyday, drink water before snacking/eating
Spiritual: BoM365 reading everyday and listen to conference talks when I do dishes